This Christmas wreath cake is partly made using some Japanese traditional ingredients, which are kinako (roasted soy bean flour) for the cake, and matcha for frosting! With a cute look, it's great for the festive season.
Kinako has a warm, nutty flavor similar to that of peanuts. It's a versatile ingredient and good for baking, too. It adds a lovely yellowish brown color to the cake.
Read more about kinako(roasted soy bean flour) here.
Matcha is also a key ingredient for this cake. The beautiful green color of matcha will remind you of the evergreen leaves in the a Christmas wreath which are an important symbol at Christmas.
As well as the beautiful color, the flavor and the slight bitterness are perfect for the frosting on this cake. A high-quality and fresh matcha ,soon after grinding, makes a huge difference to the flavor, so I recommend using a superior one.
Matcha used for this recipe.
Yunomi Matcha YMC06: Premium Culinary Grade Matcha (Spring Harvest)
Read about matcha from here. What is matcha, Matcha products
Wreath Cake with Matcha and Kinako Recipe
Ingredients
[ For ring cake tin 18cm(7'') ]
For the cake
- 100g / 3.5oz soft unsalted butter
- 100g / 3.5oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60g / 2oz wheat flour
- 30g / 1oz kinako (roasted soy bean flour)
- 20g / 0.7oz almond powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp rum
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the matcha cream
- 100g / 3.5oz double cream (heavy cream)
- 30g / 1oz white chocolate, chopped
- 2tsp matcha
For decorating
- berries (strawberries used for this recipe)
- sliced almonds
- chocolates
- icing sugar
Instructions
- To make the cake, preheat the oven to 180
°C/ 350F. Grease the tin with some butter and line with flour. - Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs.
- Add almond powder, kinako, pinch of salt and rum into the bowl, and mix well. Sift the wheat flour and the baking powder onto the mixture and gently fold in with a spatula.
- Spread the cake mixture in the tin, and bake the cake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer poked into the middle comes out without any mixture sticking to it. Remove the cake from the tin and leave it cool.
- To make the matcha cream, place the chopped chocolate into a mixing bowl. Put the bowl into warm water (55
°C/130F), and stir to melt. Sprinkle in the matcha and stir well, then add the double cream in dividing 3 or 4 portions stirring well between each addition. Cool in the fridge until it becomes easy to pour. - To decorate, spoon the matcha cream over the top of cake. Wait for a moment until the frosting becomes hard enough to decorate. Garnish with berries, sliced almonds and chocolates. Sprinkle icing sugar on top, to taste.
Enjoy embellishing with your favorite decorations. Have a lovely holiday with this cake!
Today's Recommendations
kinako( roasted soy bean flour)
Kyo no Kanbutsuya: Kinako (Hokkaido-grown soybeans), Kyo no Kanbutsuya
matcha
Yunomi Matcha YMC06: Premium Culinary Grade Matcha (Spring Harvest)
This matcha is meant for use in making lattes, ice cream, and also baking. The consistency of the matcha is ceremonial level fine grain, making the texture of your drink very smooth, and the color is better than most culinary grade matcha (green but duller than ceremonial grade).
Other culinary grade matcha is from here.
Ceremonial grade matcha is from here.
Christmas Recipes
Hojicha Spiced Biscuits Recipe
No-Bake Matcha Christmas Tree Recipe
Natural-Flavored Christmas Candy(Kohakuto) Recipe
