Matcha Flan Cake

For the last year or so, I’ve seen so many ube flan cakes online. I knew I wanted to try it at some point and decided I’d instead make a matcha cake version! I adapted the recipe from Sweet Ambition’s youtube video on ube flan cakes. Her recipe was for a 9 inch cake, so I divided it by 2 for a 6 inch cake.

1. Caramel:

• 100 g granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 320F.
2. Put sugar into a small saucepan and heat on high until sugar dissolves and a caramel forms. You can use one less pot and make the caramel diretly in the cake pan.
3. If you make in a saucepan, pour into your cake and set aside.

2. Flan: [makes a little more than what’s needed for the 6 in cake layer]

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 whole large egg (I used some egg whites instead (about 26 g))
• 187.5 g evaporated milk
• 197.5 g condensed milk
• 25 g sugar
• 2 g vanilla

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Mix until the yolks begin to white a bit.
2. Stir in the evaporated milk and then the condensed milk.
3. Mix gently and then sieve the mixture into the pan.
4. Note, you won’t need the entire mixture. So just add how much flan layer you’d like. I used about 2/3 of the mixure.

3. Matcha Cake [makes 1 6-inch cake]

• 3 large egg yolks
• 25 g granulated sugar (1)
• 2 g salt
• 3 g baking powder
• 85 g cake flour
• 30 g milk
• 28 g vegetable oil
  For the meringue:
• 50 g sugar (2)
• 3 larege egg whites

1. You want to set up a bain marie of sorts in the oven. I put a large tray on the bottom rack and filled it with water.
2. First, add sifted cake flour and baking powder and the salt. Mix and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the milk and oil. Mix and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar (1) until the mixture becomes a pale yellow.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the large bowl an dmix fully.
6. Now add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing gently after each addition.
7. In a different large bowl, make a meringue with the egg whites and sugar (2). First beat egg whites until foamy, then slowly add in the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks.
8. Gently fold in the meringue into the batter in several parts, careful to not fully deflate the meringue. The first addition, I usually mix fully to get the mixture fluffy and then am more careful with the later additions.
9. Tap the bowl down a few times to remove any air bubbles.
10. Carefully pour the batter over the flan mixture in the cake pan. Tap very lightly once again.
11. Bake for about 45 minutes and resist opening the oven. A toothpick should go in and out nicely. It’s better to bake for longer, so if in doubt bake longer ~ 1 hour. If the flan isn’t baked fully, it will seep into the cake and make it mushy.
12. Half way through the baking, cover the cake with foil to prevent burning.
13. Let fully cool and then run something sharp along the edge to release the cake. Invert onto your cake board or serving plate.

Additional Notes:

1. It’s best if the cake is allowed to cool before eating. Chilling overnight in the fridge will help the flan fully set.
2. If you want to dust matcha on top, do it before serving.
3. Once again, it’s better to overbake a little to have the flan fully cook instead of having it soft.
   Gluck!
   -Mario