In short: Whisk 4 eggs with ½ cup (110 g) caster sugar to a thick foam, fold in ¾ cup (115 g) self-raising flour sifted with about 2 tablespoons (10–12 g) of good matcha, then bake at 180 °C for about 25 minutes. You get a light, fatless sponge with a vivid-green crumb and a grassy, gently sweet matcha flavour.
A note on the numbers: the amounts, temperatures and times on this page are standard baking convention, reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young. They are reliable starting points you adjust to your oven and taste, not a single lab-measured rule.
What is a matcha cake, and what does it taste like?
A matcha cake, also called a green tea cake or matcha tea cake, is a plain sponge with good-quality matcha (powdered Japanese green tea) sifted in with the flour, so the tea both colours the crumb vivid green and flavours it. The hero here is a fatless genoise: a light, airy sponge that rises on whipped egg rather than butter, which keeps it delicate and lets the matcha show.
It tastes like a light, subtly sweet sponge with a grassy, gently vegetal, faintly umami matcha note running through it. Good premium matcha reads fresh and green, not fishy, dusty or hay-like, and the sugar and soft crumb round off matcha's gentle bitterness so it is pleasant rather than sharp.
What you need — and how much matcha goes in a cake?
A common mistake is using too little matcha. A thin recipe calls for one teaspoon and bakes pale, with almost no matcha flavour. Use about 2 tablespoons (10–12 g) of good matcha per cake instead: enough for a vivid green crumb and a clear, pleasant flavour, without tipping into bitterness. Go much past 3 tablespoons and the crumb turns chalky and bitter.
Ingredients (one 9-inch round)
| Ingredient | Weight | Cups / spoons |
|---|---|---|
| Self-raising flour | 115 g | ¾ cup |
| Caster (superfine) sugar | 110 g | ½ cup |
| Eggs | 4 | — |
| Matcha powder | 10–12 g | about 2 tbsp |
| Butter | — | for greasing the pan only |
Amounts are reviewer-confirmed baking convention, not a single measured standard; there is no butter or oil in the batter, because a genoise rises on whipped egg. The matcha dose is the flavour-and-colour sweet spot, not a fixed universal weight.
How to make a matcha cake (step by step)
- Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F / gas 4), about 160–165 °C fan-forced, and grease and line the base of a 9-inch (23 cm) round pan with a round of parchment.
- Sift the flour and matcha together two or three times. This aerates the flour and disperses the matcha evenly, so there are no bitter green pockets.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick, pale and greatly risen, holding a ribbon trail off the beaters. This foam is what makes the sponge rise, so keep going and do not rush it.
- Sift the flour-and-matcha mix over the foam in a few additions and fold it in gently with a large spoon or spatula, keeping as much air as you can. No butter or oil goes into the batter.
- Pour into the pan and bake for about 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the sponge springs back to a light touch. A moderate oven, not a hot one, cooks it through while protecting the green. Do not overbake: a dry, over-baked sponge also loses colour.
- Cool the cake in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool fully before dusting or frosting.
Active prep is about 20 minutes and the whole thing is about 45 minutes start to finish, plus cooling time on top. One 9-inch round makes about 8–10 slices and scales up cleanly for a layer cake.
Can you bake with any matcha?
You can bake with matcha, but not just any matcha. For a cake that stays vivid green and smooth, use a good premium matcha rather than the cheapest supermarket powder. A fine premium powder keeps a vibrant green and a rounded flavour through the oven; a cheap, already-dull powder bakes grey-green and can turn bitter. An expensive ceremonial-style grade is not the answer either: its delicate character is simply wasted once it is baked.
Zen sells one matcha for exactly this reason: a single premium grade Japanese matcha, sourced directly from Japanese farms, that sits between culinary and ceremonial. It is robust enough to hold its colour and flavour through a bake at the full 2-tablespoon dose, without the price premium of ceremonial matcha, whose delicate character you would only lose in the oven.
How do you keep a matcha cake vivid green (not bitter or muddy)?
