This high altitude matcha loaf cake is moist, dense, subtly flavored, and naturally colored green with matcha powder. It’s baked in a fancy fluted loaf pan, and sprinkled with matcha sugar for a simple finish.
You might also love these recipes for earl grey tea cake and butterfly pea flower cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Natural Flavor and Color. The green color and subtle earthy flavor in this cake is from the matcha green tea powder, with no food coloring added.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar.
- Unsalted Butter.
- Eggs.
- Sour Cream.
- Vanilla Extract.
- All Purpose Flour.
- Baking Powder.
- Salt.
- Matcha Powder. The matcha powder I used is one I found at my grocery store. It was quite expensive for such a small packet. I only used a small amount in the cake, partly due to the cost, but also because I didn’t want the flavor to be overwhelming. The subtle earthy flavor it adds is lovely with the butter, sugar and vanilla.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the 6-cup fluted loaf pan thoroughly with non-stick baking spray.If you don’t have a fluted loaf pan, you can also just use a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Using an electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer), beat the sugar and butter on medium speed for 4 minutes, until fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating each for 30 seconds before adding the next. Add the vanilla and the sour cream, beating until well combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix for about 15 seconds on medium low speed, until smooth. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the pan firmly on the counter to settle the batter into all the grooves of the fluted loaf pan.
- Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the cooling rack and remove the pan.
Topping
- While the cake is warm, lightly brush the crust with the 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter.
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 tbsp sugar with 1/2 tsp matcha powder, and sprinkle over the cake.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
While the inside of the cake is green, the crust of your cake may brown against the loaf pan, as mine did, which will change the color. For this reason, I sprinkled the matcha sugar on top of the cake to bring back the color on the outside of the cake.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Matcha Loaf Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Fluted Loaf Pan (6 cup capacity / can also just use a standard 9×5 loaf pan)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup full fat sour cream, buttermilk or kefir
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp poppy seeds, optional
Topping
- 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp matcha powder
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the 6-cup fluted loaf pan thoroughly with non-stick baking spray.If you don't have a fluted loaf pan, you can also just use a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Using an electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer), beat the sugar and butter on medium speed for 4 minutes, until fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating each for 30 seconds before adding the next. Add the vanilla and the sour cream, beating until well combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix for about 15 seconds on medium low speed, until smooth. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the pan firmly on the counter to settle the batter into all the grooves of the fluted loaf pan.
- Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the cooling rack and remove the pan.
Topping
- While the cake is warm, lightly brush the crust with the 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter.
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 tbsp sugar with 1/2 tsp matcha powder, and sprinkle over the cake.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
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