Green Tea Pound Cake

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

A pound cake is a classic cake whose name derives from its basic ingredients: a pound each of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs. Here the pound cake formula is roughly cut in half to make one nice-size loaf, and a few extra ingredients are added to increase flavor and lighten the texture. Don’t you smell the aroma of green tea in the oven? Ah the lovely flavor of black sesame seeds.

Ingredients list for Green Tea Pound Cake

Serves 6

• 2 cups (200 g) flour + 1 tbsp for molds
• 1 1/4 tbsp (14g) baking powder
• 2 pinches of salt
• A good tablespoon of matcha green tea
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup (180 g) sugar
• 7 oz (200 g) butter
• 2 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Green Tea Pound Cake Preparation:

Preheat oven to 320°F (160°C).
Grease and flour small kugelhopf pans.

Melt the butter over low heat and set aside.

Preparing the dough:

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and powdered green tea.

Separate the eggs whites from the yolks. Beat them with the sugar until the mixture is foamy and pale.
Add the flour, green tea, in the eggs mixture.
Add the melted butter and 1 tbsp black sesame seeds.
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, then stir gently in several steps.

Dressage:

Fill the molds three-quarters height, that’s enough – Beware that if you put too many, it may overflow and will not be pretty.

Sprinkle the rest of black sesame seeds and cook for 20 or even 25 min depending on size of molds.

5 Ways to Vary Green Tea pound cake

Combine any of these ideas. One of my favorites is almond flour with orange zest; lemon with poppy seeds is classic.

1. Real vanilla: Use a vanilla bean in place of the vanilla extract
2. Lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit: Add 1 teaspoon grated or minced citrus zest and 1 tablespoon citrus juice. Omit the vanilla extract.
3. Spices: Add a teaspoon of ground spices, like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, or cloves.
4. Poppy and other seeds: Add 1/4 cup poppy seeds.
5. Crystallized ginger: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger.

Tips:

It’s worth using cake flour here for extra tenderness.
This Green Tea pound cake is wonderful finished with Orange Glaze, Ginger-Marmalade Glaze, or served with Fruit Sauce.
If you have dough left, you can make mini-Pound Cake with smaller conventional molds.

You’ll find many kind of kugelhoft pans on Amazon.com:

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Kugelhopf Bundt Pan

The heavy walled pans provide superior baking which allows baked goods to rise evenly, cook uniformly, have fine details and delicious golden crusts. 

$35,87 via Amazon.comVisit store →

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com