Green Tea Cake With Strawberry Semifreddo

Description

Source: TASTY PRIDE - TASTY

During my two decades working in the food industry, I’ve been happy to witness a growing sense of acceptance inside the kitchens. Now more than ever, I can be my authentic self at work. As a pastry chef, I am also able to express myself through my desserts—through seasonal produce, different textures, and temperatures. In this semifreddo recipe (which is just a fancy name for a somewhat frozen dessert), strawberries are cooked down and folded into whipped cream and cooked eggs to produce a light-as-a-feather base that then gets frozen—almost like strawberry ice cream. This mixture is layered with a homemade green tea cake to contrast the sweetness of the strawberries, creating an impressive dessert that can be made ahead of time and sliced when ready to eat. It’s an elegant cake that is fairly simple to pull off, especially if you bake the layers the day before assembling. - Pichet Ong

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons loose green tea
• ¼ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• ⅓ cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup matcha powder
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, plus more for garnish
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2½ cups heavy whipping cream, cold

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line two 9 by 13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a small pot, bring 1 cup of water to a bare simmer.
4. Add the loose tea and transfer to a tall, narrow container, such as a cup, then blend with an immersion blender until the tea is finely ground.
5. Strain and return to the container.
6. Add the milk, sour cream, grapeseed oil, salt, sugar, and egg and use the immersion blender to process until smooth.
7. In a medium bowl, sift together the cornstarch, rice flour, baking soda, and matcha.
8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and pulse with the immersion blender until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
9. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared baking sheets and spread out to the edges.
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
12. Make the semifreddo: In a medium pot over medium heat, combine the strawberries with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.
13. Stir every 5 minutes, until thickened, 20 minutes total.
14. The texture should be jamlike and reach about 208°F.
15. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool.
16. In a double boiler or large bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the eggs, egg yolks, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and the lemon zest and juice.
17. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved, the mixture is slightly thickened, and the temperature reaches 155°F, about 5 minutes.
18. Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
19. Whip on high speed until almost tripled in volume and the bottom of the bowl is cool, about 6 minutes.
20. Fold the strawberry mixture into the egg mixture until well combined.
21. Transfer the mixture to a separate large bowl, set aside, and wash the stand mixer bowl.
22. Add the heavy cream to the clean bowl and place it back on the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
23. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form, about 30 seconds.
24. Add half the whipped cream to the egg mixture and stir to combine, then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until just incorporated.
25. To assemble the cake, line a 9 by 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some to overhang on the long sides.
26. Lightly grease with nonstick spray, then line with a sheet of plastic wrap so there are 4 inches of overhang on all sides.
27. Set the pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake.
28. Cut one sheet of cake crosswise into 8 pieces, each about 1½ inches wide.
29. Cut half of the second sheet of cake crosswise into four 1½-inch-wide pieces so you have 12 total pieces of cake. (Leftover cake can be used to patch any gaps during assembly.)
30. Remove the mold from the refrigerator.
31. Add a layer of strawberry semifreddo, about ½ inch thick.
32. Top with 2 cake strips.
33. Continue layering the remaining ingredients, finishing with a layer of semifreddo.
34. When finished, gently tap the pan on a flat surface to fill in trapped air pockets and even out the top.
35. Wrap the plastic wrap over the semifreddo, pressing it directly against the surface.
36. Freeze the cake overnight to set.
37. When ready to serve, remove the cake from the pan and unwrap.
38. Slice crosswise into 8 pieces, each about 1 inch thick.
39. Plate each slice and garnish with strawberries.

YIELD: SERVES 8