Matcha white chocolate melon pan loaf cake
A super moist and flavoursome loaf cake swirled with matcha and white chocolate, topped with a melon pan cookie-esque topping.
If you make anything from my website, THIS has got to be the one.
This recipe is based on a recipe for a jaffa (choc-orange) cake that the mother has used for years and is always a hit. It is so moist and flavoursome, and rises wonderfully.
Like I said before, if you choose to make only one thing from my website, this loaf cake has got to be it. Make it even easier by omitting the cookie topping, because that's just how good the cake portion is. Mix it up by using a mix of white chocolate and dark/milk chocolate instead, or using earl grey instead of matcha. Add some zest in or swirl with any chunky add-ins. The world is your oyster when you have a good base recipe!
I had a bunch of matcha left from a client shoot, so I thought that I'd better do something with it before it goes brown and stale. You can generally be quite generous with the amount of matcha you use in baking, so feel free to increase the matcha if you'd like.
Why did I decide to include the melon pan-esque cookie topping? Well, I was going to add some kind of chunky crumble or streusel topping, but remembered that melon pan (which I love) exists. The thing I love about these kinds of toppings on cakes is that they can also help to keep the moisture in. Kind of like a texturally interesting and flavoursome protective shell.
Also I think it's kind of fun how it looks a bit like a turtle shell, which is an actual protective shell.
This recipe makes enough for two small loaves or one large loaf.
Don't forget to cover the top halfway through baking to ensure the top doesn't get too brown (like in some of the photos here... oops).
I also found that scoring the topping quite deeply gives a nicer overall look, but no stress if you don't. It will still taste just as good, and the cake is sturdy enough to rise through the topping anyway.
If you prefer the sides to be less browned, be sure to use a lighter coloured loaf tin.
You may have also noticed that these images show two different loaves. One (the above image) is from a batch of two smaller loaves, and the other (the next image) is from a batch of one larger loaf.
With the smaller loaf, you can see that the swirl and the distinction between the two colours is much clearer. This is due to the fact that the larger loaf has too many layers. So if you want that clear distinction, I'd suggest sticking to only 4 layers per loaf.
If you have any leftover topping dough, don't worry! Just roll it out, use a cookie cutter, and bake them - that's what I did with the bit of leftover I had. They're basically like cut-out cookies because they don't spread!
The below recipe makes enough topping for two batches of the cake. I know this because I actually made two batches of the cake using one batch of the topping, so there you go. I only provide this quantity for the topping because it uses one egg. Feel free to weigh out half the egg, but honestly I'd suggest just making the whole batch and baking the rest as cookies (or freezing for next time).
Recipe
For the matcha cookie topping
Makes enough for two batches of loaf cake (2x the below recipe)
From Just One Cookbook
INGREDIENTS:
60g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
100g castor sugar
1 egg
200g plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1-2tsp matcha (to preference)
METHOD:
1. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg until well incorporated.
2. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and matcha and beat on a low speed until evenly incorporated. You may need to fold by hand to ensure there are no flour pockets at the bottom of the bowl.
3. Transfer the dough onto some clingwrap and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the matcha white chocolate loaf cake
Makes 1 23x13x8cm loaf OR 2 21.5x11x6cm loaves
INGREDIENTS:
12-15g matcha (3-4tbsp)
110g white chocolate, divided into 55g and 55g
40g unsalted butter, divided into 20g and 20g
250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
330g castor sugar
4 eggs
250g buttermilk (1c)
375g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
3/4tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
roughly 1tbsp sugar to sprinkle (optional)
METHOD:
1. Grease and line a loaf tin (or two) and set aside. Preheat oven to 175°C.
2. In a small bowl, melt 55g of white chocolate with 20g butter and repeat with the remaining 55g white chocolate and 20g butter. Add the matcha to one of the bowls and stir to completely combine. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the 250g butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each egg is mostly incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the buttermilk. Don't worry if the mixture looks split.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and fold (or beat on the lowest speed) until no big pockets of dry or wet remain.
Remove half of your prepared topping dough (above recipe) from the fridge and set aside.
5. Weigh out half of the cake batter into a bowl. Pour one of the bowls of chocolate mixture into one half of cake batter and fold until evenly combined (you may have to gently remelt the chocolate).
Repeat with the other half of the cake batter and the other bowl of chocolate.
6. Into the loaf tin, pour alternating layers of matcha batter and plain batter. There should be 2 layers of each batter (4 layers total) to ensure more defined swirls. Using a knife, swirl the batter by drawing figure eights down the length of the pan. Do not over swirl.
7. Roll out the biscuit topping to the size of your loaf tin (if making two smaller loaves, divide the dough in half first - so 1/4 of the original amount) (doesn't need to be exact) and gently place on top of the batter. Trim the edges if necessary. Score a crisscross pattern on the top, then sprinkle with sugar if desired.
8. Bake for 60 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake with foil halfway through baking to avoid too much browning.
Leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.
That's it, enjoy!
Store in an airtight container or on a dish covered tightly with clingwrap at room temperature.
