Matcha Chiffon Cake (gf)

Matcha Chiffon (GF)

I'm looking forward to seeing a few of my high school classmates today.  It's kind of neat to be able to see them so many years later and catch up.  I see some of my high school friends only once a year.  We make a bit of time to have coffee or tea and chat for hours about life events and all sorts of things.

East Van Rules!

It's so interesting where some of us are today. We have moved on and gone into all sorts of different directions; yet upon immediately reconnecting there is one commonality we all agree upon: EastVanRules!  Nothing like pride in one's neighbourhood to bring us all together, eh?

I love this matcha chiffon for its fluffy moist crumb

You can serve the matcha chiffon with slightly sweetened whipped cream and berries

I may be biased, but I think growing up in East Van has given us grit.   We are a resilient bunch and I am quite happy to see people have turned out so well.  We are good people!

So I am looking forward to my little reunion and this matcha chiffon is for us to nibble on as we reconnect, share and reminisce.  The best part is hearing what we are planning on doing for the future.  Though we come from the same 'hood and could spend hours rehashing all the wrongs that were done to us and all the issues that self-absorbed teenagers can tend to wallow in, we have matured long ago and moved on.  It's way more interesting to hear about plans for retirement at this point.

The trickiest part of making this chiffon is removing it from the tube pan.  I used a thin plastic spatula.  If you don't have a sharp knife you can use a serrated blade to cut the cake without squishing it.

I for one have been dreaming big about retirement...though that may be years away.  I like to dream big and take my passions forward in my dreams.  There's nothing more engaging to me than asking my friends and colleagues the question:  what do you plan on doing when you retire?  Or better yet:  If you won the lottery tomorrow, would you go back to work the next day?  What would you do?

Delicious matcha chiffon is a perfect with tea or coffee for an afternoon treat.  

Though retirement may be a long way in the future for many of us, I encourage you to reconnect this summer with your childhood classmates while enjoying this lovely Matcha Chiffon and an espresso.  Though green tea and coffee may be slightly bitter, we need not be ;)

MATCHA CHIFFON (GF)

• 1 ½ cups golden brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/3 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend 
• 2 tsp baking powder (gf)
• 2 tablespoons matcha powder 
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
• 7 large eggs, 2 left whole, 5 separated (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup water

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325°F. Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder, matcha, psyllium husk powder and salt together in large bowl (at least 4-quart size). Whisk in two whole eggs, five egg yolks (reserve whites), water, oil, vanilla extracts until batter is smooth. If the batter is lumpy, it's okay to run a hand blender through it.  You can't over-beat the batter because there isn't any gluten in it.
2. Pour reserved egg whites into large bowl; beat at low speed with electric mixer until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar, gradually increase speed to medium-high, then beat whites until very thick and stiff, just short of dry, 9 to 10 minutes with handheld mixer or 5 to 7 minutes in standing mixer. With large whisk, fold whites into batter, smearing any blobs of white that resist blending. 
3. Pour batter into ungreased large tube pan ( 9 inch diameter, 16-cup capacity). 
4. Bake cake on lower middle rack in oven until wire cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Immediately turn cake upside down to cool. If pan does not have prongs around rim for elevating cake, invert pan over bottle or funnel, inserted through tube. Let cake hang until completely cook, about 2 hours. 
5. To unmold, turn pan upright. Run frosting spatula or thin knife around pan’s circumference between cake and pan wall, always pressing against the pan. Use cake tester to loosen cake from tube. For one-piece pan, bang it on counter several times, then invert over serving plate. For two-piece pan, grasp tube and lift cake out of pan. If glazing the cake, use a fork or a paring knife to gently scrap all the crust off the cake. Loosen cake from pan bottom with spatula or knife, then invert cake onto plate. (Can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature 2 days or refrigerated 4 days.)

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