Matcha Green Tea Strawberry Cake


Green tea cake with fresh strawberries and strawberry cream is a beautiful and light dessert that is perfect for tea time!

Not all cakes have to be dense and overly sweet, right? I actually prefer lighter cakes that aren’t as sweet. Many cakes, especially American ones, tend to have high fat and sugar content which can leave people feeling overly full. Thus, I tend to make genoise sponges or regular sponges where egg whites, rather than fats, provide much of the cake’s structure.

On top of making sponges, I like to add fruit or infuse tea into the cake to balance the sweetness of the cake. I love green and earl grey tea, but some other great flavors include chamomile, lavender, and black tea. This recipe is for a matcha green tea and strawberry cake, which looks beautiful as the red and green give a lovely holiday vibe! The cake is a low-fat sponge and the cream is whipped with Nature Restore strawberry powder for a pink hue. I use Suncore Foods matcha green tea powder which results in a vibrant green color. However, you can use regular green tea powder which would result in a more yellow-green color.

This recipe yields 2 medium rectangular cakes that are 3 layers each, baked in a 9 x 9 baking pan. You can double the recipe to yield 4 cakes. The cakes are rather elegant and go well with a cup of tea or coffee. To assist with making the cake, I have provided tips below:

Cake-making tips:

  1. The most important rule when making a sponge cake is not to deflate the egg whites! It can be tricky to completely incorporate ingredients into meringue without deflating the mixture. I use a large whisk to add the wet ingredients and a spatula to fold in the dry ingredients. I only fold the batter about 15 times as I do not want to manipulate the batter any further. There may be really small clumps. but I do not notice them after the cake has been baked.
  2. Egg whites whip better when they are at room temperature. Adding a bit of cream of tartar, vinegar, or lemon juice helps stabilize the egg whites and prevents the meringue from deflating too quickly. Cream of tartar, vinegar, and lemon juice are all acids, which facilitates bubble formation in the meringue.
  3. Heavy cream whips best when it is chilled. I like to chill my bowl and the electric beaters so that the whipped cream forms nicely.
  4. I used typical cake decorating tools for this cake: icing spatula, icing smoother, cake turntable. These tools came in the Kootek cake decorating kit.
  5. Don’t have cake flour? Not a problem. Cake flour can be made by combining 110 g. all-purpose flour and 15 g. cornstarch. That is 1 c. minus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour and 2 tbsp. cornstarch.

Green Tea Strawberry Cake

yield: 2 medium rectangular cakes (9 x 9 pan)

Ingredients:

*Use ingredients in weight for closest accuracy.

For cake:

  • 120 g. or 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 75 g. or 1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 g. or 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, white vinegar, or lemon juice
  • 50 g. or 3 large egg yolks
  • 20 g. or 1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 15 g. or 1 tbsp. milk (any fat percentage)
  • 75 g. or 1/2 c. + 1 tbsp. cake flour
  • 8 g. or 2 tsp. matcha green tea powder (I use Suncore Foods matcha green tea powder)

For decor:

  • 150 g. or 2/3 c. chilled heavy cream
  • 25 g. or 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 10 g. or 2 tsp. strawberry powder, optional (I use Nature Restore strawberry powder)
  • 10-12 large strawberries, sliced horizontally.
  • crushed pistachios to top, optional

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, begin whisking egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric whisk on high speed for 3 min. Slowly add in 1/3 of the sugar and whisk for a minute. Add in another third of the sugar and whisk for another min. Then add the remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
  3. Add in the yolks, butter, and milk and use a handheld whisk to lightly whisk until incorporated. Whisk just a few times to prevent deflating the egg whites.
  4. Sift in the cake flour and green tea powder and fold gently.
  5. Pour batter into a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 F for 10-12 min. in the middle rack. Once cake is baked, remove from oven immediately and cool on a cooling rack and cool for at least 15 min.
  6. In a medium mixing bowl, add in chilled cream and sugar. Whisk on high speed until whipped cream forms. You may add strawberry powder for color.
  7. Remove the parchment paper from the cooled sponge cake. You may choose to use a ruler for cutting the cake. The cake is 9″ x 9″. Cut the cake in half horizontally and then cut the cake in threes vertically. You should now have 6 rectangles with each being 3″ x 4.5″.
  8. To assemble the first cake, take one rectangle cake and spread some whipped cream. Add on the sliced strawberries and spread more whipped cream over the top. Add the second rectangle cake layer and repeat the strawberry and cream process. Add on the last layer of rectangle cake and cover the entire cake with whipped cream. Repeat this process for the second cake. Chill cakes for at least 30 min.
  9. Top with crushed pistachios, slice, and enjoy!

*Nutrition facts are estimates.

This post contains affiliate links, which I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

84 thoughts

  5. Wowwww!! This seems so yum! I am just 13 and I have learnt so much from you! I tried a few recipes of my own on my blog(hope you check it out and follow)… and your recipes gave me such a nice way to look at ingredients and to find out new recipes!

    Reply

    1. The cake batter actually uses both the egg whites and yolks. But, yes I hate wasting stuff as well! If I ever have remaining yolks, I just scramble it or make a custard.

      Reply

  24. Anita and I also do not care for overly sweet or heavy cakes. I am experimenting with reducing sugar from most of my “source” recipes. Sometimes more successful than others. 😅
    I’ll follow some of yours to see if I can do these. Thanx‼️

    Reply

    1. Definitely! Sometimes sugar is really important for the structure, so my cakes do fail at times when I reduce sugar. I also love using fruits like applesauce, bananas, or dates as sweeteners.

      Reply

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