lemon and olive oil muffins

Lemon and olive oil muffins with a super easy one-bowl recipe.

It feels like a long, long time since I last baked.

After this extended absence from baking adventures, I am happy with how these lemon and olive oil muffins turned out, especially considering that they required only six ingredients to make. I haven't lost my touch! And, even more impressively (if I do say so myself), I made these delightfully simple lemon muffins without a mixing bowl, a spatula, or a muffin pan - tools that are lacking at my current sharehouse. In lieu of the aforementioned proper baking equipment, I used a cooking pot and a regular spoon to mix the batter, and doubled up on paper muffin cases to keep them sturdy, and it worked! Not bad, huh?

With a gentle slosh of delicate olive oil, and a light hand with raw sugar, these naturally dairy-free lemon muffins aren't what you'd call indulgent, but while I was worried that they may be too modest at first bite, I ended up being charmed, and before I knew it, I'd eaten three in one afternoon (the other two went to my housemates, and I managed to save one for the next day). Suffice to say the recipe is great for me as it is, but if you prefer your muffins a little bit sweeter, feel free to up the ante with an extra tablespoon of sugar.

lemon and olive oil muffins
(this recipe makes 6, feel free to double the recipe to make 12!)

1 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 extra-large egg
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (use a mild olive oil or lemon infused olive oil)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 180C/355F fan-forced (200C/390F regular).
Thoroughly mix self-raising flour and raw sugar together in a bowl, and create a well in the centre.
Add egg, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest into the middle of the bowl, and gently stir to create a thick batter, taking care not to overmix.
Transfer the batter into 6 muffin cups.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the muffins develop an enticing golden brown crust.
Allow your lovely lemon muffins to cool at least slightly before enjoying them!

Cross section of olive oil and lemon muffins.

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mini vegan mandarin muffins / cakes

mini vegan mandarin muffins.

Last month, my workplace participated in Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. Here's the idea: we could choose to contribute by baking some treats to share with the office, or simply make a reasonable donation to partake in the delights. The funds we raise would all go to the Cancer Council.

It's a great cause, and of course, I decided to do both!

Mandarins are in season at the moment, and wonderfully cheap. If you go to the markets at the right time in winter, they can go for as low as 99 cents per kilogram. A total bargain. That, plus my love for all things citrus, soon brought me to the conclusion that mini vegan mandarin muffins were the obvious choice for this baking adventure.

So I whipped up about a dozen mini muffins the night before, and, of course, taste-tested them with Simon to make sure they were okay for feeding my colleagues. Our verdict was: most definitely. In fact, Simon was a little too enthusiastic about the tasting, and I had to shoo him away to protect my remaining muffins.

A few notes (and ramblings):

- I used the peel of one mandarin in this recipe, which suits me well, but if you really love the peel, you can probably use two mandarins' worth.

- The oven I used resulted in some muffins being browner on top than others. In my pictures of these muffins, the mandarin segments on top may look burnt, but they tasted perfectly fine, surprisingly. And I preferred their appearance to the paler ones, but taste-wise it was a much of a muchness.

- These are much lovelier, I feel, when they are still warm from the oven. I tried one the next day, and while it was still decent, it wasn't quite as alluring. They were just so addictive right after baking, with a little aromatic steam still wafting as you take a bite... so, yeah, eat them sooner rather than later, or, if they'd cooled down, perhaps heat them up in the oven again before serving.

- Also, sprinkling sugar to create crunchy tops was a fabulous idea. Because the tops were oh-so-crunchy. However, even though I cooled the muffins before storing them, they weren't quite as crunchy the next day. Any ideas on how I may improve on keeping them fresh? I guess, as per above, I could warm them up in the oven briefly again before serving.

- If you would like to turn these mini mandarin muffins into mini mandarin cakes, simply adjust the amount of sugar. 1/3 cup sugar makes them just mildly sweet, and reasonably healthy as muffins should be. If I am to transform them into mini cakes, I would probably go for 1/2 cup sugar, but it really depends on your personal preferences. I'm more of a not-too-sweet kinda girl.

