Monthly Recipe: Matcha & Azuki Cake

My office has the tradition that when it’s your birthday you have to bring cake in for everyone to share, so I decided to bake myself a birthday cake with some distinct Japanese flavours last week. I found the recipe here, and I would like to thank Hiroko Liston for posting it as it was exactly what I was looking for! The only change I made was to double all of the ingredients, as I know my cakes never rise and I wouldn’t be able to get all of the layers out of one sponge like you’re supposed to. I don’t know if it’s me or my oven, but my cakes are always very flat (I wish Mary Berry could help me!). So, here’s the recipe but with everything doubled, just as I made it.

Matcha & Azuki Cake

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 180g caster sugar
• 180g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp matcha powder
• 40g butter
• 1 medium pot of  double cream
• 1 tin sweet azuki beans

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease and line two cake tins (approximately 20cm each).

Place the eggs and caster sugar in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat on a high speed until thick and creamy, and the sugar is dissolved.

Fold in the sifted self-raising flour and matcha powder.

Add the melted butter and mix to combine.

Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the sponge springs back lightly when touched (you can always use a cake tester to check as well).

Turn the sponges onto wire racks and leave to cool completely.

The next part I actually did a day later. If you do this, I recommend wrapping the sponges in cling film and putting them in a tin over night.

Whip the cream until thick and spreadable.

Place one sponge onto a plate or cake board. Spread with cream.

Spread with a layer of sweet azuki beans straight from the tin.

Top with the other sponge, and cover with the remaining cream.

Dust with matcha powder (be careful – I made such a mess doing this!).

Ta-dah! This is has got to be the best looking (and tasting!) cake I’ve ever made.

Luckily my colleagues agreed when I took it into work!

☆★☆

I’ll be back in January with a new recipe. If you have any suggestions, or perhaps you would like me to try one of your recipes from a book or website, please leave a comment below or get in touch! All the recipes I try on this blog have some connection to Japan and, because I don’t eat meat, they need to be vegetarian or pescetarian. I’m particularly interested in helping to promote Japanese recipe books, so do let me know if you have one I might like!