Made with eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, cake flour, and green tea powder, this matcha green tea chiffon cake is moist and spongy. Perfect for a light afternoon snack!
Making chiffon cake was one of my dreams after I started baking regularly since last year. Thanks for your encouragement! I always thought it was going to be difficult to make a chiffon cake. However, after some lengthy experiments with my Castella recipe with good success, this matcha green tea chiffon cake was a piece of cake. Yes, I just said that.
And of course, being a crazy fan of matcha, I had to try Green Tea Chiffon Cake first before trying other flavors!
Watch How to Make Matcha Green Tea Chiffon Cake
Delicate green tea chiffon cake recipe. This is a delicious treat for anyone who enjoys matcha flavored desserts.
If you are new to chiffon cake, it is a very light sponge cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, and whatever flavor you want to add. You beat the egg whites and fold them into the oil-based cake batter so that the cake will get a fluffy texture.
Tips on Making Matcha Green Tea Chiffon Cake
1. Use the correct chiffon cake pan.
The best types are the aluminum ones with a removable base (Do not use non-stick bakeware for chiffon cake – it will not work).
I bought 17-cm and 20-cm aluminum chiffon cake pans while I was in Japan because I wanted to follow a Japanese chiffon cake recipe. If you are interested in the same pan and know someone in Japan who can receive the package for you, you can purchase one from Rakuten (かっぱ橋浅井商店つなぎ目のない17cmシフォンケーキ型). They are great!
Or, you can order this 17-cm aluminum chiffon cake pan online from Nihon Ichiban which ships internationally.
If you have a different size chiffon cake pan, then check the conversion of the ingredients in this post.
2. Do not grease the mold.
The cake needs to cling on the sides and center of the pan for support as it rises or it will collapse.
3. Use good matcha.
You want to be able to taste the subtle matcha flavor, so I recommend using good quality matcha (green tea powder). When it comes to chiffon cakes, I like them to be simple. No sweet frosting necessary. A good reason to enjoy more than 1 slice.
You only use 3 tablespoons of oil for this recipe, so you can expect a very light cake. If no one was looking, I would probably eat the entire 17 cm (about 7 inches) cake all by myself!
If you follow the recipe closely, you can expect a fluffy, light and moist green tea chiffon cake. It turned out just like the green tea chiffon cake that I’ve tried in Japan and dreamed of making myself.
If you are a fan of not-so-sweet desserts, this is for you. Knowing how easy it is to make chiffon cakes now, I am going to try making other flavors soon. What would be your favorite flavor?
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Green Tea Chiffon Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar (measure ½ cup and remove 1 Tbsp to be precise)
- 3 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.) (measure 3 Tbsp and remove 1 tsp to be precise)
- ¼ cup water (4 Tbsp)
- ⅔ cup cake flour (measure ⅔ cup and remove 2 tsp to be precise; You can make your homemade cake flour with all-purpose flour and cornstarch. To make 1 cup of cake flour, measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 Tbsp, and add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it; If you use a measuring cup, follow this method: fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Otherwise, 1 cup of flour ends up with more than 120 g.)
- 1 heaping Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 large egg white
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients and preheat the oven to 340ºF (170ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). You will also need a 17cm (7") chiffon cake pan. Make sure you use the correct chiffon cake pan. The best types are the aluminum ones with a removable base (Do not use non-stick bakeware for chiffon cake – it will not work). Do not grease the mold because the cake needs to cling on the sides and center of the pan for support as it rises or it will collapse.
- In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and add ⅓ of the sugar. Then add oil and water and whisk all together till combined.
- Sift cake flour, matcha, and baking powder together and add to the egg yolk mixture in 3 separate times. Whisk until totally incorporated and make sure there are no lumps.
- Using a stand mixer, whip the egg whites on medium low speed (speed 4) till opaque and foamy and bubbly.
- Add ⅓ of the remaining sugar and continue whipping. After 30 seconds or so, increase the stand mixer speed to high (speed 10) and add the remaining sugar slowly in small increments. It takes about 2 minutes (since you changed the speed to speed 10) until stiff peaks form.
- To check on stiff peaks, pull up your whisk and see if the egg whites go straight up (stiff peak) and just the tip is soft enough that it folds over, like taking a bow.
- Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites into the flour mixture using a spatula until the mixture is homogeneous.
- Fold in the rest of the egg whites in 2-3 increments and mix gently but quickly until the mixture is homogeneous.
- Pour the mixture into the ungreased 17cm (7") chiffon cake pan. Tap the pan a few times on the kitchen countertop to release the air bubbles.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- The cake must be cooled upside down; stick the pan on a tall heavy bottle, leave until cake is completely cool before removing it from the pan.
- Use a thin sharp knife or thin offset spatula and run it around the cake.
- Place the serving plate on top and flip over. The cake will pop out easily. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.
Notes
- Make sure your beaters and mixing bowl are clean and dry. A speck of oil or egg yolk on either one can minimize the volume of the beaten egg whites.
- Avoid plastic bowls -- even clean ones may hold oily residue that can affect the beating quality of the egg whites.
- Use a bowl that's wide enough to keep the beaters from being buried in the egg whites.
- Do not overbeat or underbeat egg whites -- your cake may fall. Egg whites should be stiff but not dry.
