Friday, June 19, 2009

Green Tea Olive Oil Cake With Peach Mousse and White Chocolate Ganache



making a sort of trifle with the leftovers
praline and matcha topping



ganache

lining ring molds
peach puree


fresh whipping cream

the matcha olive oil cakes

Last night I stayed up until 4 a.m. making these mini cakes. Making this takes a little extra care so you might need a special occasion to justify making these.  Today my friend Felipe came up to visit from San Diego, which is an excellent excuse to bake and that combined with meeting for dinner with our San Diego ex-patriot friends made for a special occasion indeed.  

 Ever since I bought a bottle of matcha powder last week my head has become quite occupied with all the wonderful way that I can utilize it.  
My thought process: What goes well with matcha? white chocolate. okay. white chocolate ganache.
Also, almond extract.
Also, olive oil would be nice, it would bring out the grassy flavor of green tea.
Okay, I need a different flavor. Something fruity? yes, fruity.  Citrus? No, too strong of a flavor. Peach? Yes!

Ingredients:

for the cake

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons matcha powder
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar

for the peach mousse

2 large peaches, pureed until a very fine liquid
7 tablespoons of water
2 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin

for white chocolate ganache

1 cup white chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream

make the cake

1. preheat oven to 300
2. in a bowl sift together the dry ingredients
3. in a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, olive oil, and milk
4. add the dry ingredients to the egg/oil/milk mixture in three separate increments
5. divide batter into 2 ten-inch cake pans
6. bake for 2o minutes
7. let cool and then cut out 3 inch circles with either a cookie cutter or the edge of a ring mold

make the mousse

1. mix together gelatin and 2 tablespoons of water and set aside
2. with an electric mixer whisk the heavy whipping cream until it starts to develop soft peaks
3. set aside and put in a refrigerator to cool
4. in a saucepan bring 5 tablespoons of water and 1/2 cup of sugar to a boil
5. pour the sugar syrup over the egg yolks and whisk together
6. heat the gelatin/water mixture in the microwave for 10 seconds and then quickly add to the egg yolk mixture
7. in the electric mixer continue whisking these ingredients until it becomes airy and cool to the touch
8. add the chilled whipping cream
9. puree two peaches in a food processor
10. add the peach puree into the mousse and fold to combine

assemble the cakes

1. in a 3 inch ring mold, layer a piece of cake
2. add 2 tablespoons of peach mousse and smooth over
3. add another layer of cake
4. let chill in the freezer for 2 hours

make the ganache

1. bring the heavy cream to a boil 
2. pour the cream over the white chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes
3. whisk to melt the chocolate
4. you may need to whisk it over an ice-water bath to achieve desired consistency

pouring the ganache

1. remove the cakes from the freezer
2. unmold them by gently pressing them out of the ring molds
3. spoon generous amounts of ganache at the center of the top of the cakes until the sides start to drip 
4. top with whatever you want ( i opted for matcha and praline)
5. keep in refrigerator or in freezer.  if freezer, thaw for ten minutes first


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