STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM MATCHA CHIFFON LAYER CAKE

strawberries and cream matcha chiffon layer cake

HAPPY SUMMER! 

There's nothing like fresh local strawberries in the summer!

I created this unique sky-high matcha cake recipe to celebrate my best friend's birthday as she's a matcha lover.  

I am entering this original recipe I developed for BCEgg (a non-profit organization that regulates BC's egg farms) because it uses a lot of eggs!  I chose a chiffon cake for this contest because quality eggs play a significant role in chiffon cakes.  I prefer chiffon to angel food cake because it uses the entire egg rather than just the whites and the crumb is tender and moist.   This recipe in particular uses 7 large free-range eggs.  There is no butter; instead vegetable oil is used to maintain a moist crumb.  I used avocado oil but any neutral vegetable oil will do.  Mechanical aeration of the egg whites helps to leaven the cake layers to achieve a light, fluffy sponge.  Ordinarily, a chiffon cake is baked in a tube pan but my recipe doesn't do this. 

VOTE FOR MY RECIPE BY CLICKING RIGHT HERE!

You have to be 18+ and living in BC, Canada to vote and you can vote once every day until the end of the contest on Sept 8, 2019.  There is no purchase necessary, but you have to fill out a form on THIS LINK and prove residency in BC. 

TOTORO BUTTER COOKIES WITH MATCHA LEAVES

SO, this is me lesson prepping for tomorrow's Creative Writing 11 Book Chat tomorrow.  I had my students select a Canadian Novel for an independent project which culminates in a Tea 'n Cookies Book Chat with their peers.

Silly me...I asked what they'd like me to bake and they said "Totoro Cookies!"  

I don't know why I was hoping they'd all say "CAKE!" --but they didn't.  

Ah well.  They're not for me to eat anyway!

I used matcha powder to create tiny leaf cookies to rest on Totoro's head.  With the leftover matcha dough I made some larger leaf cookies 'cause I didn't want to make any more of those time-consuming tiny leaves anymore 🤣

I added black sesame paste to a blob of cookie dough in order to make the tiny black sesame sprites. They were so cute but something about grey cookies is so unappealing to many people.  I guess they don't look appetizing being the colour of soot!

Raw cookie dough is so tasty-looking to me.  I prefer how it looks to the baked product because you can see the crisp lines and Totoro's cute expression very clearly.

In case you want to make these with a totoro cutter, be aware that they cost $$$.  All you have to do is google it and you'll find plenty of styles of Totoro cutters to buy.  Before I bought a cutter, I used a cardboard template that I cut out.  I traced the cookies with a knife and they were tedious but they turned out well.  Alternatively, if you're crafty you can cut up an Arizona Tea can and create your own personalized cookie cutter.  I have a pusheen one that I made like that because I'm too cheapie to pay money for more cutters.  

Totoro Vanilla Butter Cookies 

• 2 Cups unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Large egg 
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 Cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp teaspoon coarse salt
• OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon matcha powder (for the matcha leaves)
• OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon black sesame paste (or ground black sesame seeds) (for the soot sprites)

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees F.
2. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and salt and mix until combined.
3. Halve dough; shape each half into a disk. Place one disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate. You can use the other half for the optional coloured decorations or soot sprite cookies.  Continue making cookies with the remaining refrigerated dough.
4. Roll out dough and cut with a template or cutter.  Transfer cookies to parchment-lined cookie sheet.
5. OPTIONAL LEAVES & SOOT SPRITES:  take a handful of dough and add 1 teaspoon of matcha powder to it, kneading until thoroughly combined. Roll out and cut into tiny leaves to decorate Totoro's head.  Take a handful of dough and knead in 1 teaspoon black sesame paste and knead thoroughly until combined.  Roll out and cut into soot sprites.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned (Totoro's ears will get brown first, so watch them)  The soot sprites will take only 10-12 minutes and the tiny leaves take 7 min.
7. Let cool on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

MINI MOCHI CUPCAKES: MATCHA & CHOCOLATE

Basho's gone, but you can make these Mini Mochi Cupcakes yourself!

Do you miss this tiny Japanese cafe on E. Hastings street?  Well, cry no more because you can easily make these mini gluten-free Japanese sweets.  Just pull out your knitting needles, knit a cozy for your potted succulent plant and whip up some matcha tea to go along with your sweets.

This mochi recipe is highly adaptable; you can add your own unique flavours.  Stay tuned for more flavour possibilities!

Basho Cafe & Sweets, Vancouver

Matcha Latte Afternoon Tea special ($5)

Upon entering Basho Cafe on East Hastings (my old teenage stomping grounds!) you are immediately taken aback by the fine details evident in the decor and the food.  By gosh, even the door handle at the front has a knitted warmer wrapped around it!

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.

Matcha Milkshake (GF)

Matcha Milkshake

I'm cray cray about matcha recently as evidenced by my Matcha Madeleines (gf) and Matcha Coconut Mochi (gf)  recipe.

Matcha Coconut Mochi (GF)

Matcha Coconut Mochi.  An excellent Japanese sweet to serve with tea or coffee.

Summer's here and I have the kids full-time.   Aside from locking them out of the house once because they were fighting, I think I've been able to keep them busy enough to stay out of trouble.

Matcha Madeleines (GF)

Matcha Madeleines (gf).  Note the "hump"...a good thing 

Madeleines are one of the most beautiful little cakes I've ever seen and positively scream of lazy days on the patio.  Perfect for afternoon tea or coffee.