It was Sam's birthday yesterday. Theme: bathing costume. I failed terribly at this theme. I thought I was going to go as figure skater because I used to figure skate when I was younger (which, by the way, I was really bad at. I danced like a brick) and had this ridiculous blindingly gold competition outfit. Well, as it turns out, I am not the same size as when I was in 6th grade. And as it turns out, my ass was hanging out of this costume and the top was startlingly transparent. I'm not sure why I assumed the lycra/spandex could stretch over 13 years of growth, adolescence, and the strange elastic carnival that the body puts itself through. So yeah, I just wore my swimming suit.
Other people wore great things. Sam was a sparkly sea lion. Andrea was a French mime. Stephen was the solar system. A friend of Sam's was a unicorn. Katie, well I don't really know what Katie was but it was pretty and she looked very seaborn. Oh, also she wore a great octopus necklace.
I want to do this thing where I bake birthday cakes customized to the birthday person's personality. For example, I created Nancy Cake for Nancy when she finished her first marathon and every time I bake it and introduce it as Nancy Cake, i get kind of tickled by that.
For Sam, my intention was to make a chamomile bundt cake with lemon honey icing. She just seems like that sort of gal. It was really exciting in my head. Unfortunately to work out a new recipe it takes a little experimentation and I lacked the time. Also, because the party was at the beach, it seemed like having a whole cake would not be very easy to eat. So instead, I deferred to something easily grabbable. I made green tea shortbread with vanilla cake and white chocolate ganache.
I'm sad that I didn't get to make Sam Cake. Maybe for a different Sam-centric event I can make it. I'm sorry Sam.
Note: I used half rice flour and half all purpose flour in the vanilla cake to give it a firmer texture. It's probably not a good idea to make this recipe without the rice flour because the cake will be too tender to be sandwiched between the green tea cookies. You can find rice flour at most asian markets. Look for glutinous sweet rice flour. I like Mochiko brand.
Ingredients:
Green Tea Cookies
2 medium egg yolks (it's important to use medium rather than the more common large)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks of butter (200 grams)
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 1/4 cup all purpose or pastry flour
1 teaspoon matcha green tea
Vanilla Cake
3 large eggs
3/4 cup rice flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 stick of butter, melted
2/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
6 oz of cream cheese
additional:
1/2 cup good quality white chocolate
Make Green Tea Shortbread Cookies
1. On a clean surface measure out the flour and the salt and make a well in the center
2. Put the cubed butter, matcha powder, and sugar in the well and slowly start to work in the flour into butter/sugar, softening the butter by working it between your fingers
3. make another well in the center and put the egg yolks in
4. work the egg yolks in until just combined
5. knead 3-4 times (do not overwork the dough)
6. form into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour (you can freeze this dough for up to 3 months)
7. at this point you can make the vanilla cake while the dough is chilling --please skip down to vanilla cake section
8. when the dough is chilled unroll it to about 1/4 of an inch thickness on a lightly floured surface
9. cut the dough with biscuit cutter or what ever shapes your want. I like to make my cookies of various sizes because I think there's something charming about that.
10. bake for 8 to 10 minutes in an oven that has been preheated at 340 degrees. The cookies are done when there is the faintest ring of gold around the edges. These burn easily so be careful
Vanilla Cake
1. Beat the sugar and cream cheese together for about 3-5 minutes
2. incorporate the eggs, one at a time and beating for about a minute after every addition
3. in a separate bowl sift together the rice flour, the all purpose flour, the baking soda and the salt
4. add the flour mixture into the batter in 3 additions
5. fold in the melted butter and the vanilla extract
6. grease two-9 inch square pans and separate the batter evenly between them
7. give the pans a hard tap against your counter to release air bubbles
8. bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the pan
9. let the cake cool fo about 15 minutes and then invert
Assembly:
1. melt the white chocolate in a double broiler or in the microwave by heating at high for 30-45 second. I recommend the double broiler to prevent scorching
2. cut the cakes to fit the size of your cookies
3. spread each side of the vanilla cake with the melted white chocolate and sandwich it between two of the green tea cookies
4. let the white chocolate harden as an adhesive
5. you can also shock the cookies in the freezer for about 1 minute if you're in a rush
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