Matcha Cake

4.60 from 5 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Fusion, Japanese

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Cooling & Decorating Time: 1 14

Servings: slices

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Ai Willis

Matcha Cake: a decadent layered cake with creamy matcha and vanilla buttercream frosting! This cake is sure to please any crowd: with an impressive and eye-catching hue, a tender crumb, and nutty and sweet matcha, this baked confection is sure to delight!

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Equipment

Ingredients

Matcha cake

1¾ cups cake flour
½ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons matcha powder
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
2 large eggs
⅓ cup greek yogurt
¼ cup oil use a neutral flavor oil like avocado or light olive oil
⅔ cup whole milk

Buttercream frosting

1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
⅓ cup shortening softened at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon matcha powder

Instructions

Matcha cake

Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and grease and line the bottoms of three 6-inch round pans, or two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, matcha, and granulated sugar until combined. Add the softened butter and work it into the flour until it turns into a sandy mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, Greek yogurt, and oil until smooth. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add the milk and stir just until a smooth batter forms. Be sure not to overmix.
Evenly pour the batter into the cake pans and bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before taking them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Optional: Once the cake layers have cooled, slice the domes off using a serrated knife, to create flat, even cake layers.

Buttercream frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a large bowl and an electric hand mixer, beat the softened butter and shortening until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Sample the frosting and add more powdered sugar if needed for a sweeter frosting.
Prepare two small bowls and add ¼ of the vanilla buttercream to each bowl. In one bowl, add ½ teaspoon of matcha powder and stir until the frosting turns into a pastel green color. In the other bowl, add the remaining 2½ teaspoons of matcha powder and stir to make a darker green frosting.

Assembly

On a cake turntable, place one of the matcha cakes. Add some vanilla buttercream (I used about ½ cup) and spread it out evenly using a knife or offset spatula. Place your second cake layer on top and spread on another layer of buttercream. Place your final layer of cake on top and cover the entire cake with buttercream, smoothing out the sides and top.
Using a knife or spatula, add dollops of vanilla and matcha buttercream all around the cake. Using a cake scraper or a long spatula, smooth out the sides while turning the turntable to create a watercolor design.

Notes

Gluten-free:

1¼ cup (185g) Gluten-free 1-to-1 flour and ¼ cup (32g) cornstarch.
Stir batter for an extra minute or two after it comes together.
Let the batter rest for 30 min before pouring it into cake pans and baking.

Dairy-free:

Use vegan butter for both the cake and frosting. If you can only find salted vegan butter, cut down the salt to ¼ teaspoon for the cake, and take the salt out completely in the frosting.
Take out the sour cream and whole milk, and use 1 cup (240ml) of unsweetened non-dairy milk with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.

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