Green Tea Matcha Cake

I know the holidays are now over. It’s hard to have a week of beautiful warm weather during Christmas and then have to face the end of the holidays with a brutal slap-in-the-face 30 degree drop in temperature. Don’t even get me started upon the horrific sight of Christmas trees being dragged to be picked up with the weekly trash. Hence my posting of this green and red festive green tea matcha cake with raspberry mascarpone filling.

I am not afraid of using gel dyes. As demonstrated by some of my previous cakes–gel food coloring does not scare me. However, for this green tea matcha cake, I wanted to try and use naturally colored ingredients. It took me a while to realize that no store in the county carried confectionery matcha powder. Off to amazon I went and I ordered a small pouch.

For the cake I used my new favorite go-to yellow cake. One of The Chew’s hosts, Carla Hall, has a fantastic yellow cake. She featured it as a caramel cake, boasting a soft and tender crumb.

Unlike most cakes, this green tea matcha cake uses the two step method. The two step method beats/whisks the dry ingredients in the mixer and THEN you add the wet ingredients. Not only does this method evenly distribute the leavener, but it creates a melty tender crumb. I’ll definitely look for cakes with this two step method.

The filling for this green tea matcha cake is a favorite of mine. Used in my instructor’s cooking labs, this raspberry mascarpone filling is wonderfully fluffy and billow. I’ve found myself eating on its own, this filling is THAT good.

Green Tea Matcha and Raspberry is a refreshing cake. The earthy taste of the matcha paired with the sharp bite of the raspberries cut down on any potential excessive sweetness.

Green Tea Matcha Cake

Recipe Type: Dessert

Serves: 1 3-layer 8-inch cake

Be sure to add the matcha a few teaspoons as a time. Different matcha powders have different levels of strength.

Ingredients

For the Green Tea Matcha Cake:
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature (divided)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered matcha (depending on the quality of your matcha)
2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup canola oil
For the Whipped Raspberry Filling:
1 pint fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cups granulated sugar, divided
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons raspberry jam, room temperature
For the Frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
1 to 2 tablespoons matcha powder
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Splash of milk

Instructions

To make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray, set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form, pour it into a small bowl and keep it in the refrigerator until you need it.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of buttermilk, whisk to combine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sifted flour, matcha powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
On a low speed add the butter, canola oil, and remaining buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the egg mixture in three parts, beating to combine. Do not over over-beat.
Fold the whipped cream into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bang cake pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs back and cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Do not over-bake these cakes.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then immediately invert them onto a wire baking rack to cool completely.

To make the Whipped Raspberry Filling:

In a medium bowl crush berries. If you dislike the seeds, strain the crushed berries through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine whipping cream and 1/3 cup of the sugar, whisking until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a separate bowl use a rubber spatula to blend the mascarpone cheese and the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Add vanilla and mix together until thoroughly combined.
Fold the cheese mixture into the whipped cream mixture. Fold in jam and then crushed berries. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble.

To make the Green Tea Matcha Frosting:

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
In a separate bowl, sift together the powdered sugar, matcha powder, and salt together. Add the sifted dry ingredients, in a few batches, to the creamed butter. Beat in the vanilla.
Pour in a teaspoon or so of milk and beat until smooth. You may need to add an additional teaspoon of milk to get the right consistency.

To assemble the Cake:

If the layers have a dome, level off the cakes so each layer is flat.
Frost each layer with a ring of Green Tea Matcha frosting to create a “moat” for the filling. Fill in with the Whipped Raspberry Filling and stack the next layer on top.
Do a light crumb coating on the outside of the cake and let the cake chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Frost the cake with a final coat.

Notes

Cake recipe adapted from The Chew, Frosting recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen