Matcha Jasmine Cake with Yuzu Curd

For key visual process photos, refer to the body of the blog post.

Infuse the milk with jasmine tea:

1. Heat up whole milk in a small saucepan (or microwave) until scalding hot.
2. Add in the jasmine green tea and dried jasmine flowers.
3. Give the milk a stir and let it steep for 10 minutes.
4. Strain the milk from the tea and jasmine flowers.
5. Note: As the tea and flowers will absorb some of the milk, add enough milk to make a total of 40ml jasmine milk.
6. Note: If using jasmine tea powder, just whisk the tea powder with the milk.

Infuse the jasmine whipped cream:

1. Pour the heavy cream into a saucepot and add in the jasmine green tea and jasmine flowers.
2. Heat over low heat until scalding hot (do not boil).
3. Remove from heat and let it steep for 10 minutes.
4. Strain the cream through a sieve and remove tea and jasmine flowers.
5. Cool completely and chill the jasmine cream in the fridge overnight, until ready to use.
6. Note: If using jasmine tea powder, add the jasmine tea powder to the whipping cream and powdered sugar and proceed to "prepare the jasmine whipped cream."

Make the matcha jasmine cake batter:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C.
2. Line two 6" round pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks with 40g granulated sugar, vegetable oil, matcha, and jasmine milk tea mixture.
4. Sift in the cake flour over top of the egg yolk mixture and fold gently to combine, until there are no lumps.
5. In a clean stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, add in the egg whites and mix on low speed.
6. Once the egg whites are slightly foamy with bubbles, add in a little cream of tartar (or lemon juice/vinegar).
7. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer, and slowly pour in 40g granulated sugar.
8. Continue to whip the egg whites until fluffy, shiny and reaches a soft peak. (The egg whites will form a curved tail at the end of the whisk).
9. Fold about a third of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter. This will help to loosen up the egg yolk batter.
10. Add the next 3rd of the egg white mixture, folding it into the egg yolk mixture.
11. Continue to fold until all of the remaining egg white mixture is incorporated into the batter, taking care not to overfold.
12. Divide and transfer the cake batter into two 6" round pans (use a scale to evenly distribute).
13. Gently tap the pans a few times to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake the cake:

1. Bake at 325°F/163°C for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The top of the cake should be dry and springy to the touch.
2. Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately drop them from a height of about 1' (to prevent too much shrinkage).
3. Cool the cakes in the pan for about 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the jasmine whipped cream:

1. Pour the cold jasmine cream to a large chilled bowl or stand mixer bowl fitted with a wire whisk.
2. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until soft peaks. (Reserve a portion for the matcha whipped cream).

Make the matcha whipped cream:

1. Take about 1 C of the jasmine whipped cream and whisk in the matcha powder and powdered sugar to incorporate.

Decorate the cake:

1. Slice each cake in half equatorially.
2. Place one cake round onto a cake board.
3. Pipe jasmine whipped cream around the circumference of the cake.
4. Add a layer of yuzu curd to the centre and smooth with an offset spatula.
5. Place the second cake round on top.
6. Repeat with the remaining layers, ending with a matcha cake round on top.
7. Working quickly, add the softly whipped jasmine whipped cream to the cake and cover the surface with an offset spatula.
8. Place cake into the fridge to set.
9. Decorate the cake with the matcha whipped cream to your liking.
10. Chill and store the cake in the fridge until ready to serve.