- Being vegan, these muffins are naturally dairy-free and egg-free. They are also nut-free. You could potentially make them gluten-free, as well, using your favourite gluten-free flour mix substitute.

mini mandarin muffins, best eaten whilst still warm from the oven!

mini vegan mandarin muffins
(makes 12 mini muffins or cakes)

1.5 cups flour
1/3 - 1/2 cup raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
4 small mandarins (5cm/2" diameter each, or 300g / 10.6oz total ± 15g / 0.5oz), plus more for decoration
1/3 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 160C fan-forced (180C regular).
Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a big bowl.
Prepare the mandarins. Remove the stem bits on top, and any seeds.
At this point, you want the flesh of 4 mandarins and the peel of 1 mandarin. Using a blender, blitz the mandarin flesh, mandarin peel, olive oil and salt until smooth. Stir through coconut milk.
Stir the mandarin mix into flour mix. Do not over-mix, a bit of lumpiness is fine. The batter will be very thick. This is fine, unless there are still streaks of flour, in which case just carefully add a little bit more coconut milk until it all comes together.
Divide the batter amongst 12 muffin wrappers slotted in a muffin tray. It'll probably only be enough to fill up halfway, hence the mini stature!
Top with a small mandarin segment and sprinkle evenly with a thin layer of sugar all over. (I also added a tiny bit of vanilla salt for kicks.)
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

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much ado about matcha... weekend baking adventures

Kitchen disasters. We've all had them.

But oh, the joy when you salvage the mess and rise from the ruins!

I don't usually post my creations when I don't have a recipe to go along with it, but I'm a bit more relaxed these days. Plus, I was actually quite proud of how I saved the day, so here we go. My only regret is that I didn't take a picture of how awful the batter looked at the beginning, which would make the results here look all the more impressive. Hey, we can't have everything.

It all started with an idea. Gluten-free buckwheat matcha cookies.

gluten-free buckwheat hazelnut matcha cookies.

When I have an idea, I like to draft out a recipe and then adjust it in the real world, adding and subtracting as I mix, knead and taste.

In this instance, I had underestimated the amount of buckwheat flour I needed... and not only that, I didn't have any more of it left in the pantry. The batter was neither liquid nor solid, and it was crazy sticky. Shaping or cutting it into cookies was out of the question. I made a makeshift piping bag by cutting a hole in a plastic sandwich bag, and forced in the batter. Bad idea. The consistency wasn't good for piping either. And the batter was so gluey, I now had trouble getting it out of my makeshift piping bag.

My typically trusty spatula looked dirty, tired and helpless. SO I DECIDED TO USE MY HANDS. Desperate times call for desperate measures, or rather, they drive you to insanity... I know that now. Feeling wretched and with gummy green goo all over my hands, I imagined I looked not unlike a forlorn swamp monster.

I still refused to throw the lot away. Organic buckwheat flour ain't cheap, y'all.

Thinking hard, I remembered the hazelnut meal I bought a few weeks ago. Oh, come here, my pretties, and rescue me from the mire of despair! I finally had a workable batter, which I rolled into balls, then pressed down with a fork on the baking sheet. Fifteen minutes later, we have these babies. Not bad, really.

Cross-section of gluten-free buckwheat hazelnut matcha cookies.

But wait, there's more!

At some point during these calamitous proceedings (it's all a blur to me now), and before the hazelnuts came sprinkling at me with heroic exultation, I had, in a moment of resignation, decided to go with the flow, as you do, stirring more cream into a small portion of the batter, and pouring it into a cupcake/muffin case. Amidst the confusion, I nearly forgot about this little cake-in-waiting, but spied it in the nick of time and it went into the oven with the cookies.

And this was the result.

gluten-free buckwheat matcha cake.

It looked alright. It tasted even better. I mean, it tasted really, really good. The cookies were not bad, but this mini cake, soft, moist, and rich, was seriously luscious.

I didn't share it with anyone. It was only tiny, after all...

cross-section of gluten-free buckwheat matcha cake.

