Dotted with little nuggets of chopped dark chocolate, this matcha yogurt cake makes a really delicious breakfast or tea-time snack. And did I mention that no mixer or creaming of butter + sugar is required to make this cake?
Preheat oven to 170°C conventional / 160°C convectional. Line a 8x4-inch baking tin with parchment paper.
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and matcha in a bowl to get rid of any lumps. Whisk with a wire whisk for 50 strokes to mix the dry ingredients evenly. (See Note 3)
Cut butter into small cubes and place in a small pot. Place pot over low heat and stir occasionally until butter has melted completely. Remove from heat.
90 grams unsalted butter
Whisk in sugar, salt and yogurt until well-mixed and incorporated. If the mixture is still very hot (which shouldn't be) , set it aside and let it cool to room temperature. This is so that you don't end up with scrambled eggs when you add the eggs in!
150 grams caster sugar, 225 grams yogurt, 1/4 tsp salt
Whisk in the eggs one by one, whisking well until fully incorporated before adding the next egg.
2 eggs
Add in half of the dry ingredients - use a rubber spatula and fold until there are a few streaks of dry ingredients. Add in remaining dry ingredients and fold just until there is no more streak of dry ingredients left. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl while folding to ensure the batter is mixed well, but do not over-mix else you will get a tough cake.
Alternate ⅓ cake batter - ½ chocolate chips - ⅓ cake batter - ½ chocolate chips - ⅓ cake batter into the tin. Use a rubber spatula to smoothen the top.
75 grams dark chocolate
Bake the cake for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted to the centre of the cake comes out with very few crumbs sticking to the skewer. Place cake tin on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake out and let cool completely on a wire rack.
NOTES
The recipe is for a 8x4-inch tin which is a more commonly-sized tin; but in my photos I'm using a 8x3-inch tin because I like tall-looking cakes. If you happen to be also using a 8x3-inch tin, the baking time will be around 45 to 55 minutes. If the top is browned but inside is still wet, tent with a foil and bake until the cake is done.
I recommend using greek yogurt but it's not common in Singapore (and not to mention expensive!) I'm using plain, greek-style yogurt from Farmers Union brand. This brand's yogurt is thicker in consistency than other plain yogurts. If your attempt resulted in a cake that's dense or gummy, it may be because your yogurt is too watery. You may have to experiment with reducing the amount of yogurt in the cake.
I nowadays prefer to sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and then whisking it to ensure that the raising agents (baking powder and baking soda) are evenly mixed throughout the dry ingredients and hence batter. If the raising agents are not evenly distributed, you may get an unpleasant metallic taste in some parts of the cake.
Just a variation thought: substitute the chocolate chips with some anko (red bean paste) and sprinkle the top with some black sesame seeds before baking!