Castella of Spelt and Matcha

This has been on my Pinterest board for almost three years. My rotation of dry goods (matcha, spelt...) had never aligned and the recipe was perhaps doomed to be unrealized except that three days ago, wandering through the aisles for pancake mix, I noticed that spelt flour was on sale.

As I was riding the subway back home, my heart was telling me that I'd just, perhaps, stepped closer to Pinterest perfection. The recipe in question is adapted from Angie's Recipes. The modifications to follow were due to the constraints of my arsenal. Just a good excuse to make this again. While I still have the spelt.

Castella is a traditional Japanese sponge cake, light from the beaten egg whites and sweetened with honey and sweet wine, and often served with tea. (I paired it with white). The matcha gives it a stunning, herbaceous, green tint and a shot of antioxidants that green tea is so celebrated for.

Castella of Spelt and Matcha

1 cup spelt flour
1 tablespoon matcha tea powder (I used Harvey & Son's Matcha Jobetsugi)
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
5 egg whites, room temperature
5 egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet white wine
1 1/2 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 320º F. Sift spelt, matcha and salt together in a large bowl. In a bain marie, (easily make-shifted with a bowl holding hot water and another small bowl sitting inside) melt the honey and stir in the white wine. Set both dry and wet ingredients aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the cornstarch until foamy. Add the sugar in three parts, beating the eggs until thick peaks begin to form. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low, and add in the egg yolks, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients, with mixer still on low, and finally the honey/wine mixture.

Line a tin cake round or casserole with parchment paper. Pour batter into the pan, smoothing over any batter bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and let sit for five before peeling away the parchment paper.

 

Oh. It was snowing: