I really enjoyed taking on a new challenge last week with my black sesame babka, so I wanted to continue the trend of trying something new this week with a matcha pound cake. I saw Solha El-Waylly’s video last week about making pound cakes, and I definitely felt the need to make one after. That and the fact that my mom has been asking me for weeks to do a pound cake recipe. You gotta just give the people what they want! So this recipe is an adaptation of hers with my own flair. I hope you enjoy it! Also definitely give her video a watch for super amazing tips and tricks. I included a few below, but it’s easier to see it in real time.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Unsalted butter – The basis to this batter.
- Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and moisture to this pound cake. The most common question I get asked is if it is possible to reduce the amount of sugar. The short answer is yes you can but it will affect the texture of the pound cake. If you want to reduce the sugar, I would use a whole egg to rebalance the wet to dry ingredients.
- Salt for seasoning
- Baking powder for leavening
- Eggs + egg yolk – Adds richness to the pound cake and acts as a binder for the other ingredients.
- Sour cream – Adds moisture and flavor to the pound cake.
- Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the pound cake. You can substitute with 1 vanilla bean or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- All purpose flour – The main dry ingredient in this recipe.
- Matcha powder – Adds matcha flavor and green color to the pound cake. Depending on the quality of your matcha, you might want to use more than is listed in the recipe. I use a high quality matcha powder, so I only need 1 tablespoon to achieve the vibrant green color. I would recommend adding the amount listed in the recipe and then assessing the color of the batter. If it seems green enough, then you’re good. If it isn’t, add more until it is close to the color in the pictures.
Making my matcha pound cake
Making your pound cake batter
First prep your loaf pan by greasing it with oil or butter. I like to use my butter paper to grease my loaf pan. Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Add butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a regular mixing bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy. And I mean light in color and fluffy in texture. Make sure to scrape down the bowl every once in awhile so everything gets incorporated thoroughly. Next mix in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time. Make sure to once again scrape down the edges of the bowl. Mix together vanilla extract and sour cream in a bowl. Add half the sour cream to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Add half the flour. Mix until combined. Repeat this process until you get a soft batter.
Finish mixing the batter with a spatula (about 5-6 more mixes). This helps finish the mixing process and deflates some of the bubbles without overmixing it. Spoon half the batter into another bowl. Sift matcha powder into 1/2 of the batter. Add the water. Mix until you see a nice uniform green color.
Forming and baking your matcha pound cake
Now it’s time to form your pound cake! Spoon half the vanilla cake batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Leave spaces in between the dollops for the matcha cake batter. Next spoon half the matcha cake batter into the spaces left. Use an offset spatula or knife to swirl the matcha and vanilla cake together. Repeat this process with the other half of both batters.
Once done swirling, tap the loaf pan on a flat surface to get rid of air bubbles and to make sure the batter is evenly distributed throughout the loaf pan. Lastly, wet your knife and score the batter right down the middle to ensure a nice center crack while the pound cake is baking. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. It should be nice golden brown all over. Let it rest for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.
Tips on how to make the perfect matcha pound cake
Use butter paper to grease your pan
This is a cool tip I picked up from Christina Tosi. There’s always butter left over on the parchment paper used to package butter, so why waste it? Use it to grease your pan. I use this trick for my other desserts too like my matcha blondies and my matcha souffle.
Why is it important to have room temperature ingredients?
It’s important ingredients are at room temp because all these ingredients don’t want to go together. The best way to get them to mix well or emulsify is to make sure they are all at room temperature.
Why do you scrape so many times?
To make sure all the ingredients mix together thoroughly.
Why do you alternate between your dry and wet ingredients?
Overwhelming the wet ingredients with sour cream will break the emulsion.
Do not over mix the batter
Every time you mix the batter, more gluten forms. Overmixing the batter will produce an excess of gluten and will cause your cake to be tough instead of tender. I play it safe by mixing the flour by hand, so I reduce the likelihood of over mixing.
Why do you score the batter down the middle?
Your pound cake will crack as it bakes and scoring it down the middle ensures it has a nice center crack instead of it cracking in random places.
What if I want to reduce the amount of sugar used?
If you want to reduce the sugar content by 1/4 cup I would recommend using a whole egg instead of just the egg yolk. That way you still get a good balance of wet to dry ingredients.
What if I wanted a straight matcha pound cake instead of just a matcha swirl?
