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This moist Chocolate Matcha Cake consists of three layers of chocolate cake and matcha buttercream. The earthy consistency complements the deep and rich chocolate cake layers beautifully. Make this for any matcha lover’s birthday or special day!
If there’s one thing I love is anything matcha. I love an iced matcha latte, warm cozy matcha latte, strawberry matcha latte and matcha cheesecake and more! This cake is a love letter to matcha because the chocolate and matcha work so beautifully together.
Ingredients You’ll Need for this Chocolate Matcha Cake
- Matcha. For this frosting, I like to use ceremonial grade matcha. Good quality!
- Granulated sugar. This is going to give our chocolate cake moistness and sweetness.
- Cocoa powder. I like using a good-quality baking cocoa
- Eggs. This will add richness and fluffiness to the cake.
- Espresso Powder. You will absolutely not taste the espresso powder but instead it will accentuate the deep flavors in the chocolate.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
How to Make a Chocolate Matcha Cake
- Mix together the cake batter. This is a one-bowl chocolate cake so mix everything in a large bowl together until smooth. The batter will be smooth.
- Bake the cake layers.
- Make the frosting. Beat together the butter, powdered sugar, matcha and heavy cream. You’ll end up with a gorgeous green frosting.
- Decorate the cake. Let the cake layers cool completely. Then frost the cake and decorate with clovers (optional).
- Slice and serve!
Quick Tips for the Best Chocolate Matcha Cake
- Use ceremonial grade matcha. There are two types of matcha: ceremonial and culinary. For frostings and baked goods, I love using ceremonial. It adds a really beautiful depth and strong matcha flavor (without being bitter).
- Make this recipe into cupcakes! This should make around 24 cupcakes. And you’ll want to bake them for about 15-17 minutes.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Or you can even freeze them.
Storage: Once the cake is assembled, store it in an airtight cake container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Cozy Baked Goods
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Chocolate Matcha Cake
This moist chocolate matcha cake consists of three layers of chocolate cake and matcha buttercream. The earthy consistency complements the deep and rich chocolate cake layers.
Equipment
- 3 (8-inch) cake pans
- 1 Wilton #1 piping tip
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 cup baking cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup olive oil or neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
Matcha Frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons matcha powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment. I always do this just to make sure no sticking will occur.
- This comes together in one large bowl. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together first: all-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
- Next whisk in the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract mix until combined. Then pour in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. I like to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren't any floury bits hiding.
- Divide the batter amongst the prepared cake pans, about 503 grams of batter per pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a small skewer inserted into the cakes come out clean. Transfer the cake pans to a wire rack to cool completely for about 10 minutes, until the cakes begin to separate from the sides of the pans. Turn over onto a wire rack and tap the bottom of the pan a few times until it releases. Cool cakes completely before assembling and frosting. Just an FYI: feel free to make the cakes the night before. Cakes will be moist and delicious for up to 2 days if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
To Make the Matcha Frosting:
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and matcha powder together. Beat the butter until smooth. Then, add the powdered sugar and matcha powder in batches to the butter. Pour in the heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
To Assemble the Cake:
- To decorate the cake with little clovers, add 2/3 cup of frosting to a small bowl. Add a few drops of dark green food coloring to resemble a leaf-green color. Add this to a piping bag a Wilton #1 tip and set aside.
- Place one cooled cake layer on a cake board. Add about 1/3 cup of the frosting to the top of the first layer and smooth out into a thin even layer. Place the second cake layer on top. Repeat with the third layer. Add a thin crumb coat of frosting to the cake and smooth the top and sides. Transfer the cake to the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes. Then add a second layer of frosting to the cake.
- Now, pipe on the clovers. I made the clovers by making 3 or 4 petal shapes that meet at the center and a stem that starts at the center and points downward. Continue decorating the cake with clovers all over. Wet your finger with a tiny bit of water to smooth any imperfections.
- Chill your cake for 20 minutes to set the frosting. Slice and serve!
Notes
Quick Tips
- Use ceremonial grade matcha. There are two types of matcha: ceremonial and culinary. For frostings and baked goods, I love using ceremonial. It adds a really beautiful depth and strong matcha flavor (without being bitter).
- Make this recipe into cupcakes! This should make around 24 cupcakes. And you’ll want to bake them for about 15-17 minutes.
Make Ahead & Storage
- Make the cake ahead! Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Or you can even freeze them.
- Once cake is assembled, store it in an airtight cake container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 8g | Calories: 600kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 96g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 43g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 161g | Trans Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 14616IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 36mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
This has St. Patrick’s Day written all over it.
Does anyone know if I could bake the recipes as cupcakes instead?
Yes it will make cupcakes! They’ll require less time, probably around 20 minutes and you’ll get a lot, I’m guessing around 35 to 40.
I want to get better at this too, and Molly is definitely an inspiration. But you know what? When I saw this post in my bloglovin feed, I thought it was Molly’s! So that’s got to be a pretty big compliment, right? Good luck with building your skills; I feel like some beautiful cakes are in your future. 😀
AWW! Huge compliment! Thank you!
The brilliant green frosting against that dark cake is gorgeous!
Please let us in on your cake decorating adventures. I’m with you- pies are easy peasy but making beautiful cakes is not my forte.
I only have 9” pans at home.. do you think it will be ok if I use three 9” pans instead of the called for 8”? Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait.
yes they’ll definitely work!
What a great idea! I can’t wait to try it!
www.LittleMissFresh.net
This sounds delicious, but that green frosting would also make for a really cool Wizard of Oz inspired cake!
Hi there
I think the flour in the ingredients list may have been omitted. How many cups are needed? Thanks.
You’re right! That’s sort of important. It’s in now. x
I am the opposite of you; I am hopeless at pie crust but cake I am cool with. The icing here is that perfect hue of green tea. I wish I had a slice!
This cake looks lovely! Both combination of colors and tastes 🙂
Girl, the cake looks gorgeous. Think of your decorating flaws as ‘authentic’. That changes everything.