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gooey blueberry honey yoghurt cake

blueberry honey yoghurt cake with gooey, puddingy insides and a thick chewy bread-like crust.

Gooey cake, chewy crust.

This is what happens when you're feeling a little bit peckish on a Friday night and decide to just throw some ingredients together to see what happens. You're skeptical about the results, as it wasn't quite what you expected - but it grows on you, and the boyfriend comes back for seconds. So, somehow, you find yourself making it again on Saturday morning.

It's all about flour and yoghurt and honey and blueberries... coming together mysteriously to create this strangely quite delicious concoction.

soft and gooey blueberry yoghurt honey cake.

Crazy soft, moist, spongy insides are held together - just - with a bread-like frame.

This pudding-cake is best served while it's still snuggly-warm from the oven. Due to its unique texture, it's easiest to treat it like bread - just slice it with a serrated knife, then simply take it by the hand. If you're feeling extra decadent, though, you might pair it with a scoop of ice cream, and drizzle all over with, say, honey, maple syrup, caramel or butterscotch sauce.

P.S. I'm not sure I'm convinced by the chewy crust - I think I would probably prefer it crisp. But it seems to be a natural side effect that comes with the comfortingly gooey filling, so we'll roll with it!

P.P.S. Apologies for the depth of field in these photos, which doesn't capture the texture of the cake as well as I'd like. I was experimenting with Simon's DSLR camera, and clearly not very good at using it yet!

chewy, gooey cake with vanilla ice cream.

gooey blueberry honey yoghurt pudding-cake
(serves 2+)
(mini loaf pan dimensions: 18cm (l) x 10cm (w) x 5.5cm (h) exterior, 15cm x 8cm x 5.5cm interior.)

3/4 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup plain natural or Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F fan-forced or 200°C/390°F conventional.
Mix wholemeal flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and make a well in the middle.
In another bowl, dissolve honey in water. Stir in yoghurt, then the blueberries.
Pour the liquid mixture into the well of the bowl with the dry ingredients, then stir a few times in the same direction until just combined.
Pour the pudding-cake batter into a greased mini loaf tin.
Bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown.
Let the pudding-cake cool slightly for at least 5 minutes before running a butter knife around the edges and gently tipping it out. (Note - this pudding-cake will rise quite high but sink quite rapidly after being taken out of the oven, this is completely fine.)
Cut into thick slices with a serrated bread knife and serve while it's still super-warm for a hot gooey experience.

gooey blueberry honey yoghurt pudding-cake.

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earl grey pear muffins

cross-section of an earl grey pear muffin.

The beauty of making do with what you have, and using up stuff in the pantry, is the surprisingly fancy combinations this frugal activity can inspire. The following recipe is a result of putting two and two together: cheap beurre bosc pears from the market and earl grey tea bags nearing their expiration date. My baking adventures suddenly sound that much more sophisticated.

Exhibit A:

Simon: What're you baking?
Me: Earl grey pear muffins.
Simon: Sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it?

I rest my case.

Forget about winning prestige points on the name alone, though, the muffins did actually live up to my expectations. The pears, delicately infused with a buttery earl grey broth, radiate with a warm complexity. Likewise, the batter takes in soft, sensual hints of the bergamot, black tea, and pear flavours, then diffuses them gently to the muffin-eater.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Simon couldn't get enough of my pretentious muffins.

Exhibit B:

Simon (taking a bite): So how many did you make?
Me: Six.
Simon: So that means I can have six muffins, right? Do I get six muffins?

