Matcha Gateau Au Chocolat

I know, Christmas has already passed, and we are in January 2021 now. But this does not stop me from sharing an absolutely beautiful cake, which I specially baked for last Christmas. It’s called the “Gateau au Chocolat“, simply means chocolate cake in French. As always, my favourite Japanese matcha was the star alongside creamy white chocolate. The main reason I made a green matcha version was because in my imagination, I could see the cake appeared to be very festive and vibrant; thanks to the striking colour contrast between green matcha and red Santa Claus.

Why not log cakes or tree stump cakes? Aren’t those the “proper” cake meant for Christmas? Yes, undeniably those are cakes for Christmas, but why limit ourselves to only log cake as Christmas cake? From my perspective, any cakes could be turned into Christmas cakes as long as they are decorated with festive vibe in mind. Instead of an elaborate log cake, I chose simplicity. The wonderful taste of matcha truly shines through this cake, accompanied by a dense yet slightly fluffy cake texture contributed by whipped egg white (or known as meringue).

Looking at the matcha Gateau au Chocolat, the picture of Santa lying down on green matcha instantly reminds me of a verse in the bible — “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2. Truly, Jesus Christ my Shepherd has led me in my daily path, giving me peace and daily supply that meets or, most of the time, exceeds my needs. Thank you, my Shepherd, You have given me and will surely continue to give me rest, peace and repose.

A belated Merry Christmas, my friend!

Ingredients: (yield: one 15cm round)

White chocolate 100g
Butter 50g
Cream 60g
Egg yolk 3 no.
Sugar (for egg yolk) 20g
Cake flour 30g
Matcha powder 30g
Egg white 3 no.
Sugar (for egg white) 60g

Method:

Preheat oven at 160 degrees Celsius. Prepare a round cake pan and line the bottom and sides of cake pan with parchment paper.
Weigh white chocolate and butter, and put them together in a bowl.
Place it over a pot of simmering water. Stir and melt the chocolate butter mixture, then remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl, put in egg yolk, sugar and cream. Mix well.
Pour melted chocolate-butter mixture to egg yolk mixture. Mix well.
Sift cake flour and matcha powder together, and add to the egg yolk mixture. Mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whip egg white until frothy.
Add sugar in two additions, and whip the meringue to medium peak.
Take 1/3 of the meringue and mix with the egg yolk-flour mixture.
Then, fold in the rest of the meringue.
Transfer cake batter to the cake pan prepared earlier.
Bake at 160 degree Celsius for about 45 minutes.
Let cake cool down completely before removing from cake pan.
Optional: Dust with additional icing sugar and matcha powder before serving.