Matcha's green colour comes from chlorophyll, and chlorophyll is highly susceptible to breaking down under heat. That is why a hot oven, overbaking, and a low-quality (already-dull) powder all brown or grey the crumb. The effect is well documented in green tea powder, where colour is one of the most important quality factors and is lost with heat.
Four things keep the colour on your side:
- Sift the matcha with the flour. Sifting two or three times disperses the matcha so it colours evenly, with no bitter concentrated pockets.
- Use a good premium matcha. A powder that is already dull in the tin can only get duller in the oven.
- Keep the oven moderate. Bake at 180 °C rather than pushing hotter; a hot oven browns the surface and dulls the matcha.
- Do not overbake. Pull the cake as soon as the skewer comes out clean; every extra minute costs colour.
If a cake still bakes dull, the usual culprit is an oven running hot: an inexpensive oven thermometer settles it in one bake.
Can you make a matcha mug cake? (single-serve, about 90 seconds)
Yes. For a quick single-serve matcha mug cake, stir about 4 tablespoons (30 g) self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon matcha, 2–3 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1 tablespoon oil (or 1 small egg) together in a mug, then microwave on high for about 70–90 seconds, until just set. It comes out denser than the whisked sponge but is ready in a few minutes. Microwaves vary in power, so stop as soon as the top looks set rather than trusting the clock.
Want an easy one-bowl matcha cake?
For an easy, one-bowl version, skip the genoise egg-foam step entirely: whisk eggs, sugar, oil and milk together in one bowl, stir in sifted self-raising flour and matcha, pour and bake. It is more forgiving than the genoise, with no whipped-egg foam to deflate, at the cost of a slightly denser crumb. The same colour rules apply: sift the matcha, keep the oven moderate, and do not overbake.
How do you turn it into a matcha layer or birthday cake?
Bake the batter as two thinner layers, or split the cooled sponge horizontally, then sandwich and coat it with a matcha frosting: matcha cream cheese frosting, whipped mascarpone, or a matcha buttercream all work. Beat 1–2 teaspoons of sifted matcha into the frosting for colour and flavour, adjusting to taste so it stays smooth rather than bitter. This is the route to a matcha birthday cake, and the sponge scales up cleanly for taller layers.
What frosting and fillings go with matcha cake?
Match the finish to the occasion. For an everyday cake, a dusting of matcha and icing sugar is enough. For something dressier, whisk about ½–1 teaspoon of sifted matcha into a simple icing-sugar glaze, or fold it into a matcha buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Between layers, matcha takes well to whipped cream with fresh strawberries or raspberries, white chocolate ganache, lemon curd or yuzu, or, for a Japanese slant, sweet red bean (anko) or black sesame.
Matcha cake variations: victoria sponge, marble, loaf and cupcakes
The same sponge is the base for a whole shelf of matcha bakes. Bake it as two layers for a matcha victoria sponge, sandwiched with jam and whipped cream or matcha buttercream. Fold matcha through only half the batter and swirl the two together for a matcha marble cake; pour it into a deeper tin for a matcha loaf or bundt; or divide it between paper cases for matcha cupcakes, baked about 18–20 minutes. Whatever the format, the colour rules hold: sift the matcha, keep the oven moderate, and do not overbake.
How do you make a dairy-free or gluten-free matcha cake?
The hero genoise is already dairy-free in the batter, since there is no butter or milk in it; just grease the pan with oil or a dairy-free spread instead of butter. For a gluten-free cake, swap the self-raising flour for a 1:1 gluten-free self-raising blend (or gluten-free plain flour plus about 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder per cup, and a pinch of xanthan gum if the blend lacks it). For the mug and one-bowl versions, use any plant milk and oil in place of dairy.
Is there caffeine in matcha cake?
Yes. Matcha is green tea, so a matcha cake is lightly caffeinated. A slice has roughly 30–50 mg of caffeine: the 2 tablespoons (10–12 g) of matcha carry about 30 mg per gram, shared across 8–10 slices. Caffeine is heat-stable, so it largely survives the bake. That is a little less than a cup of black tea, and roughly a third to a half of a cup of brewed coffee. Enough to notice, but modest for a dessert.