If you just want a straight matcha pound cake, mix the matcha powder with the flour before adding it to the batter.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Matcha Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- Grease a loaf pan with butter or oil.
- Add butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder to a large mixing bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream together until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrap down the bowl every once in awhile so everything gets incorporated really well.
- Next mix in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time. Make sure to scrape down the sides after you add each egg to ensure it mixes thoroughly.
- Mix together your sour cream and vanilla extract in a bowl. Add half the sour cream to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Add half the flour. Mix until combined. Repeat this process until you get a soft batter.
- Finish mixing the batter with a spatula (about 5-6 more mixes). This helps finish the mixing process and deflates some of the bubbles without overmixing it.
- Spoon half the batter into another bowl. Sift matcha powder into 1/2 of the batter. Add the water. Mix until you see a nice uniform green color.
- Now it’s time to form your pound cake! Spoon half the vanilla cake batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Leave spaces in between the dollops for the matcha cake batter. Next spoon half the matcha cake batter into the spaces left. Use an offset spatula or knife to swirl the matcha and vanilla cake together. Repeat this process with the other half of both batters.
- Once done swirling, tap the loaf pan on a flat surface to get rid of air bubbles and to make sure the batter is evenly distributed throughout the loaf pan.
- Lastly, wet your knife and score the batter right down the middle to ensure a nice center crack while the pound cake is baking.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. It should be nice golden brown all over.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.
Notes
-
Use butter paper to grease your pan – This is a cool tip I picked up from Christina Tosi. There’s always butter left over on the parchment paper used to package butter, so why waste it? Use it to grease your pan.
-
Why is it important to have room temperature ingredients? – It’s important ingredients are at room temp because all these ingredients don’t want to go together. The best way to get them to mix well or emulsify is to make sure they are all at room temperature.
-
Why do you scrape so many times? – To make sure all the ingredients mix together thoroughly.
-
Why do you alternate between your dry and wet ingredients? – Overwhelming the wet ingredients with sour cream will break the emulsion.
- Do not over mix the batter – Every time you mix the batter, more gluten forms. Overmixing the batter will produce an excess of gluten and will cause your cake to be tough instead of tender. I play it safe by mixing the flour by hand, so I reduce the likelihood of over mixing.
-
Why do you score the batter down the middle? – Your pound cake will crack as it bakes and scoring it down the middle ensures it has a nice center crack instead of it cracking in random places.
- What if I want to reduce the amount of sugar used? – If you want to reduce the sugar content by 1/4 cup I would recommend using a whole egg instead of just the egg yolk. That way you still get a good balance of wet to dry ingredients.
- What if I wanted a straight matcha pound cake instead of just a matcha swirl? – If you just want a straight matcha pound cake, mix the matcha powder with the flour before adding it to the batter.
Hi, I was looking at recipes for making matcha pound cake and came across your recipe. I’d love to try. What do you mean by “add the water” is it the wet ingredient?
Spoon half the batter into another bowl. Sift matcha powder into 1/2 of the batter. Add the water. Mix until you see a nice uniform green color.
Hi Hakimchi. Split the batter in half. To half the batter, add 1 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp matcha powder. Mix all of that together until it is a uniform green color. Hope that helps!
What size loaf pan should I use?
Use a 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches loaf pan. Here is the one I have: https://amzn.to/3uaJkvj
Hi! So i made this for Mother’s Day, and my mom absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for this easy recipe. I am so happy I did not messed it up.
I’m so excited my recipe could be a small part of your Mother’s Day celebration. I’m so glad she enjoyed it!
Hi there! I’m thinking of making this but adding yuzu extract to the plain batter – do you have any thoughts on this? Was thinking that I’d save the vanilla extract to add with the matcha, and then the plain would have no vanilla extract but maybe 1 tbsp of yuzu? Either way, this looks so yummy and I can’t wait to make it. Thanks!
Ohhh interesting! I’ve never used yuzu extract before. First off, I don’t think doing it that way would affect the texture of the cake, so that isn’t something I would worry about. In terms of flavor, I don’t know if yuzu and matcha go together because I haven’t tried it. But it could be a good flavor combination! If you’re up for experimenting, I say go for it! And let me know how it goes! 🙂 Maybe start with 1 or 2 tsp of yuzu extract because you never know how strong extracts are.
It’s a combo at some bakeries here in NYC! And I’ve seen it in drinks too. Thanks for the tips – I will try and report back!