GROAAAANNN. I did it. I heeded the siren calls of my oven, made a mess in my kitchen and despite wanting to stab something every time I spotted a new renegade flour spot on the table, I have to confess I want to do it all over again. Fine, you got me: it is pretty damn satisfying getting a beautifully risen loaf out of the oven, smoothing nutella over the first slice and welcoming it in your tummy.

Apart from having a room door strategically located in front of the oven (BAKECEPTION thoughts being planted in my subconscious everyday smh), there was one other catalyst that spurred me to embrace the rolling pin: a forgotten canister of matcha buried behind my tea collection. Drinking matcha in the morning used to be quite the breakfast ritual for me but this year I’ve ditched the green tea for its more hipster cousin, the spicy chai HAHA! Soy milk chai lattes are amazing btw, especially made with this soy milk I found in the super last week. I used to love soy milk as a kid but got sick of its cloying sweetness….a bit much coming from a girl with a terrible bubble tea fixation LOL. Anyway, that soy milk I’m drinking now has a thicker consistency and is sweetened with barley and pear juice. It’s even got kombu in it Really good stuff, I hope you guys can find it in Singapore!

Having tea with a slice of cake is a better mood lifter than drinking tea by itself (tho drinking tea alone is better for skinny jeans but I have since moved on to chinos so fork that) so I wanted to bake something that was slightly crumbly and light. I found this matcha tea cake on Spoonful and almost every ingredient in the recipe I had in the pantry so ++ points for frugality! Except I didn’t have baking soda and had to lug back half a kilo’s worth because that was the smallest size they had .____. Half a kilo……when I only needed one teaspoon GDI. Yes, I did think of breaking the packet open and stealing a teaspoon’s worth but ultimately, I am a god-fearing Muslim! (yes, really). Also this means I should bake more to get my money’s worth, oui?

A few changes I made to Spoonful’s recipe: again, like my truffles, I used Splenda instead of white sugar and instead of setting aside 1/3 of the batter to mix with the matcha, I increased this and used half the batter instead for a stronger tea flavour. You know I love my green tea so I upped the matcha measurements by er..a lot. I didn’t take any precise measurements but I was very generous: I just heaped it on and stirred until it became a shade of green I liked HAHAHA 8D Also if it’s your first time doing a marble cake like me, don’t worry about the marbling so much. My marbling didn’t turn out as pretty as Spoonful’s but I suppose one gets better with practice? Otherwise, temporarily shut the perfectionist in the laundry room and repeat to self, “AS LONG AS CAN SEE, CAN LIAO” (translated in standard English for readers outside Singapore: as long as you can see it, it’s good to go).

Matcha Tea Scented Loaf
adapted from Spoonful

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup Splenda
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons matcha powder or more, if you’re matcha-obsessed like me
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

2. Butter a loaf pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper that covers bottom and long sides (leave some poking up from the pan to facilitate lifting the loaf out later). Butter the parchment paper.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.

4. Portion out 1/2 of the batter into a small bowl. Mix in matcha powder, stirring well to combine.

5. Spread 1/4 of the plain batter into prepared pan. Use a small offset spatula to ensure an even, flat layer. Dollop with 1/4 of matcha batter and use a spatula to gently spread the matcha layer on the top of the other. Spread another fourth of the plain batter on top, followed by another fourth of the matcha batter. Repeat one more time so that the final layer is the rest of the matcha batter. Run a thin knife through batter to marbleize. Run spatula over top to ensure the batter is flat in the end.

6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire cooking rack for a few minutes. Lift cake out by the parchment handles and allow to cool completely on rack.

K no more food entries until I write a beauty one LOL, thanks for reading guys! x

p.s I almost died taking that second photo (I had to stand on a very high chair), so please appreciate it more now that you know my neck nearly got snapped in half. WE MUST DIE FOR ART, or I should really get a damn tripod.

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