This Matcha Chiffon Cake is spongy, moist, and light as a cloud. Its lightly sweet flavor balances perfectly with earthy and savory notes from Japanese green tea powder. With its soft green matcha color, you’ll love this popular Japanese cake as a light afternoon snack.
Making chiffon cake was one of my dreams since I started baking regularly last year. I always thought it was going to be difficult to make a chiffon cake. However, after some lengthy experiments with my Castella recipe, this Matcha Chiffon Cake (抹茶シフォンケーキ) was a lot easier than I expected.
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 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 to 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 Matcha Chiffon Cake. It turned out just like the chiffon cake that I have 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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Matcha Chiffon Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (yolks and whites separated)
- 85 g sugar (½ cup minus 1 Tbsp; divided into thirds)
- 40 ml neutral oil (3 Tbsp minus 1 tsp)
- ¼ cup water
- 75 g cake flour (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can make Homemade Cake Flour)
- 1 heaping Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) (1 level Tbsp matcha weighs 6 g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Before You Start: I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites from 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell). Keep the eggs whites in a stand mixer bowl; refrigerate or freeze the bowl and egg whites for 15 minutes until cold. (It‘s okay if the egg whites are partially frozen). Tip: In Japan, we chill the egg whites to make smooth, fine-textured meringue and do not use cream of tartar.
- Preheat the oven to 340ºF (170ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). You will need 1 17-cm (7-inch) chiffon cake pan. If you have a different size pan, read this post to adjust the ingredient measurements. Make sure you use an aluminum pan with a removable base (read my blog post for more details). Please see my Notes at the end of this recipe for additional details on ingredients, equipment, and techniques.
To Mix the Batter
- Start mixing the batter. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and one-third of the 85 g sugar with a hand whisk. Whisk vigorously until it‘s a creamy pale yellow color. Then, add 40 ml neutral oil and ¼ cup water and beat with a whisk to combine.
- To a flour sifter or fine-mesh sieve, add 75 g cake flour, 1 heaping Tbsp matcha (green tea powder), and 1 tsp baking powder. Sift one-third of this flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk by hand to incorporate the dry ingredients well. Check that there are no lumps in the batter, then sift another one-third of the flour mixture into the bowl. Mix to incorporate. Then, sift in the rest of the flour mixture and whisk until just combined; do not overmix. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Set aside while you beat the meringue.
To Make the Meringue
- Take out the bowl of egg whites from the refrigerator or freezer. Set the bowl on the stand mixer with a whisk attachment (I used the KitchenAid Professional Series). Start whipping the egg whites on medium-low speed (Speed 4) until the egg whites are bubbly, opaque, and foamy.
- Add another one-third of the sugar and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Then, increase the mixer speed to high (Speed 10) and gradually add the remaining sugar in small increments. Beat vigorously until stiff peaks form (see the next step for how to check). It takes about 2 minutes of beating at high speed to reach stiff peaks. Tip: I usually pause beating when the egg whites are almost done. Take off the whisk attachment from the mixer and use it to hand-mix the looser egg whites near the bowl's edge into the stiffer whites near the center until it‘s all homogeneous in texture. Then, put the whisk back on and continue beating.
- To check for stiff peaks, pull up your whisk. The meringue in the bowl or on the whisk should be firm enough to hold a peak, pointing straight up (or maybe folding over a little bit just at the very tips). By this time, the meringue should have a glossy texture, too. Tip: If you overbeat the meringue, it will become very stiff and grainy and won‘t incorporate into the batter at all.
To Fold In the Meringue
- Using a spatula or hand whisk, add one-third of the meringue into the batter. Mix well by hand until it‘s homogeneous.
- Gently fold in the rest of the meringue in 2 or 3 increments. Take care not to deflate the air bubbles in the meringue and batter as you fold. Once it‘s well combined and homogeneous, fold the batter one last time and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there is no matcha accumulation. The final batter should fall in ribbons when you lift the spatula or whisk.
To Bake
- Prepare 1 ungreased 17-cm (7-inch) chiffon cake pan. From 6–8 inches high, pour the batter into the pan at just one spot to prevent air pockets from forming. While holding the removable base in place, gently tap the pan a few times on the work surface to release any air pockets in the batter. Run a wooden skewer through the batter to release any remaining air pockets.
- Put the cake pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake at 340ºF (170ºC) for 30 minutes. To check if it‘s finished baking, insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed, it‘s done. Tip: If the top of the cake gets dark too quickly, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil to prevent burning. (The cake may be too close to the heat source.)
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and gently drop the pan onto the work surface to shock the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking. To cool the cake, prepare a tall, heavy bottle with a long neck, such as a glass wine bottle. Invert the center tube of the cake pan onto the bottle‘s neck and let the cake cool completely in its pan. Cooling the cake upside down helps it stretch downward and maintain its loft.
