Green Tea Cake Recipe

Tuesday was my bff's birthday and to make it special I headed out to Cheney to surprise her in the painting studio with cake, flowers and gifts. She's got a huge painting review and a couple upcoming shows to get ready for so the break was a welcome relief. Because she's quirky and adventurous like me I always try unique recipes out on her. She loved this one and I'm sharing it with you to try out as well.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients









Cake:
2 C. All-purpose flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
3 Eggs
4 Tsp. Matcha Green Tea Powder (Or comparable substitute)
1 1/4 C. White Granulated Sugar
1 C. Vegetable Oil
1 C. Plain Yogurt
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract









Frosting:
2 1/2 C. Confectioner's Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
4 Tsp. Matcha Green Tea Powder (Or comparable substitute)
4 Tbsp. Butter (Softened)
8 oz Cream Cheese (Softened)
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Tsp. Milk (In my case I use soymilk)

Also Needed: 2- 9 inch cake pans
Crisco or other means to grease pans
3 medium mixing bowls
Electric Beaters
Wire Cooling Rack
Spatula (for frosting cake)

Directions:

-- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

-- In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, matcha green tea powder (I could not get this at my local grocer on short notice, so I went with Chai Green Tea instead. A slightly "spicier" taste than the matcha but also very good!) and salt. Set aside.

-- In a medium mixing bowl, beat together sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, adding extra if you wish. Beat in the yogurt until incorporated, don't over mix.

-- Incorporate dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing on medium speed.

-- Grease and flour both 9 inch cake pans. I use springform pans, but you can use whichever you like- you may need to adjust your baking time depending on which type of pan you use. Pour the batter into both pans, being as equal as possible. (This is very hard to do one-handed while snapping photos that aren't blurry!)

-- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 30 minutes before removing from pans. You may freeze the cakes after they are cool if you aren't going to use them right away.


-- For the frosting, sift together cofectioner's sugar and matcha green tea powder in a medium bowl. Add butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and milk.

-- Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. You can also add any food coloring, if you wish, at this point. (I added a bit of green to mine)

-- To assemble, wait until your cakes are completely cooled. Trim your cakes, if needed. Place one cake on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of your frosting on top. If you cake crumbs try dipping your spatula in hot water and using more frosting at once. Spread from the middle out.

-- Place your second cake on top. Frost the top and sides, decorate or sprinkle with matcha powder if desired. Serve either cool or at room temperature.




** Can also make one sheet cake if you do not choose to make a layerd round cake. Your baking time will need to be adjusted for this, so check your cake to prevent burning it or under-baking.


Hope you enjoy your cake as much as we did. Sorry, no pictures of it in action- candles lit in all it's glory but I can assure you it was spectacular. ;) Big hugs to the birthday girl. Good luck on your review and upcoming show, I'm so proud of you! (Me on the left, my bff Keshia on the right. People ask us all the time if we're sisters- we're not. We are just both super pale and have red hair.)