Matcha & Mandarin Bundt Cake

This Matcha & Mandarin cake was fantastic, I loved it still slightly warm from the oven with the icing still runny (actually I couldn't wait for it to cool down it smelt so good). This recipe is a conversion of a wheat based recipe that appeared in the August 2016 Bake the Issue edition of Taste magazine.

 

Ingredients

Cake

340 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Bicarb of soda 

1 tbs Fresh ginger

1 tsp Vanilla bean paste

300 g Butter (room temperature)

270 g Caster sugar

3 Eggs

Zest from 3 mandarins

75 g Mandarin juice + extra 20 g

55 g Almond meal

275 g Buttermilk

2.5 tsp Matcha powder (~6 g)

 

Matcha powder - I bought my Green tea matcha powder at a health food store ($24 for 70 g). The original recipe used 5 tsp of matcha powder (~12 g), this amount made the dough very stiff & it was hard to get a good swirling pattern. 

 

Mandarin Icing

115 g Icing sugar

25 g Mandarin juice

Zest of mandarin

 

Sugared Mandarin zest

50 g Caster sugar

125 g Water

Long pieces of mandarin zest

extra caster sugar

 

Mandarins - You will need a minimum of 3 juicy mandarins. I used Alfouris as their zest colour was a really deep orange. 

 

Method

Preheat oven to 160 C (fan forced).

Grease a 26 cm non-stick bundt pan or use a cake ring tin if you don't have a bundt pan.

Combine together the Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda & almond meal (flour mix).

Using a stand mixer or hand held electric beaters cream the butter, sugar, zest, ginger & vanilla.

Add in one egg & beat until combined. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Add in the flour mix & gently combine.

Mix in 1/2 the mandarin juice & 1/2 the buttermilk until combined.

Add in the remaining buttermilk & juice. I usually fold in the last of the liquid ingredients.

Put 550 g of dough into another mixing bowl. Add in the matcha powder & 20 g of mandarin juice & stir to combine.

Place spoonfuls of the two cake batters randomly into the bundt pan. Use a blunt knife to create a swirled effect. 

Put the bundt pan in the oven & bake for ~45 - 50 mins. The length of time will depend on your oven, if in doubt insert a skewer into the centre of the cake if it comes out clean the cake is ready.

Bring the pan out of the oven & allow to cool for ~5 mins before turning the cake out on to a cooling rack. Allow to cool considerably before putting on the icing.

Icing - mix together the sugar, zest & juice until it has a uniform consistency, allow it to sit for ~10 mins to thicken slightly. Drizzle the icing over the cake. Top with sugared mandarin zest.

Sugared mandarin zest - Combine the sugar with the water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cut long thin strips of mandarin zest & place them in the sugar water. Simmer the zest for ~20 mins. Transfer to some baking paper & when cool toss in caster sugar.

Simply enjoy!