This pretty butter cake resembling a topography map may look intimidating to make but it is actually a simple cake to make and the result is rather impressive. It is made by dusting a layer of cocoa powder between layers of plain and matcha cake batter, forming the topo pattern. The original recipe makes an 8 inch square cake but I wanted only a tiny cake so I halved the recipe and baked mine in a loaf pan measuring 8 x 3.5" (20 x 9cm) instead.
The cake is light and moist and matcha and cocoa flavors goes really well together to create this delicious cake which is perfect for your mid-morning snack or afternoon tea!
Ingredients:
Salted butter 125 g (room temperature)
Sugar 15 g
Egg yolks 2
Self-raising flour 100 g
Fresh milk 30 ml
Matcha powder 1/2 Tbsp, sifted
Cocoa Powder 2-3 Tbsp
Meringue:
Egg whites 2
Sugar 30 g
Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 8 x 3.5 inch loaf pan with baking paper.
In bowl of stand mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar till stiff peaks form. Transfer to a medium bowl.
In the same bowl of stand mixer (no need to wash), beat butter, sugar and vanilla till light and fluffy. Add in egg yolks and mix well.
On low speed, fold in flour and milk alternately in 2 additions. Mix well.
Divide batter into two portions, sift in matcha powder to one and mix well.
Fold half of the meringue into the plain batter and the other half into the matcha batter.
Spoon a layer of the plain batter into the loaf pan and level it. Evenly sift a thin layer of cocoa powder on top. Gently add a layer of matcha batter on top of the cocoa powder. Repeat till batter is used up. Do not sift cocoa powder on the top layer. (I made 4 layers with mine but you can try to do 5 if you have very steady hands.)
Bake for 35-40 mins or till tested done with a skewer.
Cool cake in pan for 15 mins then remove and allow to cool completely on a rack before slicing and serving.
I'll take another slice of that!