MATCHA CAKE

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Ingredients



Butter

We need 7 tablespoons (just shy of one stick) of unsalted butter softened for the cake and another stick for the vanilla buttercream frosting. While nearly 2 sticks of butter sounds like a lot for a small cake, remember that this cake makes 5-6 slices of cake. A regular layer cake can use up to 4 sticks (or more), if it has lots of frosting!

Granulated Sugar

Just one cup of white granulated sugar.

Eggs

We need two whole eggs for this matcha cake recipe.

Vanilla

Pure vanilla extract compliments the green tea powder in this cake, and makes it taste like your favorite matcha latte.

Matcha

Another name for matcha is green tea powder. It's super concentrated whole green tea leaves, ground finely. You can use culinary grade matcha powder for this cake, but ensure it has a bright green color. Ceremonial matcha is going to have the brightest green color, but it also happens to be the most expensive. Just make sure it's a vibrant green color, or else your cake will be a dark forest green after baking.

Flour

The same amount of flour as sugar, one cup.

Baking Powder

We're using baking powder instead of baking soda so that the matcha stays bright green.

Buttermilk

Low-fat cultured buttermilk from the store is the best thing to use here. However, you can use ⅓ cup of whole milk with ½ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar instead.

Powdered Sugar

This sugar is for the vanilla buttercream that will top the matcha cake.

Heavy Cream

A big splash of heavy cream makes our frosting nice and fluffy.

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh berries are just for decoration and are completely optional, but I love the way the red strawberries and bright green cake give us Grinch vibes for Christmas.



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How to Make Matcha Cake

We're using an 8-inch square pan, also known as the standard brownie pan. This simple matcha cake makes a single layer and only requires one pan. However, after baking, we will slice the square in half to make two rectangles. We will stack the rectangles with buttercream to get a small layer cake shaped like a loaf. From this, you will get 5 or 6 regular cake slices.

  1. First, preheat oven to 325, and line the bottom of an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Then, lightly spray the exposed sides of the lined pan with cooking spray. Next, in a medium-size bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.



  2. Add the eggs, matcha powder and vanilla, and beat just until combined.



  3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.



  4. Add half of this flour mixture to the bowl, and stir to combine.



  5. Add all of the buttermilk, and stir again. Finally, add the remaining half of the flour mixture and stir until no streaks of flour remain, but be careful not to overmix the batter.



  6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake on the middle rack for 30-33 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with only moist crumbs (not wet batter).



  7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, until it starts to pull away from the edges of the pan. Then, run a knife around the edge of the cake, and lift it out of the pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, slice the cake in half; this will make the square into two rectangles.



  8. Next, make the vanilla buttercream frosting by combining the softened stick of butter with powdered sugar, vanilla, and the heavy cream. Whip until fluffy and light, at least 3 minutes. Alternatively, you could make my whipped cream cream cheese frosting. Spread some on top of the first rectangle. Stack and use remaining buttercream and strawberries to decorate the best matcha cake ever.





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Storage

This cake is best eaten within a day or two. Leftovers should be stored in the fridge, since the frosting contains butter. Before serving a cake that has been refrigerated, let it rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes to soften slightly.