cake for a cake friend

I made this matcha chiffon cake for a reader who has now become my real life friend.

She is the first reader whom I have picked up the courage to meet, face to face.

In the past, I only knew her as someone who dropped me a comment once in a while, from her profile name, I could only picture her as a mother with 8 limbs ;) From some of her comments, I also gathered that she has three boys and is holding a full time job. That was all I know about her...until the beginning of this year, she dropped me a note to inform me that her second child happens to be my younger boy's partner. Their desks are side by side, and they queue up together. What a surprise!

It turns out that my elder son was actually the same age as her eldest boy. Through reading my blog, she discovered that they were in the same school, and although they were not in the same class, both boys were friends. She kept mum about it as she feels paiseh or shy to approach me. I would probably do the same if I were her (^^')

Until end of last year, it was by chance she found out that her second child was my younger boy's classmate (I have to thank my boy for it!). In fact, all this while, the four boys know each other. It's a small world, isn't it?

Even though there were some prior exchange of emails, I almost 'shrank' when I thought it was her when I wanted to pass her boy a banana sponge cake I made for her. I wasn't 'ready' to meet anyone...at least not someone who reads my blog. There is this 'thing' about me...that is, I prefer to hide behind an anonymous name. I will be very concerned if my true identity were disclosed. First of all, I do not want to give people the impression that as a stay-at-home-mum, I am so free and have so much time that I could bake and even keep a blog. I don't even tell most of my friends about the existence of this blog....since there is really nothing to be proud of. Furthermore, I think I am doing my readers good...I don't want anyone to faint if they ever meet me in person, haha! I know, I am strange!

It was only last week that I felt I am actually 'ready' to meet her in person. Actually, the feeling just came naturally...or rather, I didn't feel intimidated at the thought of having to meet someone who has been reading my blog. I attribute it to the fact that we seems to share many similarities and most important of all, both of us like baking!

I sorted of hinted by asking whether she has tried baking anything with matcha powder, and she wrote to say she was planning to make me something with matcha! So with the assurance that she likes anything with matcha, I set off to test out a matcha pound cake the night before. I wasn't sure what went wrong...but the cake took an extra 15mins to be cooked, or at least for the top to turn golden brown. Trust me, the loaf of pound cake looked really lovely, but the moment I sank in a knife to cut a slice, it hit me that I have over baked the cake! I felt as though I was cutting into a block of dried sponge foam...you know, those dark green foam that is used for fresh floral arrangement? The cake felt 'sandy' and dry :'(

I didn't want to take the risk to bake the same thing the following morning. I turn to plan B instead...a matcha chiffon cake, recipe from a cookbook which I have just bought. I was taking another risk since it has been a long time since I last baked a chiffon cake. Even though the cake looked good upon unmolding, I wasn't sure about the texture. In the end, my lack of confidence drove me out of the house to get more eggs. I could only feel easy about it after I baked an exact replica.

Although the colour was not pleasant...the texture of the cake was good, or at least, it was a 'pass'. It was soft, springy and moist, something I will not feel too shy to give away, even to a fellow cake friend. This time, I even remembered to do a 'spring test'.