awakening

Matcha latte and cocoa/matcha marble cake 

Matcha latte/recipe

1/4 cup heated water (not boiling)

3/4 cup steamed milk (soy milk or cow's milk)

1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder

method Sift matcha powder to a cup and pour over heated water and whisk. Slowly whisk in milk, tipping cup slightly to form more foam.

Cocoa/matcha marble cake/recipe

250g unsalted butter (room temperature)

250g granulated sugar

250g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

4 eggs (room temperature)

zest of 1/2 orange and 2 tbsp juice

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp matcha green tea powder

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp recently boiled water

method Preheat the oven to 180^oC and line a loaf tin with a baking paper. Put the butter, sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, eggs and zest and juice of orange into a processor and blitz to a batter.

Divide the batter between two bowls. Put the cocoa powder into a small bowl and whisk in the milk and fold this into one of the bowls of cake mixture. Put the matcha powder into a small bowl and whisk in the water and fold this into another bowl of cake mixture.

Spoon a half of dark-colored cake batter into the pan, and make sort of a canal with the spoon. Spoon a green-colored cake batter in a 'canal' and all over the dark batter. Keep going with a remaining half of dark batter, spoon it over the green one. Once you are done with this, shake a tin slightly just to combine the layers.

Bake in the oven for about an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely before you start eating it. 

Sip brilliantly green latte, listen spring whispering and watch an afternoon laze by.

Another spring, another sunny afternoon, another reason to love Thursday..

 

Ichi-go Ichi-e

‘treasure each moment, because everything happens once in lifetime’

‘knead’ a weekend!

Need a weekend?

Definitely. Time is crucial ingredient not only for you, it is the most important ‘ingredient’ for making bread as well. 

First you need to get in shape. You must be relaxed and must do some exercise before we start. So, start picking apples from trees and grass from the ground, and don’t forget to stretch! 

Again, apples than grass and stretch... it takes only few minutes.

Now, get a big bowl and begin to ‘knead’ your weekend! 

Bread 

Flour

Yeast

Salt

Water 

-500g flour (strong bread flour)

-4dl water (room temperature)

-salt, 1,5 tsp

-40g fresh yeast 

Rub the yeast in the flour than add salt and keep adding water to form sticky dough. Then transfer the dough to surface and literally beat the dough until it becomes non sticky to fingers. This is actually the hard work and it lasts for around 10-15 minutes. Be patient! This is the process where you are giving the character to your bread.

Once this is over, leave the dough to rest in the bowl, cover with clean kitchen towel and leave to rise for at least an hour. 

It's time for you to rest as well!

After 1-2 hours..

When the dough has doubled in size, place it to floured surface and spread it with fingers making square shape. You will smell the process of fermentation.. divine..

Before we divide the dough we must fold it. Take the top of the dough and fold to the center (center of the square) by pressing it gently with your fingers or with back of your hand, if it's easier for you. Do the same to the other side of the squared dough (fold to the center, do the same as for the top). Now fold the dough again, by making the shape of rolling pin.

Divide the dough to wanted sizes (I took one third and made small bread and two thirds I used for that bread from the picture; see down below).

Knead the dough gently with fingers just by placing ‘edges’ to the center. 

The best part is when at the very end you see those hidden bubbles inside the 'house', I mean bread. That is the sign that something good is cooking inside.

Dust with flour and leave to rise a bit more in a pan.

  

Preheat the oven to 220^oC, make marks with sharp knife on the surface of the loaf. Bake 10-15 minutes on 220^oC and after that time reduce the temperature to 200^oC and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

Ta daaaaaa!

A slice of warm, homemade bread..  what more do you need for the weekend!?