Matcha Chiffon Cakes - The Love for Chiffons

Chiffon, yet again, yes! I know this ain't the most appetising looking cake around, even my mum commented on its lack of attractiveness. But trust me, matcha is great for chiffons. After getting the hang of making my favourite everyday cake, it's only natural that I experiment with a couple more flavours right? So many flavours to try, leaving me spoilt for choice. My recent trip to the bookstore yielded me yet another book - Okashi by Keiko Ishida. I've had my eye on this ever since I saw it at Shermay's Cooking School. I have not attended her classes before but this caught my attention as i've been looking for a book on japanese-french pastries that's written in English and this fits the bill perfectly!

I love this book - love the clean look and layout, the simple yet elegant recipes and the useful tips that provides little snippets of baking advice. It's a no-fuss, straightforward book with a unique, quiet charm really. I couldn't wait to try out the recipes and hence chose to start with one of the chiffon cake recipes - Matcha Chiffon Cake. I love matcha on its own, love its sweet fragrance and how it complements simple Japanese food with an understated elegance. This is my first time using matcha in my bakes and the results did not disappoint. 

                                 

I was a little worried about overbeaten egg whites as it ended up as medium peaks rather than stiff peaks, but the cake turned out beautifully well - soft, fluffy and moist. The rich matcha flavour was pleasant, complemented by just the right level of sweetness. I do wish the colour was a little darker like Keiko's cake in the book though. Oh well, until I find a darker-coloured green tea powder!

Reading through the rest of the book now...can't wait to try the rest of the recipes!