Green tea swiss roll cake (layer cake)

I have a confession to make.  I don't drink tea.  Serious business I know. And I'm probably missing something in my life.  But hey!  Don't judge me!  The only tea I ever drink is green tea.  I love the variety with the toasted rice!  So when the lovely girls from the SABH announced a  "tea inspired" theme for May, there was only one way to go - a green tea inspired sweet treat.

This is a light sponge cake with a subtle hint of green tea and olive oil.  Initially,  the Swiss roll route was the plan, but cutting the cake into slabs and layering became the easier option.  We love this so much since we first tried it last week, we've made it three times already - one was the taste test, the next batch was brought to the Mowbray PS 60th Anniversary morning tea, and then the third one I brought to work for moving day to calm everyone's nerves (pretty sure you know what I mean by that. Moving is toxic - whether personal or business).

mise en place

The Swiss roll turned a bit tedious and unsettling (of course, like all baking adventures are!) and the cake just cracked as I rolled. 

Which led to this - a green tea sponge layer cake with whipped cream filling.  A tad bit easier and hastens the process of waiting to eat them.

This recipe is adapted from Christine's Recipes with a little bit of tweaking - added just a tiny bit more green tea.  (Christine has some easy to follow instructions how best to roll the sponge, but I'm a bit lazy).  I also whipped the cream using icing sugar. 

Ingredients for green tea sponge cake

6 egg whites

9 egg yolks

100g + 60g caster sugar

90g cake flour

25g corn flour

50ml olive oil

2.5 tbsp green tea powder

3 tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 220*C.  Prepare a cookie sheet or lamington pan.  Spray with non stick spray and line with baking paper.

 In a small bowl, mix and stir the green tea powder with the hot water until like a paste. Set aside.

Sift cake flour and corn flour together onto a small sheet of baking paper.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), whip/whick the egg yolks with the 100g caster sugar until light and cream in colour.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip/whisk the eggs whites until frothy then add the 60g caster sugar slowly in 3 batches, making sure you continue whipping/whisking as you add the sugar.  Continue until you get stiff peaks.

Gently fold into 1/3 of the egg whites to the yolk mixture until incorporated.  Continue to add a third at a time, folding gently until you've mixed all the meringue and yolks together.

Add the green tea paste and stir and mix until incorporated into the batter.

Add in the sifted flour/s and fold.  

Add the olive oil and stir until  mixed through.

Pour onto the prepared pans.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.  

(While baking, prepare your whipped cream filling).

Remove from oven then cool on a wire rack.

Whipped cream filling

1 cup thick cream

1/4 cup icing sugar (more or less to suit your taste)

Prepare a large bowl with ice and then place a medium bowl on top.  (This helps whip the cream faster.  If you don't have ice, I usually use anything from the fridge and place my bowl on it - packets of frozen peas or chips, etc)

Using the medium sized bowl, whip the cream for about 30 seconds, then add the icing sugar.  Whip until thick and of spreading consistency.  Do not over whip.  Place in the fridge until ready to use.

To assemble:

Cut the cake into 3 equal rectangles.

Spread about 2 tablespoons of the cream on the first layer (add more according to how thick you want the layers to be (it can be as thick or as thin as you want).

Layer the next cake until you have the top. 

Wrap in plastic cling and place in fridge until ready to serve.

Thanks to JJ from 84th and 3rd for hosting this month's blog hop!  Now go on hop onto the other tea-inspired sweet treats and enjoy your cup of tea!  Whatever it is you fancy.