teacakes

                           "It has been said that tea is suggestive of a thousand wants,
                                    from which spring the decencies and luxuries  of civilization"
                                                                                                                   Agnes Repplier

Tea is a seemingly simple beverage, just water and leaves, yet look deeper and you will find that it is steeped in legend, ritual, history, geography, religion, and politics. Once available only to emperors and kings, it can now be found in the humblest of pantries around the world.
What you may not know about tea is that white, green, oolong and black teas all come from the same plant, Camellia Senesis. The difference lies in the stage at which the leaves are harvested, and in the way that they are processed. The simplest form being white tea, which is harvested from young buds before they open and quickly dried before oxidation can take place. The most complex (and rarest) is the pu-erh, which is allowed to oxidize, then fermented in a process similar to composting for up to a year, then compressed and aged further. One international hotel lists a 1949 Vintage Cave-aged pu-erh on its tea menu at $90 a cup and a 1985 Royal Reserve (that was hand carried out of China after a 5 year negotiation) at $300 a cup! Who knew?

matcha genoise
A genoise, or sponge cake, contains no leavening. Instead, it gets its lightness from whipped eggs. Because it contains no fat in the form of butter or oil, it tends to be dry, which can be corrected by soaking it with a simple syrup. I’ve found that the addition of a small amount of gelatin in the syrup helps it cling to the cake, producing a moist instead of wet texture. Matcha, which is the powdered form of green tea, blends in very nicely with the dry ingredients, lending the cake its vibrant green color and  characteristic grassy flavor.

matcha genoise
orange flower syrup
honey ginger buttercream
meyer lemon ice cream
honeycomb candy

   
    matcha genoise
    1/3 cup sifted cake flour
    3 Tblsps cornstarch
    2 Tblsps matcha
    2 whole eggs
    3 egg yolks
    2 egg whites
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/4 tsp cream of tartar

    syrup
    2 Tblsps sugar
    1/4 cup water
    1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
    1/8 tsp orange flower water

cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9" cake pan.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and matcha. In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs, the yolks, and the sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until thick, fluffy, and about tripled in volume. Sift half of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold in with a spatula. Repeat with the remainder of the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites just until foamy. Sprinkle on the cream of tartar and continue whipping to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the batter, then pour into prepared cake pan and level off the top. Place in the oven immediately and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed, or a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out of pan to finish cooling.
syrup: Place sugar and water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and allow to soften for 3 minutes. Whisk the gelatin into the mixture an place over medium high heat until it comes to a full, rolling boil, and the gelatin and sugar are dissolved. Cover tightly and remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature and stir in the orange flower water. Brush or spoon the syrup over the cake.

rooibos butter cake
Rooibos is considered a tisane, or herbal tea, as it comes from red bush, Aspalanthus linearis, indigenous to South Africa, and not Camillia Senensis. It contains no caffeine, and has a naturally sweet cream and vanilla flavor with hints of sun- baked hay. For the color and flavor to permeate this cake, it will need to be finely ground (I use a coffee grinder), then steeped in hot water. Butter cake, as the name implies, gets its moisture and richness from butter, as well as eggs and sugar. In this recipe, I’ve used honey and brown sugar to enhance the flavor of the rooibos. The acidic buttermilk reacts with the alkaline baking soda to give the cake its lift, while the protein in the eggs and gluten in the flour give it structure.

rooibos butter cake
creamsicle marble
mango
tangerine caramel

    rooibos butter cake
    1/4 cup finely ground rooibos
    1 1/4 cups hot water
    2 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
    1 1/4 cup muscovado or brown sugar
    2 tsp baking soda
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 cup honey
    1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
    2 eggs
    1 egg yolk
    1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9" cake pan.  Place the rooibos in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Stir well and allow to steep for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. To the steeped rooibos, add the honey, the butter, and the eggs. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat, using the remainder of flour mixture and milk. Beat for 2 minutes more to aerate. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed, or a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out of pan to finish cooling.

chai financier
Chai is black tea to which spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and black pepper have been added. Financier is moister and denser than genoise or butter cake. Egg whites are used here because they contain more water than the yolks, yet have the same stabilizing protein. Finely ground almonds and browned butter add flavor and texture. Because the eggs and butter are used in liquid form, instead of whipped and creamed,there is less air in this cake, which contributes to it’s density, but also lowers it’s risk of oxidation. This means that the batter can be held in the refrigerator for up to a week (in fact, it improves upon standing) and is ready to be baked on a whim.

chai financier
kala jeera rice pudding
persimon "yolk"
brown butter powder

   

    chai financier
    3 oz. blanched almonds
    1/2 cup plus 2 Tblsps sugar
    1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsps cake flour
    1 1/2 Tblsps finely ground chai
    1/4  tsp salt
    4 egg whites
    1/2 cup warm browned butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8" cake pan. Place the almonds and 2 Tblsps of the sugar in a food processor and process in short pulses until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining sugar, cake flour, chai and salt and stir until blended. Add the egg whites and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour in the butter and beat for 2 minutes more. Let stand for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 week in the refrigerator (in which case, the batter should be brought to room temperature and stirred before proceeding). Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out of pan to finish cooling.