The best perk of being the Peoplehood of the Traveling Swirly Pan "VP" is that every once in a while Matilda (the down under swirly) stops by a few days in my place as she prepares to waltz to her next adventure.

This time I had her for quite a few days thanks to a broken toe and a few "des-encouters"    Tilly deserved a proper hand off and me and Jo decided to meet around some cake (baked with Tilly of course!) for the formal "Pan transfer Ceremony" :-)

Browsing around my great grandmother recipe book I found this recipe with a very peculiar name:  Espera Marido (something like Waiting for the Husband).   I remembered the cake from my childhood - it was a very buttery cake with a strong coconut flavor as the recipe calls for coconut
milk instead of milk.    One of those cakes that in Brazil we have at the end of the day whilst cuddling a warm mug of coffee.


The Matcha flavor is very pungent and ads a bitter touch to the cake.   Forgive me the pun: a tea cake may not be every bodies cup of tea but it certainly worked really well with the coffee made with the excellent beans Jo brought me as a present; by the way coffee beans from her own brand!!!  So fancy!

Tilly now is gone to spend some time with the Greening family and I am already planning what I will be baking with her on her next "Brissie break" :-)

To check out more about The Peoplehood and Tilly visit:  www.travelingswirlypan.org  
To buy some of the excellent Jo's coffee blend visit:  www.zinccoffee.com.au

Happy baking!
Rachel
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Ingredients
Cake

• 250g Butter chopped and at room temperature
• 4 Eggs (whites and yolks separated)
• 1 Cup coconut milk
• 2 1/2 Cups sugar
• 3 Cups sifted plain flour
• 3 Tablespoons of corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon Matcha
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• A good pinch of salt

Icing

• 1 Cup icing sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons coconut milk

Instructions
Cake

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
2. Grease a large baking pan with butter and dust it with flour
3. In a large bowl cream the yolks with the sugar and the butter until it turns into a pale cream
4. Stir in the Flour and the Coconut Milk - a little bit of each at a time
5. Add the Corn Flour, Salt and Matcha.    Stir until all well combined.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the whites to soft peaks
7. Stir the baking powder into the cake batter
8. Carefully stir in the whites in soft peaks to the mixture, just until combined
9. Pour the batter into the Pan and bake it for about 45 min.  Test with a skewer coming out clean when cake is ready 

Icing

1. Put the icing sugar in a small bowl
2. Stir in 1 tablespoon coconut milk
3. Slowly add a bit more coconut milk, until it reaches the consistence you want
4. Pour over the cake while it is still warm