It's been over a month since Ken Hsu brought books back from Taipei. I've only just started browsing 《東京麵包屋: 職人嚴選60款日式手感私家麵包》and the first recipe that caught my eye is the Matcha Pound Cake (page 162). I had asked Maki whether she could buy some matcha powder from Japan. She did so, picking a matcha that was meant specially for baking. I'm holding the cup next to the window so you can check out its gorgeous shade of emerald.
The recipe makes three 8 x 15.5cm cakes. The smallest tins I own measure 8.5 x 17cm. As a result my cakes didn't achieve the height I was expecting. Frankly, I didn't think they looked appealing. The tops were a dull brown and I felt that the emerald hardly came through.
I gingerly cut into one and it was velvety. My father bit into a still-warm slice, grinned and said the texture was light and that he loved the crust. My mother pointed out that the insides has many tiny holes. I wonder if holes are a good thing?
I brough the cake to work and left it at the usual "sharing" table in the centre of the office. At the end of the day, a coworker approached me in the pantry, "Were you the one who brought in the matcha cake? I'm a huge matcha fan and your cake is gorgeous!"
