Green Tea Chiffon

We were invited to my cousin's for a Post-Christmas Steamboat/Hot Pot dinner so I thought I'd whip up a cake.  I decided on a chiffon cake as I wanted it to be light, fluffy and not overly sweet.  I decided on Japanese Green Tea as my flavouring and set to work on looking for a recipe.  I used this one here to base my recipe on.

Green Tea Chiffon Cake 

6 large free-range eggs (separated)

150g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

60ml sunflower oil

30ml cold water

30ml milk

120g self-raising flour

3 level tsp ground green tea powder

Sift the flour and green tea powder together 3 times and set aside.  Weigh out 100g the caster sugar and place in a small dish/saucer.

Place the 6 eggs whites in a scrupulously clean, grease-free bowl and whisk until large bubbles form.  Sprinkle in the cream of tartar and continue to beat (I use the whisk attachment of my hand blender) until white and fluffy.


Add 100g of the caster sugar a quarter at a time into the whites and beat in fully before adding another quarter.  When the 100g sugar is added, continue to beat until the whites are glossy white and are fairly stiff. The whites need to be able to hold their shape and will not fall out of the bowl if the bowl is upturned.

Add the remaining 50g caster sugar to the 6 egg yolks and beat until thick.  Add in the oil and beat for a couple of minutes more until it is incorporated.  Add the milk and water and mix in (it does turn back to liquid.)  Sift in the flour and green tea powder and mix in until there are no traces of flour left.

Scoop a quarter of the egg white mix into the cake batter and mix in to loosen the batter.  Take another quarter and fold in lightly with a large metal spoon.  (I use a large plastic serving spoon.) Continue with the remaining egg whites folding in so that the whites mix into the batter but be careful not to knock the air out.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased chiffon tin (mine is 23cm wide at the top and 20cm wide at its base).
Bake at 170 C for 45-55 minutes.  The chiffon will be ready when a skewer poked into the cake comes out clean with not wet sticky mix on it.  If cake browns too quickly, lower the temperature slightly and continue to cook.

Invert the cake immediately to cool.  (I balanced the central tube of the pan on a small tin.) Remove the chiffon cake when it has fully cooled.

***Notes:
I would reduce the sugar next time to 130g and increase the green tea powder to 5 level teaspoons as although it looked nice, the taste was quite mild.

Happy 2013 !

A simple design of ice blue fondant and sparkly snowflakes.
(Photo does not reflect the true colour or the sparkly effect )

A fun snowball scene

Crikey! How time flies!

Three years ago I started this blog to record my odd ramblings, my son growing up, my baking endeavours and gardening adventures.  Garden hasn't had a lot of exposure on here - probably due to a lack of me being in it! Baking, well - I'm always in my kitchen baking away :p

Here's a look back at our Christmas 2012 seeing as I was too busy baking to stop and blog :(

No icing or marzipan for this one - dried fruit and nut topping

Gold Star Wreath

I made several Christmas Cakes this year to gift to friends and family. Each one has been decorated differently and it was a joy to do!

Home-made mincemeat and home-made gluten-free pastry

I had a pre-Christmas Meet with some of my Mummy friends - we met because we were expecting our little people 2 or so years ago and have stayed firm friends and our little ones play together too!  One of my friends is gluten intolerant and vegetarian so I made these Gluten-Free Mince Pies so she could indulge in the festive season!

The package on right is Gluten-Free Biscotti ~ Apricot and Almond

I do like to bake and share so I have been biscotti crazy again this Christmas concocting different combinations of fruits and nuts into biscotti so I can package and give to friends.  It certainly guarantees a smile on people's faces!

It was fun decorating these trees with my son 

I try not to leave the little people out where I can so I made some Gingerbread Trees and People for a few of my friends - oh and of course, for the little person here too :D  Although I secretly think my son enjoys the  "Smarties" (Chocolate Beans) more than the gingerbread itself! 

My personal project this Christmas was to create a Gingerbread Scene - 3D of course!

My Gingerbread Display I made for my son and niece - we ate the gingerbread after Christmas!

Thank you to you all for reading!

May 2013 bring you much baking / cooking / crafting / gardening adventures!