Soft strawberry cake topped with an earthy vanilla matcha buttercream frosting. What I love about this cake is that everything perfectly complements each other. The sweetness of the cake balances out the earthiness of the green tea powder and the vanilla paste in the icing helps to tie everything together. This is a simple, beginner friendly recipe to matcha. You can make the flavour as strong or as mild as you like and is even a winner with those who don’t normally like matcha!
For this recipe, I used a strawberry base, to help add a bit of sweetness to the matcha frosting. I used my basic cupcake recipe but added a swirl of strawberry jam to the batter. When doing this, make sure that it’s mixed in really well and is fully incorporated into the mixture. I also tend to cut the sugar of the cake a little bit, to take into account the extra sugar from the jam. When it’s baked, the cake comes out of the oven slightly flatter, and doesn’t rise as much when cooking. This is because the jam adds a bit of weight to the batter and makes it harder for it to rise. But this helps to create the perfect flat base for icing your cake. The cake is still light and fluffy, is deliciously sweet and has small pockets of strawberry running through.
Matcha
I would always recommend using the best eggs that you can afford. I use ‘golden yolk’ free range eggs. These have quite a bright, orange yolk, which always make the batter a little brighter. As a result, when baked my cakes are also quite orange/yellow. This is completely normal and is simply due to the eggs that I have used.
To make the frosting, I started with a basic plain buttercream icing. Once this was made I added in vanilla paste (I always use paste over extract so that I don’t add too much liquid to my icing) and started to incorporate my green tea powder. I always start off adding a little and having a taste test before adding any more. That way, you can completely customise the flavour of the cake according to your taste preference. I started off with a ½ a teaspoon and added an extra ½ teaspoon at a time until I was happy with the flavour. An added bonus is the beautiful natural green colour that it adds to the icing. The vanilla helps to cut through the ‘earthiness’ of the powder and adds an extra flavour dimension to the bake.
Alone, the cake and the buttercream are both delicious but together, they make the perfect treat. Well balanced, this cake is the ideal light introduction to matcha. Completely customisable, you can make the flavour as strong or as mild as you like. Once the cake is completely cool, add the icing – You can either pipe this on or ‘smear’ on top as I have done – and add ½ a strawberry on top to tie all the flavours together. If you are decorating these with a fresh strawberry make sure that they’re eaten on the same day as the strawberry can tend to turn brown if left and can spoil the cake.
Ingredients
- STRAWBERRY JAM CAKE:
- 115 g / 4 oz Butter
- 85 g / 3 oz Sugar
- 115 g / 4 oz Self-Raising Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Strawberry Jam
- 4-5 Strawberries Cut in Half, for topping (optional)
- MATCHA VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
- 115 g / 4 oz Unsalted Butter
- 230 g / 8 oz Icing Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Milk
- ~3 Teaspoons Matcha/Green Tea Powder, more or less to taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180*c/350*f/Gas Mark 4/160*c Fan Oven.
- Line a cupcake tin with cases and set aside.
- Place the margarine and sugar into a bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, self-raising flour and milk to the mixture, blending until fully combined.
- Stir through the strawberry jam and spoon the mixture into your prepared tin.
- Cook for 16 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and light and fluffy. You can tell the cakes are ready when they spring back when lightly pressed. You could also insert a skewer into the middle of one of the cakes and if it comes out clean, then the cakes are ready.
- Once ready, remove from the oven.
- Allow the cakes to sit in the tin for roughly 5 minutes, then place on a wired rack to cool. Whilst waiting, start to make the icing.
- Bring the unsalted butter to room temperature.
- Add the butter to a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, blend until creamy.
- Add half of the sieved icing sugar and milk to the bowl and using a spoon, gently stir together until just combined (this helps to prevent an icing sugar explosion!), before mixing with the electric mixer.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and follow the steps above, do not be afraid to overmix, you want this to be nice and smooth.
- Add the vanilla paste and thoroughly mix through.
- Now, incorporate the matcha/green tea powder. Start by adding 1/2 a teaspoon at a time and mix thoroughly, give it a taste and then add more powder for a stronger flavour if desired. You may need to add a little bit extra vanilla paste depending on how much matcha powder is added to help balance out the flavours. Add a small amount of extra milk to the bowl if the buttercream becomes too thick.
- When everything is blended and smooth and you're happy with the flavour, apply to your cooled cake.
- You can either pipe on to the cake or add a tablespoon of icing on each cake and using a butter knife or palette knife, 'smear' the icing on to the cake.
- Add your strawberry half on top of the cake for the perfect finishing touch.
- If you are decorating these with a fresh strawberry make sure that they're eaten on the same day as the strawberry can tend to turn brown if left and can spoil the cake.
*These are best eaten on the same day as making, but if there are any leftovers, cover the cakes and keep in a cool dry place for up to 2 days.
Looking for more baking ideas?
Have a look in the recipe section:
Want to stay up to date and receive exclusive content and recipes? Follow me and never miss a moment!
