Matcha cake with strawberry and cream for 18th blog anniversary

It has been busy but not too busy for cake!  Every year I share a cake for my blog anniversary on this day.  I posted the first post on my Green Gourmet Giraffe blog 18 years ago today.  This year we had a matcha layer cake with strawberry chia jam and whipped cream filling.  It was like a hipster version of Victoria Sponge Cake.  It is a fine way to celebrate my blog with some of what I have learnt over the years.

The cake was a compromise.  We considered a matcha forest cake, a chocolate cheesecake with a miso swirl, a fairy sprinkles cake, Sylvia Plath's tomato soup cake.  In the end we went simple with some of the elements we wanted in a cake.  I wanted to try a vanilla version of my favourite vegan wacky chocolate cake.  Sylvia wanted to add matcha and cover the cake with frosting and sprinkles.  We went with some strawberry chia jam because we love it and whipped cream because there was leftovers from covering a pavlova my mu made for Sylvia.  I tinkered with the whipped cream and added some yoghurt and maple syrup rather than just adding a icing sugar that my mum always does.  It was a fun project.

We agreed to do it as a layer cake.  Keeping layers together is always a challenge for me.  They always look like they should to sit on top of each other but I have made some that like to slide.  Cream and jam can be challenging.  (And they took a vegan cake back into the world of dairy.)  The first thing to do is to try and cut the cake evenly.  So I measured at points around the cake and stuck skewers in there.  (Later I thought perhaps toothpicks would have been better.)  It worked.  Mostly. 

I didn't know how much jam and cream to put in the filling.  So I was generous and when I cut the cake the ooze was generous.  The cake was pretty messy but it tasted really good.  Sometimes I think I am not getting neater but I am learning ways to make it look better.  There are some mistakes I make over and over.  When I read an American recipe that says baking soda, I still often think it means baking powder.  It usually works ok but bicarb and vinegar are more fun to see fizzing together when they meet in the mixing bowl.

I preferred the cake with just a scattering of icing sugar on top but Sylvia wanted the frosting and sprinkles.  It was a  easy cake for a busy time.  It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of four big weekends: Easter, ANZAC day, the Federal election and Mothers Day.  It seems that as soon as we get over one weekend another one looms large.  A bit like life: constant change with no sooner is one situation dealt with than there is another to confront.

When I first started blogging 18 years ago I never thought I would be still be at it so many years on despite how much has changed in the online world and my world.  At the end of each year I reflect on my blog and my life - you can read about the last year on my Reflections 2024.  Meanwhile I will continue on this journey with more good food and fun adventures.  Thanks to everyone who has shared food with me, took the time to comment and inspired me to make great food!

More layer cake recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:

• Butterscotch layer cake 
• Creme Egg chocolate drizzle cake 
• Floating malteser cake with fudgy buttercream frosting
• Vegan chocolate (layer) cake (v)  
• Victoria sponge layer cake
• Zucchini layer cake with cream cheese frosting (gf, v)
  
  

Matcha cake with cream and strawberry chia jam
Adapted from The Big Man's World
Makes 1 x 20cm cake or a 2 layer 15cm cake

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
2 tbsp matcha powder
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water

To serve (optional):
Strawberry chia jam
Whipped cream
Frosting
Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 C.  Grease and line a 15cm high walled round cake tin or a 20cm cake tin.  (The smaller tin gives an option for a layer cake.

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined.  The batter should be quite thin.  Scrape into the prepared cake tin.  Bake 30-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  (I baked mine 50 minutes but my oven bakes slow.)

Cool cake on a wire rack.  You can it it plain or decorate with cream, jam and icing sugar as in the below options:

Option 1: If you have a 20cm cake spread the top with strawberry chia jam and whipped cream.

Option 2: If you have a 15cm cake, slice in half and spread the bottom half with strawberry chia jam and whipped cream, then place the top half on top.  Sieve some icing sugar on top.

Option 3: If you wish to frost, do Option 2 and instead of sieving icing sugar on top spread the top of the cake with frosting.

Strawberry chia jam:
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

250g (about 1 cups) strawberries
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp chia seeds

Hull strawberries (ie slice off green leafy tops).  Chop finely by hand or in a food processor.  Mix berries, maple syrup and chia seeds in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until it is just thickened, stirring occasionally.  It will thicken as it cools.  Keeps in the fridge in a jar or tub for about a week.

Whipped cream:
Inspired by Serious Eats

6 tbsp thickened cream
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp maple syrup

Beat all ingredients in a small mixing bowl until thickened and holds its shape when you run the beaters or a spoon through the mixture.  (I used electric beaters but a whisk can do it too if you have the energy.) 

Frosting:
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

75g butter
150g icing sugar

Beat butter in a small mixing bowl until pale and creamy.  Gradually add the icing sugar until it is all beaten in.  It was quite a soft icing but worked fine.

Variation:
The cake can be made as a vegan Victorian Sponge Cake if you use regular jam and buttercream (with vegan butter) between the layers.  It is even possible to make the sponge without the matcha.

On the Stereo:
The Purple Bird: Bonnie Prince Billy