Essence of Japan Moist Matcha Pound Cake

Every now and then I get a craving for a green tea-ish dessert. The bitterness of green tea balances nicely with things sweet. This craving sometimes takes the form of a cake. Pound cakes are probably the easiest cakes to make: just mix and bake. I can make this cake in 30 minutes (including baking time!). If you hate dry crumbly cakes, you will love this recipe. It yields a wonderfully moist cake, thanks to the yoghurt. I usually make half the recipe else I get tempted to eat the whole thing. 

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 T plain yoghurt

1 cup flour

1 T matcha

½ t baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and yoghurt. Add the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a lined pound cake pan. Bake for 10 minutes in 350°F. Take out and use a knife to draw a vertical line on the cake's surface. Put back into the oven and bake another 10-20 minutes in 325°F (if baking just half of this recipe, 10 minutes will do. If doing the full recipe, longer time might be required. Use a toothpick to check the doneness of the middle). 

Frances' Chocolate Cake

"Oh yes," said Mother, "you may be sure that there will always be 

plenty of chocolate cake around here."

- A Baby Sister for Frances, Russel and Lillian Hoban

Every family ought to have their own go-to chocolate cake recipe, and this happens to be ours. I got it off the back of the packet of Ghirardelli's Premium Baking Cocoa and it's their recipe for their Grand Fudge Cake (or cupcake). One time I ran out of confectioner's sugar and discovered a way to make a nice chocolate frosting without it. 

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

½ t salt (I omit this if I use salted butter which is sometimes the only thing available)

1 cup butter 

1 ¾ cups sugar

2 t vanilla

2 large eggs

1 ⅓ cups milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9" round cake pans. In a bowl, sift together baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl,cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with flour mixture) while mixing until smooth. Pour into the pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

No Confectioner's Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1 cup sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

1 t vanilla

Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat then add vanilla. Cool partially and then beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Spread on cooled cake. 

Just Spoil Them Premium Carrot Cake

I love a good slice of carrot cake -- I like my carrot cake moist, perfectly spiced, accompanied by delectable nuts and raisins and dressed in the classic tangy cream cheese frosting. I always thought carrot cakes are one of those things that are too difficult to make, until my friend Abi learned a recipe from the Miriam Adult Education (MAE) bakeshop and shared it with me. Whenever I make this carrot cake, the kids request to have a slice of this for breakfast, and my husband thinks they're spoiled. The cake is wonderful by itself but if you have time to make the frosting, do so. I've had guests use their fingers to get the last bit of frosting.

Cake ingredients:
2 cups flour 
1¾ cups sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
½ t ground cloves
1 t ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup oil  (I used olive oil)
1 t vanilla
½ cup cold orange juice (If Abi were going for super premium, she would squeeze out the juice of an orange)
2 cups grated carrots
½ cup nuts (I often use almonds as they are the nuts that get left behind in mixed nuts but for this batch, I used cashews)
½ cup raisins (dried cranberries upgrades the carrot cake by several levels)

Beat all ingredients (except last three) for about 10 minutes. Fold in carrots, nuts and raisins. Bake for 40 minutes at 190°C or  375°F or until done. Allow to cool. Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy, I omit the icing and the cake is still a scrumptious treat as is. But if you're feeling decadent, the icing is worth the extra work. 

Icing ingredients:

1 packet cream cheese

½  cup butter
½  cup icing sugar
1 small can crushed pineapples

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add icing sugar. Fold in crushed pineapples. Spread over cooled cake, or just serve the cake with a dollop of icing.