Matcha/Green Tea Kasutera Japanese Honey Sponge Cake

When I set my eyes on the previous Kasutera Cake, I oledi put this green tea kasutera cake into my must-bake list too.

The recipe was adapted from Angie's Recipes, I followed all ingredients to the dot, only cut down slightly on the sugar.

Ingredients

125g bread flour
10g matcha tea powder
50g honey
50g green tea drink
5 eggs
140g caster sugar (used only 120g)

1. Line a 44x12x6cm wood box or an 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper (I used the loaf pan)
2. Fill half of a large pot with water and bring it to a boil
3. Stir together the honey and green tea drink in a small bowl
4. Combine the flour, matcha tea powder and sift twice and set aside
5. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F
6. Place the eggs and the sugar into the bowl of mixer.  Set the bowl over the pot of hot water and whisk the mixture until lukewarm and the sugar is dissolved
7. Remove and beat over medium speed until the mixture starts to thicken
8. Lower the speed and continue whisking until it is thick and smooth.  When you lift the whisk, the peaks drops slightly
9. Beat in honey water mixture in a few additions until incorporated
10. Sift in the flour in a few additions and whisk on low speed until fully incorporated
11. Pour the batter into the prepared wood box or the pan.  Place in the hot oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and it feels spongy not tacky to the touch, about 50 minutes.
12. Cool on the rack for 10 minutes, and remove from the pan

The kitchen smell pretty good while the cake was baking in the oven, a mixture of honey & matcha :p  I able to stop myself from stuffing the cake into my mouth right after it just cool off this time.  I wrapped it in sling film, kept it in a container and waited patiently til this morning.  Slicing it nicely with the help of a very sharp knife and wet towel, I managed to get a perfect cut matcha kasutera cake :D  * clap clap clap to myself *

Verdict:  The taste of matcha is strong but not too overly, it blend pretty well with the taste of honey, yum!  Great with a cup of green tea latte or just plain green tea.

Note:  If you put the batter into muffin cups, bake them for 20 minutes with the same temperature.