Matcha Loaf Cake (Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day and Spring)

Most St. Patrick’s Day desserts get their bright green color from a generous squeeze of food coloring, but this matcha loaf cake gets its vibrant hue naturally from finely ground green tea powder.

Matcha brings a gentle earthy flavor and a beautiful green color that feels perfect not only for St. Patrick’s Day but also for the start of spring.

Even better, this recipe is incredibly simple. It’s a one-bowl cake made with melted butter, which keeps the crumb rich and moist while keeping cleanup minimal.

Why bake with matcha?

Matcha is powdered green tea made from finely ground tea leaves. Because you’re using the entire leaf, the flavor is more concentrated than regular green tea.

In baking, matcha adds:

• a naturally vibrant green color

• a subtle earthy flavor

• a slightly bitter note that balances sugary desserts

It pairs beautifully with flavors like vanilla, citrus, berries, and coconut.

What kind of matcha should you use for baking?

Most baked good recipes call for culinary-grade matcha. Because it’s specifically designed for recipes where the powder will be mixed into batter so the flavor doesn't get lost in your baked goods.

However, I wanted this cake to be a really vibrant green color, and in order to achieve that I used ceremonial matcha.

One of my favorite places to buy ceremonial matcha locally is Recess. Their matcha is ground to order and shipped directly from Japan, so it’s incredibly fresh and vibrant. Fresh matcha has a bright green color and smoother flavor, which makes a big difference when baking.

A good rule of thumb:
If the powder looks dull, brownish, or olive-colored, the flavor and color in your baked goods won’t be as nice.

How to keep matcha from turning brown while baking

Matcha can darken during baking, but a few tips help maintain its bright color.

One of the key tricks is adding an acidic ingredient, which in this case is sour cream. The slight acidity helps stabilize the matcha and prevents it from oxidizing as much in the oven, which helps the cake stay greener.

Also, it's important to not over bake the cake. You know the cake is done when you stick in a meat thermometer and the internal temperature is 205 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is this really a one-bowl recipe?

This recipe uses melted butter instead of creaming butter and sugar, which keeps the process incredibly simple. Melted butter allows the batter to come together in just one bowl without needing a mixer. It also creates a richer crumb that works beautifully in loaf cakes.

In most recipes, it is advised to mix the dry ingredients together first in a separate bowl before adding to the wet ingredients. You will notice that is not the case here. I mix everything directly in with the wet ingredients to keep it a true one-bowl recipe. 

I have read a lot of Deb Perelman's (Smitten Kitchen) recipes, and she mixes the leavener directly into the wet ingredients. I was skeptical of this at first because it goes against everything I've learned, but as long as you mix in the baking powder really really well, it works just fine. In her words, mix it in 10 seconds longer than you think you need to. If that makes you nervous, use an extra bowl to mix the dry ingredients.

The perfect glaze for matcha cake

You don't necessarily need a glaze, but I've never met anyone disappointed to see a glaze on a loaf cake. Matcha has a naturally earthy flavor, so a sweet glaze balances it beautifully.

Some great options include:

• classic vanilla glaze

• lemon glaze for brightness

• strawberry glaze using ground up freeze-dried strawberries

A simple drizzle over the top is all this loaf needs.

Matcha Loaf Cake

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 70 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake

• 8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted but slightly cooled
• 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240 grams) sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons (9 grams) matcha powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour

For the lemon glaze

• 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and line 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two long sides.
2. In large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract, matcha powder and salt.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time.
4. Sprinkle baking powder over surface of wet ingredients and stir until it disappears, or about 45 seconds.
5. Stir in flour until just combined.
6. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Let cool in pan before transferring to serving plate.

For the icing

1. In bowl, pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice over powdered sugar and whisk until mixture is smooth and runny. For thicker frosting, keep as is. For thinner frosting, add another tablespoon of lemon juice.
2. Pour icing over cake.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Better-Than-Classic Pound Cake found in her book "Smitten Kitchen Keepers"