Lucie Franc de Ferriere's Matcha White Chocolate Mini Cakes
The baker and From Lucie owner shares a recipe from her debut cookbook, "Cake From Lucie"
I first discovered matcha when I moved to New York City and worked in the art world. Initially, I ordered matcha lattes just to fit in, even though I thought they tasted like hay. Six years later, I have one every single day. My love for matcha grew even more when I started putting it in my baked goods, and I adore the matcha and white chocolate combo in these two-layer mini cakes. For a more brightly colored green sponge, I recommend using a ceremonial grade matcha versus a culinary grade matcha. It’s also important to use high-quality white chocolate and avoid white chocolate chips. Guittard is my favorite brand. French buttercream can be a little scary at first. It gets soupy and can look like it’s curdling when you add the butter. Keep beating it, and you’ll end up with a silky and not too sweet white chocolate buttercream—it will all be worth it.
—Lucie Franc de Ferriere
Don’t miss Lucie’s book, out 4/14!
Ingredients
Makes eight 3-inch/7.5 centimeters two-layer mini cakes
Canola oil spray or canola oil, for the pans
2¼ cups/315 grams all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon matcha powder, preferably ceremonial grade
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks/226 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
2¼ cups/450 grams sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup/240 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
For the White Chocolate Matcha French Buttercream:
Distilled white vinegar
12¼ ounces/350 grams white chocolate, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons matcha powder, preferably ceremonial grade
1 cup/200 grams sugar
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
5 sticks/565 grams unsalted butter, at cool room temperature and cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Whole fresh cherries with stems, for decorating
Catch Lucie on the latest Radio Cherry Bombe!
Method
For the Matcha Mini Cakes: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Spray or brush the sides of eight 3-inch/7.5 centimeters round mini cake pans with canola oil, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, matcha powder, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Add the salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter on medium-high speed until pale and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add the sugar and beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat, scraping the bowl before each addition and again at the end, until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for about 30 seconds to incorporate. Scrape the bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk in two batches and scraping the bowl before each addition. Mix just until there are no streaks. Do not overmix!
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, filling each one just slightly more than halfway. Tap the pans on the counter to even out the batter, then arrange on a baking sheet.
Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and spring back when lightly pressed, and a skewer inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Jiggle the pans upside down to release the cakes. Remove the parchment paper. Flip the cakes so they are right-side up on the rack. Let cool completely.
For the White Chocolate Matcha French Buttercream, use a paper towel and about ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar to wipe all over the surface of a large heatproof bowl, making sure there aren’t any traces of liquid or fat.
Fill a medium saucepan with about 1 inch/2.5 centimeters of water and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. In the clean heatproof bowl, combine the white chocolate and matcha powder (use more matcha for a deeper green color), then set the bowl over the pan of simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Warm the white chocolate, stirring occasionally, to incorporate the matcha, until melted and evenly green. Remove the bowl from the pan (careful—it will be warm!) and use a clean kitchen towel to carefully wipe any condensation from the bottom of the bowl. Set aside to cool.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons water and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cook until it becomes a syrup and registers 245°F/118°C on an instant-read thermometer. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 245°F/118°C, remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whip the whole eggs and egg yolks on medium-high speed until thick and foamy, about 2 minutes. The mixture will be pale yellow and have bubbles.
Turn the mixer to medium-low speed. Slowly and carefully pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl—the bowl will get very hot. Once all the sugar syrup is added, whip on high speed until the bowl returns to room temperature, 6 to 8 minutes. On medium-high speed, gradually start adding half of the butter, one piece at a time, making sure each piece of butter is fully incorporated before adding the next. Switch to the paddle, then continue adding the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until silky and slightly fluffy, 6 to 8 minutes. The buttercream may look soupy or curdled at some point but keep beating and it will come back together. Scrape the bowl, then add the cooled matcha white chocolate mixture and the salt and beat until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl and beat for 20 seconds more.
To assemble: Once the cakes are completely cool, using a serrated knife, carefully trim the tops. Carefully cut each cake horizontally in half to create two layers. Place the cake bottoms, flat sides down, on a cake board or serving plate.
Put about 2 cups/410 grams of buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip with a ¼-inch/6 millimeter or similar diameter.
Holding the pastry tip about 1 inch/2.5 centimeters above a cake bottom and starting from the edge, pipe a rounded ring of buttercream around the perimeter. Pipe a dollop of buttercream in the center, then use a small offset spatula to gently spread the buttercream so it covers the middle of the cake, while leaving the buttercream ring intact. Repeat to top the remaining seven cake bottoms.
Carefully place the cake tops, flat-sides up, on top, then gently wiggle them into the buttercream. Add more buttercream to the piping bag as needed. Starting with the pastry tip on the bottom edge of a mini cake and working your way up, pipe dots of buttercream all over the mini cake to cover the entire surface of the cake. Repeat to pipe dots all over the remaining seven mini cakes. Place a cherry in the center on top of each mini cake. The mini cakes keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Remove the cakes about 2 hours before serving, so the frosting has time to soften.
Don’t miss Lucie on the cover of our Cake Issue!
From Cake From Lucie by Lucie Franc de Ferriere. Reprinted by permission of Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.
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