Favorite Matcha Cake Food

MATCHA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line and grease three 6-inch cake pans with parchment rounds.
• Add the unsalted butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on a high speed with a whisk attachment for a few minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. The mixture will become lighter in color as air is whipped into it.
• Add the egg whites, and mix at a medium speed until they're incorporated.
• Sift the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, matcha powder, and salt) into a separate bowl.
• Add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and mix on a low speed until just incorporated.
• Add the sour cream, oil and vanilla extract. Mix at a low speed until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed!
• Mix in the remaining dry ingredients on a low speed.
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. I like to use a digital kitchen scale to weigh my pans, to make sure my layers will be the same height.
• Bake for 34-37 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate pans halfway through to help them bake evenly.
• Allow the pans to cool for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
• Place cake layers into the freezer for 45 minutes, to accelerate the cooling process. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers from the pans.
• Use a serrated knife to level the tops, and trim the sides to remove any caramelization.
• While the cake layers bake and cool, make the fluffy buttercream frosting.
• Place the room temperature pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you plan to make it with a hand mixer).
• Mix on a low speed to combine.
• Once incorporated, mix on medium high with a whisk attachment for 5 minutes until stiff peaks have formed.
• Swap the whisk attachment for a paddle attachment. This will help make your buttercream be smooth once it's fully made.
• Mix in pieces of room temperature butter on a low speed in 2 additions.
• Once the butter is incorporated, mix on medium speed for an additional 5 minutes.
• Add in 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix until the buttercream is fluffy and smooth.
• If your frosting breaks in the beginning when you add the butter, don't worry! Just keep mixing it, and it should come together in a few minutes.
• Stir for an additional few minutes by hand with a rubber spatula to get it silky smooth. Set aside.
• While the cake chills with its second coat of frosting, make the matcha white chocolate ganache.
• Heat heavy cream in a heat proof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds, until it's just beginning to bubble.
• Gently pour white chocolate chips into the heavy cream, making sure they are fully covered with cream. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 minute.
• Stir slowly until the cream and white chocolate are combined. Some bits of chocolate may not be fully melted yet. Heat the mixture again for 20 seconds, and stir.
• Repeat as necessary until all the white chocolate bits are fully melted and incorporated.
• Mix in the matcha powder. Let the mixture cool until desired viscosity is reached (barely warm to the touch).
• If it seems too thin or thick, you can add a touch more chocolate chips or heavy cream! The type of cream and white chocolate that you use can affect the consistency, so feel free to adjust as needed.
• Stack and frost cake layers on a greaseproof cake board, using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
• Add an even layer of buttercream on top of the first cake layer. Stack and frost remaining cake layers.
• Spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake, to fully cover the cake layers.
• Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
• Add a second, thicker layer of buttercream frosting to the cake, and chill the cake again in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (5 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
• Use a spoon to add the ganache drips around the cake with the white chocolate matcha ganache.
• Place the remaining frosting into a small piping bag fit with an Ateco 869 frosting tip. Pipe dollops around the top of the cake, and dust with an extra bit of matcha powder.

MATCHA ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the matcha, almond extract and vanilla. Gently stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until it's just incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the almonds evenly over the top, if desired. You can put as many or as few of the almonds as you like or none at all! I think it adds a wonderful crunch to the top of the cake.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 55 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Meanwhile, quickly put together the glaze while the cake is still pretty hot.
• For the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk in some water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is smooth and loose. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake with a spoon and brush the sides using a pastry brush. Cool until the glaze creates nice sugary crust on the outside.
• Enjoy!

FAVORITE MATCHA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º and prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and placing a pre-cut wax or parchment paper circle to fit the bottom.
• Whisk together sifted cake flour, Matcha powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter on med-high for one minute. Scrape down bowl and paddle. Add sugar and beat on high for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl and paddle as needed.
• Turn the mixer down to low and add the eggs one by one. Scrape down bowl, turn the mixer on med-high and beat for about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla, continue beating for 1 minute.
• Add all of the dry ingredients at once with the mixer on low speed until just combined, then add the milk all at once with the mixer still on low. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and mix on low until it all just comes together. You might need to hand whisk at the end to get rid of some lumps, but be careful not to overmix.
• Fill prepared cake pans ⅔ full and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• With a food processor, grind the raspberries into a fine powder. Sift out the seeds (if a few seeds end up in the powder that is totally ok) and set the powder aside.
• Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until it's creamy and light in color (5-10 minutes). Add vanilla, milk, and raspberry powder and continue to mix on medium for 3 minutes.
• Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add a pinch of salt (I like about an eighth of a teaspoon) and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it's creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
• Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
• Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. Hold off on adding the Matcha powder until you get to the assembly instructions.
• Starting with your first cake layer, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around each layer's edge to create a buttercream dam. Fill the middle of your vanilla buttercream ring with raspberry buttercream until it's the same height as the vanilla ring. Level the filling with an offset spatula and place the next layer of cake on top. Repeat the vanilla ring and raspberry filling before placing the third and final cake layer on top.
• Divide vanilla buttercream evenly into two bowls. In one bowl, add the matcha powder to the buttercream and mix until combined. Grab a third bowl and mix together a third of the matcha buttercream and a third of the vanilla buttercream until you get a nice in-between shade.
• Starting at the bottom of the cake, frost with the darkest matcha buttercream until you get a third of the way up the side of the cake. Continue frosting with the lighter colored matcha buttercream mixture until you get to two thirds up the side of the cake. Frost the vanilla buttercream on the top third of the cake, including the top. Smooth the cake until you achieve the perfect finish.
• To decorate, I've chosen to stick some white chocolate geometric shapes (made by melting white chocolate onto parchment, sprinkling with matcha powder, and cutting out shapes with a hot knife) into the top of the buttercream cake in any pattern you desire. I also piped a few open stars using leftover matcha buttercream. Feel free to let your creativity flow with this!