Hojicha, as I mentioned in a previous post, is typically made by roasting sencha, a raw material for green tea. It has a warm, toasty aroma with subtle chocolaty notes and low caffeine content, making it a perfect beverage for any time of day and suitable for everyone.
For this cake recipe, I’ve used a higher-grade Hojicha powder, crafted from roasted tencha (the base material for matcha) and roasted to a deeper degree. This gives the cake a more complex, rich, roasty aroma and a smoother mouthfeel. The dark chocolate layered with the Hojicha buttercream enhances the tea’s unique flavor, creating a luxurious blend that melts in your mouth.
To finish, a Hojicha syrup is gently brushed over the airy sponge cake, adding an extra dimension of Hojicha essence. The result is a cake that takes your appreciation of Hojicha to a whole new level. Give it a try!
Hojicha Butter Cream Cake
Hojicha butter cream and dark chocolate ganache layered with airy sponge cake
Equipment
- 15cm (6") round cake pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Sponge cake
- 3 Eggs
- 80 g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) Sugar
- 55 g (1/2 cup) Cake flour
- 30 g (1/4 cup) Corn starch
- 24 g (2 tbsp) Milk
- 24 g (2 tbsp) Unsalted butter
Hojicha syrup
- 60 g (1/4 cup) Water
- 15 g (1 tbsp) Rum
- 5 g (2 tsp) Hojicha powder
Italian meringue white chocolate butter cream
- 30 g (2 tbsp) Water
- 90 g (7 tbsp) Sugar
- 40 g Egg whites (about 1 large egg or 2 small eggs)
- 10 g (2 tsp) Sugar
- 225 g (1 cup) Unsalted butter
- 10 g (2 tsp) Rum
- 225 g (8 oz) White chocolate
Hojicha butter cream
- 300 g ( 1 1/4 cups) Italian meringue white chocolate butter cream
- 12 g (1 tbsp) Hojicha powder
Dark chocolate ganache
- 75 g (2 1/2 oz) 70% Dark chocolate
- 75 g (1/3 cup) Heavy cream
- 8 g (1 1/2 tsp) Rum
Butter cream decorations
- Matcha
- Freeze dried strawberry powder
- Cocoa powder
NOTE: For best results, measure ingredients with a scale using grams. Cup measurements (US customary units) are provided for your convenience but are not always accurate.
Instructions
Sponge cake
- Preheat the oven at 175℃(350℉) and line the 15cm cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until it becomes pale yellow, thick and fluffy.
- Sift the flour and corn starch together and whisk in the egg mixture.
- Warm the milk and butter together until the butter melts. Incorporate it into the egg and flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and the center spring back when you touch it for about 40 mins. Cool completely.
Italian meringue white chocolate butter cream
- In a small pot, add the 30g of water and 90g of sugar and place on medium-low heat.
- In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites and 10g of sugar until soft peaks form.
- When the water and sugar mixture reaches 117℃ (242℉), slowly drizzle into the meringue while the mixer is running with high speed.
- Continue to whisk the meringue at medium speed until it becomes room temperature.
- Cut the unsalted butter into small pieces and slowly incorporate it into the meringue while the mixer is running on low speed.
- Mix in the rum and slowly incorporate the melted white chocolate. Set aside.
Hojicha butter cream
- Sift the Hojicha powder and add 300g of butter cream and mix well. If the Hojicha powder gets clumpy, strain the cream to make it smooth.
- Set aside the rest of the butter cream for decorating the cake.
70% Dark chocolate ganache
- Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for about 1 minute.
- Slowly mix them together until it becomes shiny and smooth.
Assemble the cake
- Slice the sponge cake into 5 slices
- Combine the Hojicha syrup ingredients and apply with a pastry brush on a slice of the sponge.
- Layer the sponge cake and cream. sponge cake + Hojicha syrup -> Hojicha butter cream -> sponge cake + Hojicha syrup -> ganache -> sponge cake + Hojicha syrup -> Hojicha butter cream -> sponge cake + Hojicha syrup -> ganache -> sponge cake + Hojicha syrup -> Hojicha butter cream
- Crumb coat the cake with Hojicha butter cream.
- Cover the cake with Hojicha butter cream and decorate with butter cream decorations.
- For the butter cream decorations, take small portions of butter cream and combine each of them with Matcha powder, cocoa powder, and freeze-dried strawberry powder.
Notes
- The temperature control is essential for Italian meringue. I recommend using a candy thermometer for the precise temperature.
- If you have leftover buttercream, you can make butter cream sandwich cookies, pipe it on cupcakes, or spread it on a slice of bread.
- You can also freeze the butter cream for up to a few months. Wrap the butter cream in a piece of plastic wrap and freeze it. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it in a refrigerator for about 3-6 hours and whip it again with a mixer.
For the latest recipes and food articles:
Discover more from Kitchen Porcupine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I tried this recipe for my friend’s birthday, and she loved it! The Hojicha syrup that is applied to the sponge emphasizes the Hojicha flavor, and it gives another layer of depth to the cake. It’s unique and delicious! Highly recommended!
The Hojicha syrup was a last minute idea but it worked pretty well. Because Hojicha taste is not as strong as other ingredients like coffee, adding extra is the key to make it Hojicha-y!