Matcha Chestnut Cake

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Ingredients

Matcha Cake (Genoise-style), 6 inches
  • 3 eggs
  • 100g sugar (can reduce to 80g)
  • 25g milk
  • 7g matcha powder
  • 100g cake flour
  • 25g unsalted butter, melted
Chestnut cream
  • 85g chestnut paste (see appendix)
  • about 40g chestnut bits, or adjust to taste
  • 200g whipping cream
  • 15g chestnut syrup
Matcha "Mont Blanc" Chestnut Puree
  • 300g chestnut paste (see appendix)
  • 80~120g whipping cream
  • 60g chestnut syrup
  • ≤ 20g water
  • 15g matcha powder
  • 30g unsalted butter, melted

Steps

Bake the cake (350°F, 40 mins, with convection)
  1. (Prep) Preheat the oven at 350°F
  2. (Prep) Line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper on both the sides and the bottom
  3. (Prep) In a medium bowl, mix the matcha powder and the cake flour until there are no clumps
  4. In a large mixing bowl, crack the eggs and add the sugar
  5. Place the mixing bowl over a warm water bath at about 40°C
  6. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer until the mixture is frothy and pale, and more than doubled in volume (whole eggs are difficult to over-beat, so feel free to keep beating for an extra minute if you are unsure)
    1. You can also tilt the mixing bowl to the side so that the mixer is pushing the eggs upwards against gravity. That will help incorporate more air into the mixture for a softer cake.
  7. Add the milk and butter and mix briefly
  8. Sift in the matcha and flour mixture and mix until incorporated
  9. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes
Make chestnut cream
  1. (Prep) Refrigerate or freeze a glass mixing bowl ahead of time
  2. Add whipping cream and syrup to a cold mixing bowl
  3. Whip at medium-high speed until peaks form
  4. Add the chestnut paste and whip at low speed until uniform (~10 seconds)
Assembling the cake layers
  1. Slice the cake into 3 layers (2 layers is also fine, depending on the height of your cake)
    1. Save the bottom layer to use as the top
  2. Get the first layer, brush with some syrup (a diluted chestnut syrup from the marron glacé would work)
  3. Add the chestnut cream on top and even it out
  4. Sprinkle on some chestnut bits for a variation in texture
  5. Place the middle layer on top and repeat steps 2-4
  6. Take the bottom cake layer you saved in step 1, turn it upside down and place at the top
  7. Add a thin layer of chestnut cream for "crumb coat"
  8. Put the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
Make chestnut "Mont Blanc"
  1. Mix the chestnut paste with half of the syrup and whipping cream and mix well
  2. Gradually add more syrup, whipping cream, and water until it reaches a consistency suitable for piping (taste test to decide which ones to add)
  3. Transfer a couple dollops of chestnut puree into a separate bowl, add the matcha powder and mix well
  4. Add more chestnut puree or water to the small bowl as needed for consistency
  5. Once the mixture is uniform, add the chestnut puree back to the remainder of the chestnut paste and mix well
Decorate the cake with the "Mont Blanc" puree
  1. Transfer the chestnut puree to a piping bag. For the sides, I used the #47 piping tip for a basket-weave look
  2. See this video on how to pipe the basket design.
  3. For the top, I used the same #47 piping tip (too lazy to switch tips 😅) in a repeated S-shape to cover the top. You can use any design you want, but there should be 2 layers of puree covering the entire top
  4. Finally, add the candied chestnuts for topping

Comments

  • The candied chestnuts came out tougher than expected. I adjusted the amount of sugar in the syrup to try to make it more tender.
  • For a simpler version of this cake, skip the candied chestnut topping, and replace the chestnut syrup with honey-water mixture. Use store-bought canned chestnut paste.
  • The decoration came out a little too green for my taste. Next time I might consider using cocoa powder in the chestnut paste mix on the side for a brown color, while leaving the top green.

Appendix

Candied chestnut (marron glacé)

  • 100g chestnuts
  • 120g brown sugar (can reduce to 80g)
  • 60g water
Mix the brown sugar and water in a pot, and simmer the chestnuts for 10 minutes. Soak for 2-4 days if possible.

Strain out the syrup for use in the chestnut cream and puree.

Chestnut paste

(Note: Can be substituted with canned chestnut paste if available)
  • ~400g chestnuts in total for this recipe, cooked and peeled
  • Add just enough water for it to blend smoothly
  1. Fill up the blender, or cup for immersion blender, until 1/3 full
  2. Add water until the chestnuts are submerged
  3. Blend the chestnuts into a smooth puree
  4. Add more chestnuts until 2/3 full and blend until it forms a smooth paste
  5. Transfer the paste into a separate bowl
  6. Repeat steps 1-5 until all the chestnuts are blended
  7. Push the paste through a fine sieve to get rid of all the chunks
  8. The paste should be a play-doh-like consistency. If it is too watery, transfer it into a pan on low heat while constantly stirring to evaporate away some of the water.

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