This sweet might look like a normal baked Western cake. But it’s not really because …

1. this is a steamed cake
2. it’s Dairy Free and also Free from Oil.
3. Japanese substances are used as main ingredients so it’s ‘Japanese Cake’.

I like steamed cake. It has a much lighter texture than a baked cake. I haven’t eaten any Japanese sweets for a while so my body started craving for something with some ‘Anko’ in it. This is how this cake was born in my kitchen.

<Anko Sandwiched Steamed Matcha Cake > (Dairy/Oil Free)

[Ingredients]

• Egg White  1
• Granulated Sugar  30g
• Plain Flour  120g
• Bicarbonate of Soda  1/2 Tsp  (with tiny amount of water)
• Tsubu-An  180g

（Syrup)

• Granulated Sugar  80g
• Water  100ml
• Matcha Green Tea Powder  1Tbs

[Direction]

(Making Syrup) In a small cooking pan heat all the ingredients for syrup and thicken a little. Leave the mixture aside to cool down.

Place baking sheet in a steam-able container.

Mix Bicarbonate of Soda with a tiny amount of water in a small cup.

Put the steamer on a hob. Make sure the steamer gets fully heated by the time the dough mixture is ready to cook.

(Mixing Cake dough) Start whisking Egg White in a bowl. Add in Sugar and continue whisking untill it forms a hard peak.

Add in cold Matcha syrup into the whisked Egg White. Mix carefully by trying not to decrease the bubbles too much.

　　

Add in Flour and Bicarbonate of Soda mixture and combine well.

Fill half amount of mixture into the container for Steaming which was fitted some baking sheets inside. Place Tsubu-An like a thin layer on top of it.

Add the rest of the cake mixture over Tsubu-An layer.

Place the container into a well heated Steamer. Make sure to place a tea towel or kitchen paper between the pot and the lid. Keep steaming with medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Although the texture is light as the steamed cake should be, it has lots of moisture. It settles and becomes tastier when it’s chilled in a refrigerator overnight.

I’m quite satisfied with the flavour combination and the texture but maybe because it was steamed the colour did not come out as green as I hoped it would. It will be the aim to achieve for my next attempt.

[Tips]

1. Make sure the syrup is well cooled down before mixing into whisked Egg White
2. You can add a tiny squeeze of Lemon Juice when whisking Egg White. It helps keeping the stiff speak
3. It is advisable to flatten Tsubu-An into a thin sheet shape before adding it on top of cake mixture. That makes easier to place it into a container
4. If you don’t have a suitable container to steam use any carton box. I used a carton box of Orange Juice and reshaped it into the size which fits in my steamer
5. Make sure to place a tea towel or kitchen paper between the pot and the lid when you steam. It stops the water dripping down onto the cake.