Black Pepper Sponge Cake With Matcha White Chocolate Buttercream & Strawberry-Rose Compote
Makes: 1 small 4” cake
That is a MOUTHFUL, and I’m not talking just about the name.
A tangy & rosey compote smeared between layers of a soft sponge cake, which itself imparts ever-so-slight heat from crushed spices used in the batter, working together to break the sweet monotony of the creamy, smooth matcha white chocolate buttercream that envelopes it.
ingredients
GROUP A: SPONGE
100 g AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of garam masala
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
80 g granulated sugar
1 egg
85 g plain Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
57 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tsp strawberry jam
GROUP B: COMPOTE
10 - 12 fresh strawberries
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp concentrated rose syrup
5 - 6 drops Angostura bitters
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon juice
GROUP C: BUTTERCREAM
128 g baker’s white chocolate
57 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 tsp dried citrus powder
3 tbsp powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp + a pinch matcha powder
1/2 tsp freeze dried strawberry powder
NOTES
Feel free to use any cake mold of choice, but I recommend sticking to a small 4” ramekin or cake ring, so that the batter will have sufficient height to rise to, and slicing the cake into half, height-wise, will become far easier. A larger mold may also significantly reduce your baking time, since your surface area for the same amount of batter will increase.
Don’t get lazy creaming the butter and sugar; ensure that no flecks/granules of sugar are visible and the consistency of the final mixture should be like the whipped butter, or whipped moisturizer.
The cake is small enough that it can be finished in a day; on the off chance that you want to store it for eating later, refrigerate it in an air tight box for up to 2 days. In this case, be sure to let it “warm” up at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before eating.
METHOD
Make the cake: Grease two 4”-sized baking tins of choice with butter and dust with some flour. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat the butter & sugar in a deep bowl till creamy. Whisk in the egg, oil, yogurt, and vanilla in the same bowl. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, & spices in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter by gradually sifting it in 3 batches, mixing well to fully incorporate the each time. Swirl the strawberry jam into the fully mixed batter and fold to incorporate properly. Divide the batter between the 2 prepared molds and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, till the cakes have risen and a skewer inserted into each center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their moulds for 15- 20 minutes, then pop onto a wire rack and let them cool completely at room temperature.
Make the compote: Wash the strawberries, then de-stem and quarter them. Transfer to a saucepan. Add the sugar and turn heat to medium-low. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then add the lemon juice, rose syrup, vanilla, & bitters. Simmer on medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure it isn't scorching. Keep stirring on low heat till the compote seems like it almost gels together. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely at room temperature. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
Make the base buttercream: Place white chocolate in a small, heat-proof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir very well, then repeat and heat in 15-second increments, stirring very well in between, until chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Set aside to cool. Beat the butter in a deep bowl, until light and creamy. With mixer on low-speed, gradually add melted, cooled chocolate and stir well. Sift in powdered sugar and continue to mix on low speed till well combined. Sprinkle in salt, dried citrus, & vanilla extract, and stir well. Slowly stream in the heavy cream and gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30-60 seconds or until desired consistency is reached (should be light, creamy, fluffy, and slightly increased in volume). Split the buttercream in a 3:4 ratio - 1/4 of the total buttercream will be strawberry flavoured and the rest will be matcha flavoured. Add the flavours to each batch and mix well to fully incorporate.
Assemble the cake: Slice each cake height-wise, to yield 4 discs of cake in totality. Spread or pipe the matcha frosting on the base disc, then layer on the compote. Repeat two more times. When the top-most cake layer has been placed, frost the top of the cake with the strawberry buttercream and the girth of the cake with the matcha one. Finish by smearing streaks of strawberry buttercream onto the matcha layer and sprinkling some sparkling chocolate pearls all over.