Again, I rest my case.

with their russet-and-gold appearance, beurre bosc pears exude romance and charm.

earl grey pear muffins
(makes 6)

3 earl grey tea bags, or 3 teaspoons loose leaf earl grey tea
1/2 cup freshly boiled hot water
2 pears (300g / 2/3lb total ±5%) peeled, cored, and chopped into 1.5cm / 0.5 inch cubes
1/4 cup salted butter, plus more for greasing
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 cup raw sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (360°F) fan-forced, or 200°C (390°F) regular.
Steep earl grey tea in freshly boiled hot water for at least 5 minutes. Once they are thoroughly steeped, remove the tea. If using tea bags, diligently squeeze the bags so you get as much of the tea infusion as possible.
Simmer pear cubes with earl grey tea and butter over a low medium heat for 5 minutes or until just tender. Let it cool slightly.
Set aside half the pear cubes, and puree the remaining mixture of pear cubes, earl grey and melted butter.
Stir together pear cubes and buttery earl grey pear puree.
Place flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour the pear mixture into the centre of the bowl and stir gently a few times until the wet and dry ingredients just combine to create a thick batter.
Divide batter evenly amongst 6 lightly greased muffin cases.
Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes or until a light earthy brown.
Let the muffins cool slightly for about 10 minutes, then serve. They're best eaten warm.

If you have a very fine-textured whole-wheat flour like atta flour, feel free to substitute 1 cup in lieu of the 1/2 cup plain, 1/2 cup wholemeal mix.
Substitute butter with a vegan spread e.g. Nuttelex, Earth Balance etc. for vegan muffins.

earl grey pear muffins, warm from the oven.

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cinnamon apple muffin cake

Life has been hectic lately. Work, extracurricular activities and social commitments swirl madly through my days, and inevitably, some things fall by the wayside.

This blog post is one such example. I tend to write a rough draft of my recipe ideas first, then do the fine-tuning as I trial them in the kitchen, updating my notes as I go; a method that usually works well. For this particular blog post, however, all I could find was my original recipe draft, so I've had to piece that together with my memories of the afternoon to recollect the ingredients and steps I added along the way... so you can see how this could, in fact, turn out to be not a recipe for cinnamon apple muffin cake, but rather a recipe for disaster. However, with a bit of work, I'm pretty sure I've finally got this right. Yes!

Folding in the sweet, buttery, cinnamon-spiced apple cubes.

This cinnamon apple muffin cake is yet another one of my simple mini loaf creations. I created it especially for my friend Kelvin's housewarming party, where, to my delight, it was enthusiastically finished by the guests in no time at all.

The secret? I lovingly cooked the apple cubes in a lush, sigh-inducing mix of butter, sugar and cinnamon before folding them to the batter. Yeah, it was hard to go wrong from there onwards...

mini cinnamon apple muffin cake
(mini loaf pan dimensions: 18cm (l) x 10cm (w) x 5.5cm (h) exterior, 15 x 8 x 5.5cm interior.)

for the cake:

1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1.5cm/0.5 inch cubes
1/4 cup butter, plus more for greasing
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup self raising flour (or 1 cup flour + 1.5 teaspoons baking powder)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 180C fan-forced, or 200C regular.
Simmer apple cubes, butter, sugar, cinnamon together over a low medium heat for 5 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and set aside to let it cool slightly.
Place self raising flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
In another bowl, lightly whisk egg, then add milk and salt. Continue whisking till well combined.
Pour eggy milk mixture into the centre of the bowl with the self-raising flour and stir through gently a few times until just combined.
Pour in the apple mixture. Again, stir until just combined, taking care not to overmix the batter.
Grease the loaf tin with butter. Pour the batter in and smooth the top.
Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the crust is a lovely golden brown.
(Note: You may also bake the batter in muffin moulds, and if so, they should be done in 20 - 25 minutes.)
Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then lightly run a knife along the edges of the tin and tip the cake out onto a serving plate.

for the cinnamon syrup glaze:

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons raw sugar
3 tablespoons water

Combine cinnamon, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for another minute.
If you're planning on keeping this cinnamon apple muffin cake for later, brush cinnamon syrup liberally all over the cake and let it absorb before storing. Alternatively, if you're planning to eat the cake while it's still warm, just slice and serve with a drizzle of the syrup.

Enjoy!

my cinnamon apple muffin cake, waiting to be turned out, glazed, and enjoyed with friends...

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olive oil and grapefruit cake

I have been baking, and baking often ever since I discovered the joys of having a mini loaf pan.

