Matcha Cake

A matcha cake recipe that creates feathery light and moist cake, with an earthy matcha flavor balanced with strawberries and whipped cream that are not too sweet. The cake stores well, can be prepared ahead, and holds up well during transportation, making it perfect for your next holiday gathering. {Vegetarian}

Now is the time of year for cozy family gatherings, abundant feasts, and delightful treats. This year, why not add a unique twist to your holiday dessert spread with a luscious Matcha Cake? For Christmas, matcha’s natural green shade is perfect for evoking the colors of holly, Christmas trees, and wreaths. Pair it with creamy white frosting and ruby-red strawberries for a holiday-ready dessert.

Why this recipe

• An easy cake recipe that creates a super light and moist cake base like a Japanese bakery.
• A balanced taste with mild matcha flavor, juicy fruit, and whipped cream that is not too sweet.
• A stabilized whipped cream using cream cheese for an enhanced taste.
• Create a festive look with a beautiful strawberry display, without using acetate cake collars.
• The cake can be made ahead of time and it holds up well during transportation.

Matcha cake ingredients

Ingredients for the cake

• Whole milk
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla
• Sea salt
• Cake flour: cake flour creates a very moist cake. If using all-purpose flour, the cake will come out much denser and dryer. If you use all purpose flour, I recommend creating the cake syrup from my strawberry cake recipe and brushing it onto the cake for a better texture.
• Matcha powder: see my recommendation for matcha powder below
• Eggs (yolks and whites separated)
• Cream of tartar or white vinegar: it acts as a stabilizer for the cake
• Caster sugar (or regular sugar): a fine white sugar is critical for a light and smooth cake texture. I highly recommend caster sugar, but you can also use regular granulated sugar as long as the grains are not very large.

Choose a good matcha powder

Matcha is a key ingredient in this recipe. Although most bakers would use culinary matcha powder for cakes, I recommend using a nicer matcha powder. Not only does it make your cake taste better, higher grade matcha powder usually has a much more vibrant color to make your cake look beautiful as well.

I drink a cup of matcha every morning, and have gone through matcha from many brands. Some of my favorite matcha powders are from Ocha & Co. Check out their Single Cultivar Organic Matcha for the premium quality and Kyoto Uji Matcha for a more affordable yet still high quality tea.

Whipped cream ingredients

I used three ingredients in my whipped cream:

• Cream cheese
• Confectioners sugar
• Heavy whipping cream

The cream cheese works as a stabilizer, making the whipped cream a bit more robust so it holds together better. It also adds a subtle tangy taste that I enjoy.

Equipment you need

This recipe does not require many special equipment and you probably already have most of these in your kitchen.

• Quarter sheet pan
• Off set spatula
• Stand mixer or a hand mixer
• Piping bag – I used an Ateco 16” pastry bagbut you can use a ziplock bag as well.
• Piping tip – I used Wilton #32 Piping Tipbut you can also choose to skip adding frosting to the cake.

How to make matcha cake

Make the cake

Start by melting the butter in the whole milk, then add vanilla and salt. Sift the flour and matcha powder into the liquid, and mix well. Then add the egg yolk and mix again.

Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to your mixer bowl. Whip until frothy, then add the sugar while whipping, until medium peaks form.

Add 1/4 of the beaten whites to the yolk mixture, fold until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the egg whites. Fold everything together until just smooth. Don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the lined sheet pan.

Bake at 325°F (160°C) for 15 to 20 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Then divide the cake into two even pieces and trim off the edges.

Prepare the whipped cream

Mix the sugar with the cream cheese in your mixing bowl. Then add whipping cream and beat until firm peaks form.

Assemble and decorate the cake

Add a thin layer of whipped cream onto the bottom layer of the cake. Create the strawberry wall by lining up the halved strawberries along the edges of the cake.

Fill the center of the cake with more strawberry slices. Fill up the center of the cake with more whipped cream.

Place the top layer of the cake in alignment with the bottom layer. Add another layer of whipped cream on top, then add frosting if desired.

And that’s it. Now you have a very festive looking cake that tastes like the ones you get from a Japanese bakery.

Store and transportation

This matcha cake is quite delicate in texture, but it stores wonderfully in the fridge and transports well. When the cake is just made, it will be a bit hard to slice it and keep the slices intact. But once you store the cake in the fridge to cool, the whipped cream will stabilize, making the cake much easier to cut.

Whether you choose to refrigerate the cake or not, you can transport the cake to a different location without worrying about it falling apart (we’ve tested both ways).

I’ve tried storing the cake for two days in the fridge in a sealed container, and the cake still tasted great.

Other amazing baked goods for holiday season

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Matcha Cake