Fluffy Hojicha Cake (Printable)

Delicate genoise sponge infused with roasted hojicha tea and silky whipped cream for a fragrant Japanese dessert.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Sponge Cake

01 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
02 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 cup cake flour, sifted
04 - 2 tablespoons hojicha powder
05 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
06 - 2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
07 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Hojicha Whipped Cream

08 - 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, minimum 35% fat
09 - 1/3 cup powdered sugar
10 - 1 tablespoon hojicha powder
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 340°F. Line bottom of 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper without greasing the sides.
02 - Combine eggs and granulated sugar in heatproof bowl. Place over simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture reaches 104°F.
03 - Remove from heat and beat with electric mixer on high speed until thick, pale, and tripled in volume, approximately 7 minutes. Reduce speed and beat 1 additional minute.
04 - Sift together cake flour, hojicha powder, and salt. Gently fold into egg mixture in two additions, preserving airiness of batter.
05 - Combine melted butter and milk in small bowl. Add a scoop of batter to this mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold entire mixture back into main batter.
06 - Pour batter into prepared pan and tap gently to remove air bubbles.
07 - Bake 23-25 minutes until top springs back when lightly pressed and skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
08 - Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around edges and invert onto cooling rack. Remove parchment paper and cool completely.
09 - In chilled bowl, sift hojicha powder and powdered sugar together. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract. Whip to medium-stiff peaks.
10 - Slice cooled sponge horizontally into two or three layers. Spread hojicha whipped cream between each layer and over top. Dust with additional hojicha powder if desired.
11 - Refrigerate assembled cake for minimum 30 minutes to achieve clean slices during service.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The hojicha flavor is sophisticated and subtle—no overpowering bitterness, just a whisper of roasted warmth.
  • This cake stays somehow tender and elegant even after sitting in the fridge, making it perfect for advance prep.
  • It's genuinely impressive to serve, yet the technique is forgiving once you understand the basic rules.
02 -
  • Room temperature eggs are not optional—they whip differently than cold eggs, and this recipe depends on that physical property to achieve the right texture.
  • The moment you stop whipping is critical; you want medium-stiff peaks in your cream, not the grainy overbeaten texture that happens if you keep going.
  • Chilling the finished cake for 30 minutes isn't just a suggestion—it lets the structure set so you get clean slices instead of torn edges.
03 -
  • Keep everything involved in whipping the cream—bowl, beaters, cream itself—genuinely cold; it makes the difference between cream that whips in minutes and cream that struggles.
  • If your hojicha cake ever gets a bit drier than you'd like, that's when the simple syrup brush becomes your secret—it fixes everything and costs you nothing.
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