What are the joys of having a mini loaf pan, you ask?

Well!

Firstly, it's cute.

Secondly, I can experiment to my heart's content without worrying about a massive waste of ingredients in the event of a failure.

Thirdly, it stops me from overeating.

Fourthly, baked goods always seem more delicious when you are left wanting more.

And if it wasn't for my mini loaf pan, I probably wouldn't have bothered baking this light and gentle olive oil and grapefruit cake, which would've been a shame, because it turned out to be a great success.

olive oil and grapefruit cake... a great little snack and lovely with a cup of tea.

The first good thing was seeing my cousin licking the leftover batter in the bowl as we waited for this olive oil and grapefruit cake to finish cooking in the oven.

The second good thing was smelling the cake as it rose and browned in the oven.

The third good thing was tipping the cake out, having it come off cleanly with a gentle thud, then feeling and hearing that gorgeous crackle of the crust as I sliced through it with a knife, sending crispy crumbs a-flying.

The fourth good thing was tasting it, sharing it with loved ones, and, yes... wishing there were more.

a soft, rustic olive oil and grapefruit cake with delicate citrus flavours...

mini olive oil and grapefruit teacake
(mini loaf pan dimensions: 18cm (l) x 10cm (w) x 5.5cm (h) exterior, 15 x 8 x 5.5cm interior.)

3/4 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200 regular).
Combine self-raising flour and raw sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Set aside.
In another bowl, lightly whisk egg, then add grapefruit juice, zest, olive oil and salt. Continue whisking till well-mixed.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients. Stir together until just combined - do not overmix.
Pour the batter into a greased mini loaf pan (or other mini cake pan) and bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes or until it boasts a lovely tan.
Let the cake cool slightly for 10 minutes, then remove from pan, slice and enjoy the cake by itself or with a nice cup of tea.

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flourless almond mandarin ricotta cake

Winter has arrived in Melbourne, and what better way to celebrate it than with cheesecake? But not just any cheesecake. A light yet soothing gluten-free mandarin ricotta cheesecake, studded with almond slivers, perfect as an almost-guilt-free treat with a hot cup of tea on a lazy afternoon. Alternatively, you may prefer the indulgent route, and have it with stewed fruit and fresh cream or ice cream, perhaps with the finishing touch of a drizzle of honey or syrup...

baked almond and mandarin ricotta cake.

Alright, so some of my almonds look almost a little too brown, and some of my cake didn't quite extricate itself completely from the bottom of the loaf pan. No matter. It was still delicious, and I can assure you that this is a great dessert option if you're looking for something that's relatively healthy and not too heavy. The crumbly baked ricotta, infused with the delicate citrus perfume of mandarins and laced throughout with the nutty, aromatic crunch of toasted almonds is quite a delight. If you're keen on a richer version, I would suggest that you could experiment by adding a little butter or cream to the mix.

sweet, sweet ricotta: fruity, nutty, and ready to be baked in the oven...

mini flourless almond mandarin ricotta cake
(mini loaf pan dimensions: 18cm (l) x 10cm (w) x 5.5cm (h) exterior, 15 x 8 x 5.5cm interior.)
(serves 2 - 4)

1 cup ricotta (approx. 250g or a little less), drained of excess liquid
1 large to extra large egg (55 - 65g)
1 very small and preferably organic mandarin (approx. 5 cms/2 inches in diameter)
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup slivered almonds
a pinch of salt
oil or butter, for greasing/brushing

Toast slivered almonds by dry-frying them in a pan till golden brown, moving them around frequently to prevent them from burning. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F fan forced (or 200°C/390°F normal).

Prepare a petite loaf pan by brushing the inside with oil or melted butter. You may also use ramekins or a mini cake pan, and I dare say it could work with cupcake or muffin trays as well.

Peel the mandarin and remove any seeds. Blend or process egg, mandarin peel, mandarin flesh, sugar and salt, then add to ricotta and combine well. Stir in toasted almond slivers. Pour into the greased loaf pan and smooth the surface of the mixture with the back of a spoon.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Let it cool for 10 minutes and then turn the loaf pan over onto a plate or chopping board. Tap it to release the baked ricotta cake.

