Matcha Chocolate Swirl Cake

And it’s yet another green tea bake again!
The combination of the sweet chocolate and subtle bitterness of matcha is oh so perfect!

Disclaimer: I may be a bias source since I’m a great fan of these two ingredients. (:

Matcha Chocolate Swirl Cake
Adapted from Kirbie’s Cravings.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cups milk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

For Chocolate Mixture:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For Matcha Mixture:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-3 tbsp matcha powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Procedures
1. Mix the dry ingredients of the matcha mixture together using a whisk.
2. Mix the dry ingredients of the chocolate mixture together using a whisk.
3. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla into the butter mixture and mix till thoroughly combined.
4. Divide the creamed mixture evenly into two.
5. Slowly add the chocolate mixture to one half of the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. Slowly add the matcha mixture to the remaining half of the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.
7. Grease and flour a 10-12 cups bundt (or a cake mould).
9. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
8. Drop alternating spoonfuls of each mixture into the bundt pan until it is about 3/4 full. Run through the batter with a chopstick/fork/knife a couple of time to create a marble effect.
9. Bake for about 1hr 15min or till a toothpick/cake skewer comes out clean after poking into the centre of the cake.

Craving for Green Tea Latte now…

P/s: Boyf commented that my Bak Zhang post was super random. Wells.. this is called being spontaneous! =DD

Chocolate Thumbprints

 

“Who stole the cookies from the cookie pot…” This was such a popular game during my younger days (like secondary school?). The cookie monster inside me has finally spoke! And so, after almost a year of procrastination, I got my butt stuck to the chair floor and type this entry.

 

My dear sis loves it whenever I were to bake this. The buttery taste of the cookies coupled with the bitter-sweet chocolate is simply heavenly (I always ended up eating while I’m baking)!  Not only is it fuss-free to prepare, the success rate is almost a 100%! Just follow the recipe below closely.

 

Chocolate Thumbprints
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies – The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share 
by Editors of Martha Stewart Living.

Ingredients
1 cup (2sticks) plus 5 table-spoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons corn/golden syrup

Procedures
For butter cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar. salt and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, about 2min.
3. Beat in flour in parts. Begin with low speed and increasing to medium until combined.
(Can try to cover the mixer bowl area with cloth to minimise flour from “flying” all over the place during mixing.)
4. Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each; place balls 1 inch apart on the parchment paper.
5. Bake 10min, remove from oven and press thumb/small rolling pin into cookies to make deep, wide indentations. Rotate pan and return to oven; bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9min more.
(If the indentations begin to lose definition, remove cookies from oven and press again.)
6. Cool completely.

For chocolate ganache:
1. Combine chocolate, the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and the corn/golden syrup in a small heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth.
(In other words, a waterbath should be set up to combine the ingredients mentioned).
2. Allow mixture to cool a bit until slightly thickened.

 Assembly
1. Using spoon, fill thumbprints with the chocolate mixture, and set aside to firm up. Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Just before you bake:
1. Some parts, ie. sides and bottom of the dough will not be well-mixed with the electric mixer. So DO REMEMBER to scrap the sides and bottom and combine them manually before kneading into small balls.
2. If using fingers to make the indentations, do remember to keep finger cool by preparing a bowl of (ice) water for dipping.
3. If you want to taste the chocolate distinctly, make sure that the indentations are wide and deep.
4. Be very patient when filling the thumbprints if you want the sides of your cookies to be clean!

 

 

I had loads of fun when I’m baking this. Enjoy!