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It’s Sunday Funday!!

Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Which clearly means CAKE…

If you think like I do anyway.

Normally, I am all about chocolate cake. Like all chocolate, with triple layers and GENEROUSLY frosted with extra fudgy chocolate frosting. When a serious cake craving hits this will always be my number one choice. Always.

BUT this spring I am feeling out a few new cake flavors. Maybe it’s the thought of warmer days, spring flowers and generally lighter eats. Whatever the reason I am pretty excited about this non-chocolate matcha green tea cake. I mean, I want to say it’s all healthy and good for you, with that matcha green tea, but ahh that’d be a lie. There is butter, sugar and so much vanilla, but it’s so good.

Hey, you can always pretend it’s healthy. Works for me.

Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I am going to be honest, when I set out to make this cake, I was nervous. This was my first ever non-chocolate cake. Like, I have never even made a vanilla cake. Never. I know, that’s crazy, but again, I was bred to think solely chocolate (and at all times). Can’t really complain about that, but sometimes you gotta try new things.

So I did.

I was scared.

But it all turned out good. So, so, so good! The matcha cake, just tastes like a super moist vanilla cake with just a slight hint of tea. It’s the perfect amount of tea to vanilla combo. But umm that frosting? It’s a game changer.

It’s sweet and perfect in every which way. The honey pairs so nicely with the whipped cream cheese and yeah, finger dipping worthy for sure.

Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Oh, and those eggs on top? I just couldn’t resist. I had so many left over from Easter and well, they are milk chocolate, how could I not add them? Plus no one in my family would even try a cake without any chocolate, I had to make sure they didn’t pass this cake by. Good thing too, cause it’s already gone!

Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rest 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 951 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Cake

Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Whisk together the milk and oil, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the matcha powder, vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs and beat again for 2 minutes on medium speed. Now slowly pour in the hot water and beat until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
  • Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then grab 2 large flat plates, line them with wax or parchment paper and invert the cakes onto the plates. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
  • To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a large mixing bowl. Using and electric mixer beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the honey, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat another 2-4 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
  • To assemble, place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top. If desired, you may also frost the sides. I prefer to either leave the sides unfrosted or lightly frosted so that pretty green color shines through! Decorate with toasted coconut and milk chocolate eggs if desired.
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Matcha Green Tea Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this recipe for an office potluck and it was a great success! I think there is a mistake with the quantities of sugar in the icing, should it be 3/4 of a cup ? I only added 1 cup and thought it was just enough. The recipe made 15 cupcakes and I baked them for 18min in a convection oven. Thank you as always for your recipes, I never try them beforehand as I know it is going to be a great success 🙂

    1. Hey Genevieve,
      Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit!! The icing measurement is correct, but you can certainly reduce that to your liking:) xT

  2. The different advantages of green tea include reduction of blood pressure and helps in weight loss effectively as compared to other weight loss supplements.

    1. Hi Prath,
      Yes that would work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  3. 2 stars
    I made this but unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed. The cake tasted more of almond essence than matcha. The texture was great – soft, moist and springy – but that’s the only good part. The frosting is dense and cloyingly sweet. However, this recipe is one miss amongst a lot of hits from your website.

    1. Hi Angela! I am sorry this did not work too well for you. Are there any questions I could help you with? Thank you! xTieghan

  4. Hi teaghan,
    this recipe looks really scrumptious, but unfortunately i’m can’t consume buttermilk and is there any substitute for it?
    will it be possible if i use almond milk and vinegar?
    Can’t wait to make this recipe 🙂

  5. I’m making this for my boyfriend and his family (all Japanese, big green tea fanatics) for his birthday and I might play around to try and reduce the sweetness of the cake and up the matcha factor. I’m still debating what to decorate the cake with (he’s not a huge fan of chocolate or sweets so i’m looking for something neutral/rich/bitter).

    I love your blog and will tag you in the end result! Thanks again for the lovely recipe, can’t wait to see how it comes out!

  6. I happen to drink Green tea with honey. So, naturally your beautiful cake caught my eye. May I ask where I might purchase macha tea powder?

  7. Hey, Tieghan: I’ve made this cake a couple of times now and am in love with it! Could you recommend appropriate timing if I wanted to make cupcakes, instead? Thanks!!

    1. Hi Leigh!

      That is so awesome!! I would say about 16-18 minutes for the cupcakes. You will just have to check them and see, but that’s the times I would think would work! Let me know and thanks again for the kind words! 🙂

  8. Also, could you convert the cream cheese frosting into buttercream somehow or stabilize it enough to make roses for decorating?

  9. First off, I have made a ton of your recipes now and I am a huge fan (butter chicken and naan was my favorite so far)! However, I was wondering if it was possible to make this in three layers and what I would do to achieve so?

    1. Hey Sarah!!

      Thanks so much for the kind words! So flattered!! You can make this in 3 layers, just do 1 1/2 (so the full recipe and then 1/2 of the full recipes ingredients) of the recipe. Does that make sense?? If not just let me know and I will email you.

      Also, for the frosting, you can just replace the cream cheese with equal amounts of butter or use your favorite buttercream. I have never made roses…you must be good!! Send photos! 🙂

  10. Thank you ,I will try to do it.

    I have never tried vanilla cake , These vanilla cake looks awesome!

  11. Perfect! Thanks so much for the prompt reply! Really looking forward to impressing dinner guests this evening!!

  12. Hi! I’d like to make this cake this afternoon. The instructions don’t mention the baking soda; just want to be sure that it’s not listed accidentally? Thanks!