Matcha Cake

Matcha cake made with rich matcha chiffon cake layers and whipped matcha ganache frosting is so soft, light and airy! This green tea cake recipe is incredibly delicious and will keep you coming back for more.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Asian Fusion, Japanese

Keyword green tea cake, Japanese matcha cake, Matcha cake, matcha cake recipe, matcha chiffon cake, matcha frosting, matcha green tea cake, matcha strawberry cake, strawberry matcha cake

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Matcha Frosting 2

Total Time 2 35

Servings servings

Calories 653kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Matcha Chiffon Cake

1 cup (120 g) cake flour
2 tablespoon (12 g) matcha powder
½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
6 large eggs room temperature yolks and egg whites separated
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon (1 g) salt
⅓ cup (80 ml) milk full fat
1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
¼ cup (50 g) vegetable oil

Matcha Frosting

2 cup (473 ml) heavy whipping cream divided
1 ½ (250 g) white chocolate
1 ½ tablespoon (8 g) matcha powder

Instructions

Matcha Chiffon Cake

Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line the bottom of three 6-inch cake pans with round parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, sift the cake flour, matcha powder, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Make the meringue. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until foamy. Then add the cream of tartar and beat on high until the egg whites turn pale white and frothy. While the mixer is running, slowly add 1/3 of the sugar one tablespoon at a time until the egg whites reach stiff peaks. To test, when you lift the whisk the egg whites are smooth, moist, shiny, and the tips will stand straight up.
Egg yolk mixture. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg yolks, the remaining 2/3 of the sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat on high speed until fluffy, and pale yellow.
Add dry ingredients to egg yolk mixture. Add in the dry ingredient mixture into the egg yolk mixture in 3 additions and gently fold to incorporate after each batch.
Add the oil to egg yolk mixture. Take a few spoonfuls of the egg yolk mixture and mix with the oil. Then gently combine the oil mixture with the egg yolk mixture.
Combine meringue with egg yolk mixture. Fold the egg white meringue into the egg yolk mixture in 3 parts, gently folding the batter in an upwards motion in between each addition until no streaks remain. Be careful to not over mix and deflate the batter.
Bake. Divide the cake batter evenly into the 3 parchment lined cake pans and gently tap the pan on your workspace to remove any large air bubbles. Bake cakes for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let matcha cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the pan and releasing the cakes. Let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

Matcha Ganache Frosting

Heat the heavy cream. Heat 1 cup of the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to steam and simmer.
Sift in matcha powder. Sift in the matcha powder and whisk the mixture until combined.
Melt the white chocolate. Place the white chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl and pour the heated matcha heavy cream over the white chocolate. Let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes and then stir the chocolate until smooth and combined. Then, sift the matcha chocolate mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any remaining clumps.
Cover and chill. Cover plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the matcha chocolate to prevent a film. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until cold or overnight.
Whip. Once the ganache is cold and chilled, using a whisk attachment of your electric mixer, gently whisk the ganache on low and gradually working to high speed until the ganache is light and fluffy about 1 minute. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup of cold heavy whipping cream and whip on low speed and slowly increase to medium speed until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape for another 1-2 minutes.

Assemble the cake

Decorate. Using an offset spatula, layer the matcha ganache frosting in between each layer. Add fruit in between each layer if desired.
Crumb Coat. Frost the top and edges of the cake with a thin crumb coat. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set. Then finish frosting with the final layer.
Chill. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.

Notes

Add the sugar to the egg whites gradually. Adding too much sugar all at once to the egg whites might cause the meringue to collapse. Gradually add the sugar while the mixer is mixing one tablespoon at a time.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. You will know the egg whites are at stiff peaks when you remove the whisk and the tip of the meringue stands straight up and slightly droops over.
Whisk the egg yolk mixture until pale yellow. This will make the strawberry matcha cake extra light and fluffy.
Mix the vegetable oil with a touch of batter first. This will allow you to incorporate the oil without deflating too much of the egg yolk batter.
Make sure to sift and fold the dry ingredients until JUST combined. Matcha powder needs to be sifted to prevent any unwanted clumps! Also, over-mixing will reduce in lower cake volume whereas under-mixing will result in a dense cake bottom.
Combine the meringue in 3 parts. The easiest and most foolproof way to not deflate your batter is to combine the meringue into your matcha cake batter in 3 parts. Make sure to gently fold the meringue in an upward motion and stop when you no longer see any streaks.
Remove air bubbles from the matcha cake batter. Shock the cake by dropping it onto your workspace from about 3-4 inches above your workspace. Do this before you place the cake into the oven to remove any remaining large air bubbles.
Chill the matcha ganache before whipping. The key to a soft, and whipped matcha frosting is the temperature of the matcha ganache. It has to be cold! Be patient and wait for the matcha ganache to be cold before whipping.
Before whipping, use cold heavy whipping cream. For the whipped matcha ganache, it is best to use cold straight from the refrigerator. This will make whipping the matcha frosting so much easier and quicker.
Make sure the Japanese matcha cake is completely cooled before frosting. The matcha frosting is incredibly light and airy. If you frost the matcha green tea cake before it is cooled, the matcha frosting will melt right off.

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