matcha cake >>> coffee cake
accompanied by a detailed apple ranking that no one asked for
Hello everyone!
I hope you’ve all had a good start to your 2024! To begin, I wanted to acknowledge and thank you all for the support I’ve gotten since starting my newsletter. Yippee!! It’s kept me motivated to keep posting and as long as you’re all still subscribed, you’re my captive little audience <3
Today, you will be subjected to the trials and tribulations of my most recent bake, a very unnecessary ranking list for every apple variety I ate this fall/winter season, and a few other side quests I’ve embarked on. Strap in!
We’ll begin with a little story. My origin story, to be exact, the details of which directly tie into this most recent bake.
There are two things you should know about me. First, I am a simple creature with simple pleasures. A morning routine including a fun caffeinated beverage plays into that. As a barista, I habitually relish the making of my morning matcha that will carry me through a shift. I have become a caffeine-convert and this simple creature needs her daily drinky to get by. Second, I am a creature of habit. Once I discover my liking for something, I stick to it and rarely stray. This is especially true for my daily drinky.
Now, I keep specifying them as “caffeinated beverages” because I tend to drink coffee only on occasion. I find myself particularly sensitive to espresso and its tendency to upset my stomach and make me wired. As such, my caffeinated beverage of choice is matcha, with its far superior caffeine high.
Your typical café will have a variety of milks to choose from and at mine, pistachio milk was invariably in the mix. As a matter of novelty, a pistachio milk matcha became my drink of choice. Coupled with my obsessive tendencies, I soon was consuming the drink every single day and from there PistachioMilkMatcha, all one word, was born.
One fateful day, I was presented with the opportunity to get in touch with the team at Taché, the one-and-only pistachio milk brand, and I jumped at the offer. No first collab would be better suited than with the brand responsible for the conception of my account itself. They very kindly sent me a package of milk and with them, I was inspired to bake a cake to compliment the flavors of my go-to morning drink.
This winter, my morning drink evolved somewhat. Something about the weather being below 50° on average makes my body crave chocolate, so I’ve been adding a scoop of mocha powder to my matcha. Matcha and chocolate is such a go-to pairing for me that I knew I wanted to make a chocolate cake. And after seeing all the seasonal citrus in the store, I thought a chocolate-orange snack cake would be perfect. Instead of coffee cake, think matcha cake. This brings me to my first side project.
Side quest #1: Candied Calamansi
I bought some calamondins/calamansi on a whim (I tend to buy frivolous ingredients when I’m bored) to candy at home. The result was these crystalline, jewel-like rings that altogether looked like orange marmalade. You can see one of the individual slices pressed against the glass of the jar :)
I had quite a few offcuts and end bits that weren’t fit for the candying process, so they were incorporated into the cake recipe. I was so excited and intrigued by these little fruits and how you can just eat them whole! Not to mention their zingy flavor, which I thought would be a nice twist on the classic pairing of chocolate and orange.
Onto the cake. I’ve typed up the recipe and instructions into a Google doc that I’ve linked here for your convenience.
A thing to note - make sure you use the recommended cake pan and don’t try to downsize. Doing so will result in the crumb sinking and pushing cake batter out of the sides of your pan and all over your oven. I learned this the hard way </3 The calamansi was really wonderful when paired with the chocolate and I’d love to revisit it as an ingredient at some later date. I’m so excited to incorporate those candied slices into something; I think they’d make great cake decorations.
Now onto the rest of my side quests. I’ve embarked on a few as of late.
Side quest #2: Notes App Apple Ranking
I have very unnecessarily described and ranked every apple variety that I’ve consumed this past fall/winter season.
I am actively mourning the end of apple season as I type this. They’ve gotten noticeably smaller and less tasty as time goes on, and I’m frightened at the thought of them disappearing from the farmer’s market. But I am very excited for the spring and summer produce that will take their place.
Side quest #3: Salt-Cured Egg Yolks
I had gobs and gobs from the buttercream I made for my almond cake and I couldn’t bear eating another yolk-only omelette. I cured them in kosher salt for two weeks, wrapped them in cheesecloth, and then hung them to air dry in my fridge for two more. I think they look like little gemstones, very reminiscent of the candied calamansi, actually! That orange color is my absolute favorite and I’m excited to work these into future bakes. (Salt-cured egg yolk buttercream, anyone?)
Side quest #4: Sourdough.
These are my first-ever sourdough loaves. They turned out just as I expected, which is to say very mediocre, but I’m glad to be embarking on this journey! I definitely have a lot to learn with a bulk of it being in the patience department. I diagnose these with having been under-fermented and poorly shaped. I could also probably tweak the cooking times and temperatures as well. I will most likely make another attempt soon, which I’ll probably update here.
Phew! As you can see, lots of learning, failing, and experimenting. More than anything, it feels good to have all my recent projects down in some tangible space. I’ll admit that I’ve struggled over the past couple of weeks to feel creative and productive, bit these smaller projects keep me satisfied between the larger ones.
You will hopefully be hearing from me again around Valentine’s Day, as I’ve begun some serious concocting that I will soon be sharing with you. Until then, thank you for joining me and have a wonderful day!
xoxoxosami