Matcha Red Bean Cake

Submitted by thestarvingasian

"This is a matcha green tea cake with red bean frosting and garnished with chocolate garnish. We wanted to use ingredients that were Asia-centric because we wanted to show how awesome the inclusion of these ingredients could be."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 45mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• CAKE

• 2 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 1⁄2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1⁄3 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

• RED BEAN FROSTING

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup red bean paste

• GANACHE

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Oil 2 8-inch cake round pans, and cut out 2 piece of parchment paper to put in the pans.
2. In a big bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes until it becomes a light and fluffy mixture. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla until well incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha powder. Then alternate putting the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredient mixture. Make sure that the batter is all incorporated.
4. Pour the batter into the 2 pans, making sure there is an even amount of batter in them. Tap the pans on the countertop so the air bubbles in the cake rise to the top and pop. Put the cakes in the oven for around 35 to 45 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick in the center of the cake and it comes out clean.
5. Let the cakes cool for around 20 minutes before turning them out and letting them cool completely on a wire rack.
6. For the frosting, we’re going to make a red bean whipped cream. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and whisk until you get soft peaks, gradually adding powdered sugar as you go. Once you’ve achieved soft peaks, fold in the red bean paste, but don’t completely fold it inches We want those ribbons of color throughout the cream, and it’ll also create an interesting flavor profile while eating the cake so that every bite of cake has a different amount of red bean flavor. Let chill in the fridge.
7. To prepare the ganache, put your chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Heat your heavy cream in a pan over low heat until it starts steaming a bit. Then pour the cream over the chocolate chips and stir until a glossy chocolate ganache forms.
8. Once the cakes are cooled, now we can start assembling the cake. Trim the edges and tops of the cakes so that they are even, and start with one layer of cake. Then put the red beam cream on top of the cake, spreading to create an even layer. Put the second cake on top and make sure that the cake is as even as can be, trimming wherever necessary. Put back in the fridge to chill.
9. Once the cake is chilled, take the cake out of the fridge and place on a wire rack with a sheet pan underneath. This will catch the chocolate ganache so it doesn’t make a mess out of your kitchen. Pour the ganache over the cake, starting from the top edges and work your way to the center of the cake. Make sure that the ganache runs off the sides so all of the cake is covered. Use an offset spatula to even out the ganache. Once you are happy with how the ganache is covering the cake, put back into the fridge to chill for around 10 minutes, just so the ganache gets a little less liquidy.
10. Garnish with berries, or leave as is.