Mini Matcha Chiffon Cakes for the Bake Sale

I love these mini chiffon cake pans I found.   I have not had a chance to use them until a couple of weekends ago for a fund raising Bake Sale.   I thought why not bake Mini Matcha Chiffon Cakes.
The recipe is the same as the Pandan Coconut Chiffon Cake, except I added 2 TBsp of Matcha with warm water to dissolve.   It took place of the Pandan juice.
http://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/2013/05/pollys-pandan-coconut-chiffon-cake.html

Tip:  Hand whipped Meringue has better structure than my Kitchen Aid mixer.
*There is no baking powder added in my Chiffon Cakes
Are you still struggling with collapsed Chiffon Cake?  Think of it this way - if your meringue does not have enough sugar and or have formed a nice stiff peak, then, it will not build a good structure to hold up during the baking and cooling.   Also, if you don't have enough flour, the cake will collapse also.    Many times, I have used my Kitchen Aid mixer to whip up the meringue.  Although the mixer whipped up a beautiful shiny, foamy meringue, I noticed a bit more runny egg white left at the bottom of the bowl.   Sure, I scrape the bowl... but have you tried to scrape the bowl in the middle of making meringue?  You must have noticed the shrinkage of meringue as soon as your spatula touches the meringue.  Your mind tells you ten thousand reasons that it's all in your head... you didn't see that.   The Kitchen Aid's mixer bowl is not the best shaped bowl to assure all ingredients are mixed entirely and its whisk attachment is not the  ideal shape, either.  So, to tame both problems, learn to whip up meringue manually.   You will tone your arm muscle and Learn the way of the Meringue - Soft peak, Firm peak, and Stiff peak.  May the force of meringue be with you. 

Since there is no green food color added, it is natural for the green tea to oxidize during the baking process and for the cake to turn brownish.   Maybe add YOMOGI?   What would you add to maintain the color? baking soda? hmmm.... got to test this some more. 

Hard Baked Eggs Test

Have ever come across a cooking technique that is like a science project.   While I was searching for a recipe, I came across Hard Baked Eggs.   I could not believe it.  It made me to ponder a bit.   It kind of make sense and pose the question - "Why Not?"   I read on, and found out that the it is verified by Alton Brown.   "Oh, okay," I said. "Let's try it..."  I couldn't remember all the details so I just did what I think I remembered the recipe says.  Moist paper towel, eggs, and bake in 350'F oven for 20 minutes.  Then, cool under running water in a bowl.  And Voila.  Beautiful eggs - peeled easily.

 

 

 

 The idea was to be able to Peel massive amounts of eggs easily vs boiled eggs.
I must say that this will be my favorite way of cooking eggs.
And afterwards, my son found the article.... And I remembered almost exactly....

by Alton Brown 
Published on March 29, 2013.
Sure you could just boil your eggs for dying or eating, but if you need to do more than one dozen at a time, baking is best.

Position the oven racks in the center of the oven, then arrange the eggs in a mini muffin tin or directly on a thoroughly moist kitchen towel (click play on the video above for more info). Set the oven to 320 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes. When the eggs are done fill a large bowl with ice water and move the eggs into a bowl. Peel the eggs as soon as they are cool enough to handle, then return them to the ice bath to thoroughly chill.

I usually find baked eggs a little harder to peel than steamed (or boiled), but just barely. The fact that shell of the baked eggs gets hotter during cooking than the shell of the steamed eggs may be a factor. Still I prefer the slightly creamier texture of baked eggs to steamed or boil. I imagine its because the dry heat moves into these eggs more slowly than steam heat does.
 Then, I got some home grown green onions from my garden and ate it with my RAMEN.

Matchbook Winery visit

I visited Matchbook Winery a couple of weekends ago to do something different.
Matchbook Winery is located in Zamora, California, west of Sacramento up Highway 5. 
12300 County Road 92B
Zamora, CA 95698
I am not a wine drinker, but I enjoyed the scenery and Pasta Queen luncheon at the site.

On the way back, I notice beautiful hills and happy frolicking horses, especially the white ones.  It seems to know that it is so beautiful, and I am watching it.