Green Tea Castella Cake

Yields: 1 small loaf

Recipe adapted from Eugenie Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 eggs, divided

61 g caster sugar ( ¼ cup)

50 g bread flour

2 tbsp honey

½ tbsp green tea powder (1 tbsp)

2 tbsp hot water

Optional topping:

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp hot water

Procedure:

1.  Grease a small loaf pan and line with parchment paper then set aside.

2.  In a bowl, whip up egg whites on medium speed.  Once the egg whites become frothy add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.   This method is commonly referred to as the French meringue.

3. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until combined.

4. Add the sifted flour with a spatula and stir just until moistened.

5. Add 1 tbsp of hot water into the honey and mix well.

6. Mix honey mixture into the batter and stir just until combined.

7. Pass the batter through a sieve for finer texture.

8. In another bowl, set aside 1/3 of the batter.

9. Add 1 tbsp of hot water into the green tea powder and mix well.

10. Add the green tea mixture into 1/3 of the batter and stir until homogeneous.

11. In the small loaf pan, add in the plain batter and evenly spread on the bottom with the back of a spoon.  Add in 1-2 tablespoon of the green batter and spread. Repeat until all the batter is used up.  Make sure to only fill 2/3 of the loaf pan.

12. Tap the pan a little and insert in a chopstick to make swirl marble like textures.

13. Bake at 320˚ F for about 35-40 minutes.  If the top browns too quickly loosely cover with foil. If a toothpick comes out clean then it’s done.

14.  Brush the top with a honey mixture (1 tbsp honey with 1 tbsp hot water).  After 5 minutes, remove parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to let the castella flavor develop.

15. Enjoy and serve with your favorite tea!