Mikan Matcha Cake

LIANN__B
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NIKO NEKO

liann__b is a home cafe on instagram that brings you a cozy cafe atmosphere without having to leave your home. Inspired by her cafe hopping days, this home cafe allows her to recreate those moments and express her creativity by coming up with her own favourite recipes. The recipes that she creates are just as mesmerising as it is convenient and simple to make, guaranteed to produce a mouth-watering dish ready to be photographed and served.

“I started to make my IG like a cafe’s account, but it’s actually my home, with the food that I passionately created.”

Liann B / @liann__b

Instagram: liann__b
Facebook: wukkabyliannb

INTERVIEW WITH @LIANN__B

Your food/drink photos on instagram are amazingly aesthetic and dream-like — how did your passion start?

I used to be a frequent cafe hopper in the past, as I always enjoyed the cafe atmosphere. There were a lot of cafes during the cafe trend waves – but after some time I found most of the menus to be similar & simple. As a home person, I started my "home cafe", and began decorating my home like a cozy cafe. I cooked & styled the food, and of course without wasting my effort, I took photos & shared them with my friends.

I found photography as a way to express my passion for food, and am lucky enough that I had some guidance from a close friend who loves photography as well. I did a lot of research on food photography. After a lot of trials and error, I questioned myself: “Why do I need to follow others? I should have my own style which is my home cafe”. That’s when I started to make my IG like a cafe’s account, but it’s actually my home, with the food that I passionately created.

Your food/drink photos on instagram are amazingly aesthetic and dream-like — how did your passion start?

I used to be a frequent cafe hopper in the past, as I always enjoyed the cafe atmosphere. There were a lot of cafes during the cafe trend waves – but after some time I found most of the menus to be similar & simple. Since I am a home person, I started my HOME CAFE. Decorating my home like a cozy cafe, I cooked & styled the food nicely, and of course without wasting my effort, I took photos & shared them with my friends.

I found photography as a way to express my passion for food, and am lucky enough that I had some guidance from a close friend who loves photography as well. I did a lot of research on food photography. After a lot of trial and errors, I questioned myself: “Why do I need to follow others? I should have my own style which is my home cafe”. That’s when I started to make my IG like a cafe’s account, but it’s actually my home, with the food that I passionately created.

What do you do for a living, and how do you balance work and passion?

I’ve been working in the fashion industry for years as a Fashion Designer & Merchandiser.

Being creative is a MUST in my everyday life. I love doing all sorts of styling & matching, even with food that I love! With creativity, everything can turn into something else, as long as you don’t restrict any possibility with those common knowledge.

Any personal tips for your viewers on taking mesmerizing photos of their matcha creations?

Bring the best of the main subject that you need to present in the photos. Of course when it comes to food/drinks, the food in the photos should not only look good by it’s plating, but must be appetizing.

I also chose dinnerware that best matches with the food/drinks that I’ve made. Sometimes a fancy background can be too overwhelming, so it’s better to keep the background as simple as you can.

How did you come up with Mikan Matcha Cake recipe?

I have been baking Mikan Cake as a CNY gift for my friends all these years. I love the pairing of citrus & matcha so I thought why not I just try to add in matcha to my recipe and voila! It tasted better than I thought!

Why did you use a mix of Matcha & Genmaicha in this recipe?

I mixed both AJISAI / Matcha and MOKUREN / Genmaicha, because I'm so in love with both of their umami. Mixing them together creates a more toasty taste, which may not be strong in Matcha taste, but it is able to balance with the sweetness of mikan as well as the butter cake.

Personal tips for your recipe viewers when working with Matcha recipes.

Always remember they are the main character in the recipe. Be careful when using flavorful sweetener such as honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup, they may dumb down the amazing matcha flavours.

What do you do for a living, and how do you balance work and passion?

I’ve been working in the fashion industry for years as a Fashion Designer & Merchandiser.

Any personal tips for your viewers on taking mesmerizing photos of their matcha creations?

Bring out the best of the main subject that you need to present in the photos. Of course when it comes to food/drinks, the food in the photos should not only look good by its plating, but it must also be appetizing.

I also chose dinnerware that best matches with the food/drinks that I’ve made. Sometimes a fancy background can be too overwhelming, so it’s better to keep the background as simple as you can.

How did you come up with Mikan Matcha Cake recipe?

Why did you use a mix of Matcha & Genmaicha in this recipe?

Personal tips for your recipe viewers when working with Matcha recipes.

Always remember they are the main character in the recipe. Be careful when using flavorful sweetener such as honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup, they may dumb down the amazing matcha flavours.

RECIPE

Mikan Matcha Cake

by @liann__b

Recipe for 21 x 6 x 8cm baking tray

Prep time : 15mins
Bake time : 40-45mins

Ingredients

5g AJISAI / Matcha powder + 5g MOKUREN / Genmaicha powder
125g Unsalted Butter (Room temperature)
2 Large Eggs (Approx total 100+g whole eggs)
150g Cake Flour (sifted)
80g Molasses Sugar
40g Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
Mikan (Mandarin Oranges) / Mikan Segments (Peeled flesh) *Depends on how you want to mix it in, refer to instructions*
Cranberries (optional)

Method To Prepare Mikan (Mandarin Orange)

Method 1: If you want to present the mikan like I did with the CUBE TRAY, just peel a whole mikan and try to peel off the pith as much as possible to avoid bitter taste from it.

Method 2: If you prefer to mix the mikan into the batter, prepare the segment by removing all the skin/pith and keep only the pulp.

Method To Assemble

First, using a hand mixer or whisk, beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
Add in flour, baking powder & salt, using a spatula gently mix until combined, the mixture will seem dry at this moment.
In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients eggs, milk & vanilla extract.
Add the mixture of wet ingredients to the dry mixture, gently mix both using a spatula until combined before using the hand mixer to beat until fully combined. (If using a hand mixer directly, the wet ingredients may spill everywhere).
In another clean bowl, add in around half of the cake batter mixture, add in Matcha and Genmaicha powder, mix until fully combined.
Now we have 2 different flavored cake batter. Time to add them into the tray!
Preheat oven 180C. Prepare your lined baking tray.
-For whole mikan: Pour in the matcha cake batter, and place whole mikan in the middle, next by pouring the plain cake batter on top and cover the whole mikan.
-For mikan segment (mixed plain batter with the mikan segment (and cranberries)): Pour in the matcha cake batter, next by pouring the added mikan & cranberries batter on top.
Place tray in the middle of the preheated oven, bake for 40-45mins & done!

SHOP AJISAI / MATCHA POWDER HERE

AJISAI / MATCHA POWDER

Start Baking Your Mikan Matcha Cake Today With AJISAI / Matcha Powder.

SHOP NOW

Start Baking Your Mikan Matcha Cake Today With AJISAI / Matcha Powder.

SHOP NOW

SHOP MOKUREN / GENMAICHA POWDER HERE

MOKUREN / GENMAICHA POWDER

Start Baking Your Mikan Matcha Cake Today With MOKUREN / Genmaicha Powder.

SHOP NOW

Start Baking Your Mikan Matcha Cake Today With MOKUREN / Genmaicha Powder.

SHOP NOW