Hojicha Roll Cake Recipe

Can you see what this is?

 

 

This is Hojicha powder.

Hojicha powder is finely ground Hojicha leaves. It is superfine and smooth like Matcha. You can make a cup of tea if you add hot water. So, Hojicha powder is handy to make a cup of tea.

But, to be honest, I would like to recommend you to use Hojicha tea leaves (loose tea), not powder if you want to make Hojicha tea. I think we can enjoy nicer Hojicha experiences with loose tea.

Well, how can we make the most of Hojicha powder, then?

 

I feel Hojicha powder has got more roasting aroma, some bitterness, and less astringency than loose tea. As for this feature, Hojicha powder is suitable for transforming into both sweet and savory recipes such as Hojicha latte, cookies and biscuits.

 

This is Hojicha latte.

 

 

Hojicha Latte is made with Hojicha powder, milk and sugar, but it would be nice to put cinnamon, ginger and cloves in it, too! 

 

By the way, I love baking and I've got Hojicha powder.

So, why don't I make some special Hojicha sweets?

 

Which sweets I can make for my first Hojicha recipe…. I might get a nice idea from my baking the other day. I baked Coffee Swiss roll cake with instant coffee powder. I think instant coffee powder has similar features to Hojicha powder such as aroma and bitterness. So Hojicha powder should be suitable to make a Swiss roll cake. I started experimenting with Hojicha Swiss roll cake by trying a few different recipes. This is the best one. Simple ingredients, not difficult to make it.

 

 

Preparation time : 5 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

 

Ingredients 

For the sponge (baking tray 30cmx30cm/ 12in x 12in) 

• 3 eggs
• 70g light brown sugar (although any sugar is fine)
• 1 tbsp oil (any oil, except for one with a strong flavor like olive oil)
• 50g plain flour
• Hojicha liquid (mixture of 2 tbsp boiling water and 1 tbsp Hojicha powder)

  

(Hojicha Liquid) 

 

For the filling

Any cream as you like. I made whipped cream with 

• 200 ml fresh cream
• 40g light brown sugar

 

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 190℃/374F. Line baking tray with parchment paper.
• Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Put the bowl of egg whites into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
• You will need two mixing bowls. One is for the egg whites, one is for flour mixture.

  

Instructions

1. In the bowl, mix half the sugar (35g) and the egg yolks lightly with a whisk. Add the oil and Hojicha liquid mixing each time to combine. 
2. Sift plain flour and mix to the mixture of 1 to combine well, set aside.
3. Get the bowl of the egg whites from the freezer, beat them until frothy. Add the rest of sugar(35g) in 2 additions and mix well to a hard foam.
   
   Now we have two bowls like below. One is the dark flour mixture(2) and one with the foam(3).
   
4. Fold a third of the egg whites into the flour mixture, mix quickly with a spatula to combine. Repeat 2 times until all the egg whites have been added.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and evenly spread. Bake for 12 minutes.
    
6. Remove the cake from the tray and leave on a net to let cool.
7. Whip cream and sugar together until it makes a firm foam.
8. Spread whipped cream on the sponge and roll it. Let it cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

 

 

 

  

It's done!!

Relax with a slice of cake and a nice cup of tea or coffee !!  

 

 

Does the color of the sponge make you feel it is autumn? The sponge has a slightly bitter taste. It goes well with the sweet whipped cream!

 

I will make Hojicha whipped cream for the next Hojicha powder experiment !!  It could be tasty if you spread it on the Hojicha sponge.

 

I am happy if you share my new experience with Hojicha powder. 

Enjoy autumn with Hojicha ! 

Zenkouen: Zenkouen Tea Garden's Marugoto Series Hojicha Powder - This powder is grown by the Masuda family. They value natural harmony(自然の和) when growing their tea, and grow their tea without the use of pesticide or synthetic fertilizers.