Do you have a good pound cake recipe in your repertoire that you gift to a friend or bring to a gathering? Today, I’ll show you how to make one of my favorites – Matcha Marble Pound Cake (抹茶マーブルパウンドケーキ). It’s buttery, tender, and bursting with a unique green tea flavor – plus the striking emerald swirls make it feel like a luscious, special-occasion treat. Whether you’re making it for a Sunday afternoon treat or to take to a party, this Japanese-inspired pound cake is going to be your new keeper!
Matcha for Pastries & Baked Goods
Matcha (抹茶) is literally powdered green tea, made of top-quality tea leaves that are covered before picking, then stone-ground into a delicate fine powder. With its earthy and slightly bitter undertone, matcha has been used as a mainstream key flavoring in making all kinds of sweets, pastries, and baked goods in Japan. I personally love the flavor of matcha. It’s especially great in baked goods as it keeps the flavor from tasting too sweet. Another beauty of baking with matcha? The bright green hue lends to the final good that is sure to make an impression. There are various grades of matcha, sometimes labeled as “culinary grade” and “ceremonial grade”, which have a slightly different flavor profiles. For making desserts and baking, you can go for “culinary grade” but the color of green will not be as beautiful as “ceremonial grade”.
Substitution Idea
If you do not like matcha or do not want to use it, you can substitute it with pure cocoa powder in this recipe.
How to Choose the Best Matcha
When buying matcha powder, the first quality to look for is its color. Matcha comes in a vibrant bright green, not yellowish or brownish green. Sugar and natural flavorings should not be included in the ingredients. You should also look for the country of origin for any matcha product. And remember to check the expiration date. As matcha should be consumed within 2-3 weeks after opening, you should get a package that contains 1 oz (30g), which is a standard matcha size in Japan. Do not buy a big bag of matcha even though it seems like a “good deal”.
Where to Get Matcha
Use Cake Flour for Matcha Marble Pound Cake
Many recipes ask for all-purpose flour when making pound cake, but in Japan, cake flour is always used to make a pound cake. It makes the pound cake extra tender.
How to Create the Marble Effect for Pound Cake
There are two ways to make a marble effect:
Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter inside the cake pan.Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter in the bowl and then transfer it to the cake pan.
I personally prefer the second method because I can see how the two colors are combined before pouring into the pan. With this approach, I feel that the swirls look more dynamic and you can control the balance of the colors.
The Crack on The Pound Cake
Did you know the pound cake is supposed to crack on the top? Pound cakes are denser than most cakes. The exterior of the cake starts to bake first in the oven, and as the heat that is released from the still-baking batter reaches the center of the cake, it needs to expand through the top of the cake since all sides have set. So a pound cake is defined by the crack which gives it a rustic appearance. However, the crack doesn’t usually appear perfectly centered in the cake. If you wish to achieve a perfectly cracked pound cake where the rupture sets right in the middle, there are two tricks you can do: Trick 1: After 12-15 minutes of baking, insert a knife into the top of the cake batter in the pan and score a straight line. Do it quickly so you won’t lose the oven heat. Trick 2: Before putting the cake pan into the oven, cut a very thin strip of cold butter and lay it on top of the cake batter. Or put softened butter into a plastic bag and squeeze it out from a small tip to create a line on the cake batter. See this image if you need a visual guide. I use Trick 1 as it’s easy to do, but both tricks work beautifully. Since pound cakes are supposed to crack, it’s nice to know how to control the cracking so you get the best-looking pound cake possible.
2 Most Important Cooking Tips
These two tips are important to make sure that the pound cake rises properly and the cake won’t end up with a tough texture.
Tip 1: Cream the Room Temperature Butter
It’s very important that your butter is at room temperature before you start. Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy and lots of little tails foam around the beaters, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar to the whipped butter and beat thoroughly for about 3-5 minutes. The sharp sugar grains cut through the butter and create tiny air pockets that aerate the batter and cause leavening. The mixture should be creamy but grainy.
Tip 2: Slowly Add Room Temperature Eggs to the Creamed Butter
Again, it’s also important that all the eggs are at room temperature. If you forget to take out the eggs from the refrigerator ahead of time, you can submerge the cold eggs in warm (body temperature) water for 10 minutes. To achieve a smooth batter (not a curdled mixture), add a very small amount (1 Tbsp) of the beaten egg to the mixture and beat well after each addition. The eggs contain water and the yolks and the butter are fats. Remember, oil and water will not mix without an emulsifier (in this case, the yolks), which suspends fat molecules in water making a smooth mixture. If there is a slightly curdled appearance to the batter after adding the eggs, don’t worry. The emulsification is usually complete enough that the batter will become smooth. The addition of flour helps as it absorbs some of the excess water. I hope you enjoy this Matcha Marble Pound Cake recipe as much as my family does! It also makes the most gorgeous edible gift if you are thinking to make someone smile today. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
