January 8, 2021
Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s already 2021. It still seems like it was just yesterday when our lives shifted from the hustle and bustle of daily interactions to solely virtual communications. The extended time spent at home has helped me tap deep into my inner creative self in the kitchen. I embarked on a culinary journey in the kitchen making meals out of whatever I had on hand. The experiments led me down a rabbit hole of crazy concoctions, tasty creations, and just pure joy. One such creation was my matcha chocolate log cake featuring alternating swirls of plain and chocolate cream packed into a sponge cake roll. Today’s post is a bit late, but I’m finally ready to share the findings straight from the CWTP kitchen. I started playing around with this recipe right around Christmas time when I had the sudden urge to create a version of a log cake (or a simplified version of a Bûche de Noël). I wanted my version of the Yule log to feature a festive green interior and a tree-like chocolate cream weaved into the interior and exterior of the cake. The vibrant shade of green would be the perfect celebratory color for Christmas. To bring the log cake over the top, I envisioned the design of the cake to be similar to a harlequin roll, a type of cake with alternating strips of different colored creams swirled into the interior of the cake. Once I settled on my vision, I set out to create my matcha chocolate log cake. I started by making the sponge layer. I relied on the natural colors of matcha powder to help dye the sponge layer of my cake a beautiful, vibrant shade of green. The sponge cake takes almost no time to prepare and bake. All it takes is about 6 minutes for the sponge cake to finish baking in the oven. The moment time was up, I set the sponge cake aside to cool slightly before rolling the cake up into a log. Taking this step is crucial to help the sponge cake maintain the rolled shape once cooled. While the cake is cooling, I set out to whip together the whipped cream for filling and topping the cake. Whipped cream frosting is my favorite type of frosting for cakes. It is slightly sweet, light, and fluffy in texture. Growing up in New York, my family always celebrated milestones with either a sponge or chiffon cake topped with a whipped cream topping. They would purchase one of these cakes at a local Asian bakery and store it in the refrigerator just long enough for us to finish dinner. The moment the last piece of rice is scooped up from our bowl, we would all turn our attention to the fluffy, light celebratory cake. A simple birthday song or some short congratulatory wishes later, we were all sinking our teeth into the delightful dessert. Nothing beats a light, fluffy cake topped with the airiest, slightly sweet whipped cream frosting. When I set out to create my matcha chocolate log cake, I wanted to stay true to all of the elements I absolutely loved in my favorite celebratory cakes growing up. My matcha chocolate log cake has all of these elements and more. The intense matcha flavor shines through in the bright green sponge cake. The deep chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder gives the whipped cream the perfect shade of brown similar to the color of a tree trunk. A light sprinkling of instant espresso powder brings out the chocolate flavor in the whipped cream. When combined altogether, these elements packed the perfect storm of flavors into a visually stunning log roll. Kevin and I rounded out our celebratory meal with some crispy oven baked salt and pepper wings, seasoned roasted potatoes, and sesame garlic grilled bok choy. The lunch fueled us long enough to get us to finally take down the holiday decorations from Christmas 2020.
For the matcha chocolate log cake:
For the matcha sponge:
· 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated, room temperature
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· ½ cup and 2 tablespoons cake flour
· 1 teaspoon matcha powder
· a pinch of kosher salt (about 1/8 teaspoon)
· 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the whipped cream frosting:
· 2 cups heavy whipping cream
· ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
· ½ teaspoon cornstarch
· 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a jelly roll baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper long enough to hang off the two shorter sides of the baking sheet. Set aside.
2) In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. Fold in the cake flour and matcha powder. Set aside.
3) In a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to whip together the egg whites and kosher salt. Gradually add in the granulated sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Let the stand mixer whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes on medium speed.
4) Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the flour mixture until combined. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites while folding the egg whites into the flour mixture.
5) Use an offset spatula to spread the batter in a thin layer onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet on the kitchen counter a couple times to help smooth out the batter.
6) Transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake until the cake is set, about 6 minutes. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the longer edges of the sheet pan to separate the sponge cake layer. Starting on one end of the sponge cake layer with the parchment paper hanging off the sheet pan, loosely roll the sponge cake into a log. Set aside the rolled sponge cake. Let cool for 30 minutes.
7) While the sponge cake is cooling, make the whipped cream frosting by whipping together the heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch. Continue whipping the heavy cream until the frosting is fluffy and has doubled in size, about 3-5 minutes.
8) When ready to decorate, place a medium circular decorating tip onto a pastry bag. Add a third of the whipped cream into the pastry bag. Unroll the sponge cake. Pipe strips of whipped cream about ¼ inch apart leaving about an inch on both ends of the sponge cake. Fold the cocoa powder into the remaining whipped cream. Add the cocoa whipped cream to the same pastry bag. Pipe strips of cocoa whipped cream in the space between the regular whipped cream. Begin rolling the sponge cake on one side until a log is formed. Pipe strips of cocoa whipped cream around all sides of the sponge cake log until it resembles the exterior of a tree trunk.
Takeaways: I’ve made this sponge cake a few times with and without the matcha powder. The sponge cake batter can also be scooped into a muffin tin lined with parchment paper for individual sponge cakes. If making individual sponge cakes, line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake liners and bake for 6-8 minutes.