Slice and serve immediately, or store in an airtight container. If for some ridiculous reason you can't devour this lovely flourless cake the same day you make it, it will keep in the fridge for a few days.

I particularly adore this ricotta cake when it's still warm and moist after emerging from the oven, though it also tends to be more fragile at this time. But honestly, do I really care if my freshly baked ricotta falls apart a little when I'm shoving it into my mouth? No. I'm too busy shoving it into my mouth...

warm, freshly baked mandarin almond ricotta cake, sliced and ready to be consumed.

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chocolate matcha steamed egg cake



slices of chocolate matcha steamed egg cake


It's International Incident Party time again and for December, the focus is on colour. Yet again, Jeroxie encourages us to run wild with a great theme! My offering for this month isn't quite as creative as my previous ones, I think. Though considering my first idea was a flop, I'm just glad I managed to get something done in time!

I love steamed egg cake and I learnt how to make it from my mum, who also loves it.
As always, the simplicity of the recipe is big drawcard for me. The basic recipe for steamed egg cake is incredibly easy. All you need is (by volume) 1 part flour, 1 part sugar and 1 part eggs. So it would go something like this...

1 cup flour (regular or self-raising, see instructions below)
1 cup sugar
1 cup eggs
oil (for greasing, and optionally, for adding moistness to the cake)

- Beat eggs and sugar until thick, pale and frothy. Due to limited equipment at my apartment, I can't get the eggs done quite as well as I would like, so I use self-raising flour to make up for it.
- Add flour slowly into the egg mixture, then oil (if using), stirring clockwise until smooth.
- Grease any heat-safe receptacle (I used a stainless steel bowl), and pour in the mixture.
- Prepare whatever steaming device you're using. I opted for a rice cooker. Pour in some water, put a stand in it, and switch it to cook mode.
- Once the water starts boiling, put your cake bowl in and close the lid.
- Steaming times vary. I made a regular-sized cake and it took just over 15 minutes. I then made mini cakes and they were done in about 10 minutes. Test by sticking a fork in - if it comes out clean it's ready.

Notes:
1 part sugar is perfect for most people, but neither my mum nor I have a very sweet tooth, and we usually put in a little less than 1 part.
Oil is optional for keeping the cake moist. I actually don't mind a slightly dry touch to this cake and only added about 1/2 teaspoon oil for every egg used. You can add more if you like.

While I like steamed egg cake just as it is, its easy recipe lends itself quite happily to modifications, as long as you don't add too much extra liquid to it. I decided upon chocolate and green tea to add natural colours and flavours to my cake, using cocoa and matcha powder.

I actually made two styles of steamed egg cake that night - a big one with swirly colour effects, and a couple of small ones with block colour effects.

The swirly one was created by mixing the matcha and cocoa powder respectively with a little bit of water, first ladling one of them onto the middle of the cake mixture in the greased bowl, running a fork through it in circles, then adding the other one and doing the same. For this one, I also used some concentrated cherry juice boiled down from mashed fresh cherries, which accounts for the purplish streaks.

the first chocolate matcha steamed egg cake

For the mini cakes, I divided the mix into 3 parts, one plain, one with matcha powder and one with cocoa powder. The plain one goes right into the greased bowls. Then I spoon the other parts delicately on top of the unmodified mixture, green tea on one side, chocolate on the other.

second batch - a duo of mini chocolate matcha steamed egg cakes

Both of the cakes don't look so pretty when they come out, but once you slice them into portions they look much nicer.

a swirly slice of the first chocolate matcha steamed egg cake

cute little slices from the second batch of chocolate matcha steamed egg cakes

The first cake had more subtle flavours entwined together, whereas the second batch had solid, distinctive flavours in each bite. Really, it's a good day when you get to choose from two cakes - the only dilemma being which one to eat first!

more colour crazy folk!

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