Japanese matcha pancake cake

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 3 hr

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make matcha pancake cake? Start by making green pancakes with matcha tea powder. Take eggs of the first category, not very large, but not very small either. Milk and eggs should be at room temperature, so remove them from the refrigerator in advance.

2. STEP 2

   

   Melt the butter and cool slightly.

3. STEP 3

   

   Beat eggs with milk until fluffy.

4. STEP 4

   

   Pour the warm melted butter into the eggs, stirring constantly.

5. STEP 5

   

   Separately sift the flour, matcha powder, caster sugar and vanilla and mix.

6. STEP 6

   

   Gradually add the tea-flour mixture into the beaten eggs.

7. STEP 7

   

   Knead the liquid homogeneous dough. If the dough seems too liquid, do not rush to add more flour to it; gradually the gluten in the flour will swell and the dough will become thicker.

8. STEP 8

   

   Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. As it cools, the dough will gradually thicken. If your dough is too thick, you can dilute it with cold milk, adding 2-3 tbsp. l. to the desired consistency.

9. STEP 9

   

   Heat the frying pan over medium heat (I have a setting of 5 out of 9) and grease it with butter. I specially melted a piece in advance so that there would be enough for all the pancakes. Pour some batter into the pan and fry the pancake for about 1 minute on each side.

10. STEP 10

    

    Place the finished pancake on a plate and bake all the other pancakes, greasing the pan with butter each time. This way the pancakes will turn out soft and tender. I have a frying pan with a diameter of 18 cm, so I got 16 pancakes.

11. STEP 11

    

    Trim the edges of the pancakes using a plate or cooking ring.

12. STEP 12

    

    Prepare the necessary ingredients for the cream.

13. STEP 13

    

    Heat the milk over low heat. Do not bring to a boil. It is better that the milk is on the border between warm and hot.

14. STEP 14

    

    Grind the yolks with vanilla sugar and powdered sugar until smooth.

15. STEP 15

    

    Add sifted flour and mix well.

16. STEP 16

    

    Gradually pour in warm milk and mix the mixture well until smooth. If you pour in boiling milk, the yolks may curl (especially for novice housewives), and your cream will flake and be spoiled. You will have to do it all over again. Warm milk will ensure the mixture is smooth and homogeneous. If you still have flour lumps in the cream, you can rub the mixture through a fine sieve. I didn't have any lumps, so I didn't need a sieve.

17. STEP 17

    

    Pour the egg-milk mixture into a saucepan and place over medium heat.

18. STEP 18

    

    Cook the cream with constant stirring until it thickens. Remove the finished cream from the heat and, if desired, beat with a mixer for about 2-3 minutes. I didn’t do this because I stirred the cream very intensively during cooking, and it already turned out airy.

19. STEP 19

    

    Cover the cream with cling film “in contact” and place in the refrigerator to cool.

20. STEP 20

    

    Soak the gelatin in 50 ml of cold water and leave to swell.

21. STEP 21

    

    Then dissolve the swollen gelatin over low heat or in the microwave.

22. STEP 22

    

    Whipping cream must be well chilled, so remove it from the refrigerator immediately before whipping. Beat the cold cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Continuing to beat, pour in the dissolved gelatin. Whip the cream until thick.

23. STEP 23

    

    Add the cooled custard into the whipped cream in parts, stirring with a spatula from top to bottom.

24. STEP 24

    

    The finished cream should be of medium density and not runny. When spreading the cream on the pancake, the cream should not spread.

25. STEP 25

    

    If the consistency of the cream turns out to be a little thin, this can be corrected. You need to cover the bowl with the cream with cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. During this time, the gelatin in the cream will begin to harden and the cream will thicken.

26. STEP 26

    

    Assemble the cake by stacking the pancakes on top of each other and coating each one with the creamy custard.

27. STEP 27

    

    Grease the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours to cool the cream.

28. STEP 28

    

    Before serving, use a stencil to decorate the cake with a pattern of matcha powder. This should be done immediately before serving, since some time after application the matcha powder will begin to get wet. Cut the cake into pieces and serve. Bon appetit!