Taiwanese matcha sponge cakes are moist, spongy and cakey all at the same time. I’ve made chiffon cake, Japanese souffle cheesecakes and sponge cakes before in the past but one of the most memorable sponge cakes I’ve ever had is the ones I had when I was living in Taiwan.
Something interesting was they made a savory version of them by putting meat floss and cheese in the middle. I know it sounds strange but it was actually a really amazing sweet and salty combination.
Now I wasn’t that adventurous when I was making this batch so I decided to make a Taiwanese matcha sponge cake. But perhaps next time I will make a savoury version because this recipe was such a success!
Taiwanese matcha sponge cake recipe
Ingredients:
50 g vegetable oil
5 Egg yolks
1 whole egg
70 g cake flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon matcha powder
5 Egg whites
80 g granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional to help stabilize egg whites)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 325F
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil, milk, and whole egg together. The mixture should be pale in colour. Then sift in the flour and matcha powder. Mix until combined. It should be quite liquidy.
3. In a separate bowl, use an electric beater to whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar to help the egg whites stabilize. Continue whisking and slowly add in the sugar until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold the meringue (egg white mixture) into egg yolks batter 1/3 at a time. Your batter should be smooth and well incorporated.
4. Pour the cake batter into a lined 8″ baking pan. Place the filled baking pan onto a baking sheet and pour some water onto the baking sheet so that you can bake the cake in a water bath.
5. Bake the cake in the water bath for 20 minutes at 325 F before reducing the temperature to 300 F and continue to bake for another hour. Poke a toothpick into the middle of the cake to check if it is done, if it comes out clean it is ready.
6. Remove from oven and drop the pan from a height a couple of times to prevent the cake from shrinking. Remove the cake and allow it to cool before slicing.
What’s your favorite kind of cake? Let me know so I know what to make next!