Beyond the kitchen, matcha is valued for more than flavour: as whole powdered green tea it is a well-known source of antioxidants. That is a drink-and-wellness subject rather than a baking one, so this page stays with the cake and points you to our guide to matcha's health benefits for the science.
More matcha baking
If matcha cake is your gateway, the rest of the collection follows the same green-tea-in-the-mix logic. Try matcha banana bread (the closest bake to this cake), matcha green tea brownies, matcha cookies, matcha white chocolate shortbread, matcha green tea cheesecake, matcha green tea ice cream or matcha date and almond bliss balls. For more sweet ideas, browse our matcha desserts guide, and for the full set see the matcha recipes collection.
Matcha cake FAQ
What is matcha cake made of? A matcha cake is a plain sponge made with self-raising flour, sugar, eggs and matcha. The hero here is a fatless genoise, so there is no butter or oil in the batter: about ¾ cup (115 g) flour, ½ cup (110 g) sugar, 4 eggs and about 2 tablespoons (10–12 g) of matcha for one 9-inch round.
What does a matcha cake taste like? Light, subtly sweet and airy, with a grassy, gently vegetal, faintly umami matcha note through it. Good premium matcha tastes fresh and green rather than fishy or hay-like, and the sugar rounds off matcha's gentle bitterness so it reads as pleasant, not sharp.
How much matcha do you put in a cake? About 2 tablespoons (10–12 g) of good matcha for a standard 9-inch cake: enough for a vivid green crumb and a clear flavour. A single teaspoon bakes pale and bland; more than about 3 tablespoons turns the crumb bitter and chalky.
Can you bake with any matcha? You can bake with matcha, but not just any matcha. A good premium powder keeps its colour and smooth flavour through the oven, while a cheap, dull powder bakes grey-green and can turn bitter. An expensive ceremonial-style grade is wasted once baked, so a premium grade is the practical choice.
Can you add matcha to a boxed cake mix? Yes. Whisk about 1 to 2 tablespoons of matcha into the dry boxed mix before adding the wet ingredients, so it disperses evenly with no bitter pockets. This is a proportional convention rather than a fixed rule; start at 1 tablespoon for a subtle cake and taste up toward 2.
How do you keep a matcha cake green? Heat breaks down the chlorophyll behind matcha's green, so use a moderate 180 °C oven, a good premium powder, and do not overbake. Sift the matcha through the flour so it colours evenly, and pull the cake as soon as a skewer comes out clean.
Is there caffeine in matcha cake? Yes. A slice has roughly 30–50 mg of caffeine, since the 10–12 g of matcha in the cake carries about 30 mg per gram across 8–10 slices, and caffeine survives baking. That is a little under a cup of tea and about a third to a half of a cup of coffee.
Can you make a matcha victoria sponge? Yes. Bake the sponge as two thinner layers and sandwich them with jam and whipped cream, or a matcha buttercream, for a matcha take on a victoria sponge. The same batter also works as a marble cake, a loaf or bundt, or cupcakes baked about 18–20 minutes.
About the author & sources
Written and reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young, founder of Zen Green Tea, sourcing matcha directly from Japanese farms since 2012.
Sources
- PMC (Molecules, 2022) — green tea powder colour is a key quality factor and chlorophyll degrades under heat; the mechanism behind keeping a matcha cake green
- PMC9792400 (Molecules review, 2022) + EFSA / U.S. FDA caffeine-by-drink tables — the matcha caffeine-per-gram measurement plus black-tea and brewed-coffee reference tables that underpin the roughly 30–50 mg per-slice caffeine figure and its tea/coffee comparison
The recipe amounts, matcha dose, temperatures, times, pan, yield and grade guidance carry no external citation by design: no authoritative source fixes a single baking convention. They are working conventions reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young, and flagged as such wherever they appear.