- Once the cake is completely cool, run a long offset spatula around the outer edge of the pan and a small offset spatula around the inner tube. Gently take out the removable base and cake from the outer pan. Then, run the offset spatula along the bottom of the cake to release it from the base. Tip: I used to use a knife for this step, but the tip of the knife tends to poke the cake while moving around, so I now recommend using offset spatulas.
- Invert the cake with the removable base onto a plate or cake stand. The cake will slide off the inner tube. Chiffon cake is served “upside down” with the flat bottom on top.
To Serve
- I serve the Matcha Chiffon Cake as is, but you may dust the top with confectioners‘ sugar, if you‘d like (optional). Slice and enjoy.
To Store
- I strongly recommend consuming the cake sooner for the best freshness. However, you can keep the cake covered on a plate or stand at room temperature in a cooler place for 1–2 days. To keep it longer, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks.
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, as even clean ones may hold oily residue that can affect the beaten 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 the egg whites or your cake may fall. Egg whites should have a stiff peak, pointing straight up (or maybe a little bit folding over just at the very tips).
Dear Nami, first of all many compliments for your websites! I have just made the green tea chiffon cake following your very precise instructions and it came out perfect! I kindly ask you to give me some suggestion on other possible flavours. Thank you very much in advance! Next I will try Kasutera cake, it seems delicious!
Hi Elisa! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m glad to hear the chiffon cake came out well! I have tried lemon before and hoping to make earl grey one day! Hope you enjoy Castella too! 🙂
Hi,
You’re website is really nice. Thank you.
Just something I’ve noticed experimenting on green tea cakes.. If you mix the flours and use rice flour and coconut oil the texture end up really well.
Here is what I do :
100g all purpose flour
80g rice flour
3 eggs
80g butter
100g coconut oil
120g sugar ( I do put 80g but my husband likes it more whit more sugar… it depends on your taste)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbps matcha -depending on the quality you can add more or less-
Sorry that this is in grammes… I leave in Europe 🙂
Thank’s again.
Hi Marie! Thank you so much for your kind compliment about my website and sharing sharing your feedback! 🙂
Thanks Nami for sharing this recipe 🙂 I baked it today and it is very moist. But it slid off the mould when I inverted it on a cup, so I wasn’t able to cool it properly. Maybe that’s why it was not as light as I expected it. But it is still very tasty 🙂
As you see in my video, the cake was pretty stuck to the cake pan and never came off so easily until I use knife to separate it. For chiffon cake, you are not supposed to use a non-stick pan. To get the best result, aluminum pan is recommended. Hope this helps! Glad the taste was okay! 🙂
Hi Nami, I used a tube pan similar to yours actually. So I am not sure why it slip off the pan :p
That’s strange. 🙁 I read that it’s not recommended to use non-stick and cake should be naturally detached from the cake pan when upside down. I’m sorry, I wish I could help…
I am making it right now. The batter was so thick. I don’t know why. So I added a little bit more milk and water. I hope it will come out right. My angel pan is too big 🙁
Hi Yanna! You left comment about one hour ago, so I assume you’re done baking? How did it go? For the best result, chiffon cake pan is an ideal and non-stick surface is not good for chiffon cake. Also, I recommend the weight measurement instead of cups. Hope the video was helpful to see the batter consistency.
My husband is making this recipe and we got confused with your sugar amounts. You said “85 g (3 oz, or ½ cup and take away 1 Tbsp.) sugar” and when he measured the 1/2 cup minus 1Tbsp that is more than the 85 g or 3 oz you said for the first 2 options. Just wondering if it’s a typo but we did decide to just go with the smaller amount of sugar. I’m excited to eat it!!
Hi StacyN! I’m so sorry for the confusion… I like to use only grams for dessert recipes, but some people request “cups”, so I try to give more accurate recipe by using cups and Tbsp/tsp…
85 grams = 3 oz = (1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp)
However, depends on sugar, measuring cups, your mesurement might be slightly different from mine. That’s why Iike to use grams. We should be exactly same as 85 g! 🙂
Hope you like the recipe!
My green tea-chiffon-cake did not turn out. The dough was 1/ half the size. It was sticky and very minimal. I followed the receipe exactly. Please advise.
Hi Thelma! I’m so sorry to hear your Green Tea Chiffon Cake didn’t come out well. It’s very hard for me to tell what went wrong for baking because I wasn’t there to watch each process and differences in ingredients, accurate measurement, a lot of things matter in result, unlike savory dishes.
What kind of chiffon cake pan did you use? When you pour into the cake pan (step 9) was your batter look like that smooth? Or already sticky? After adding meringue, it should be “fluffy” and not sticky. I think somewhere along the way, something went wrong. I just don’t know what exactly from your description of the problem… I can help analyze if you can give me more detailed info.
There are many people who made this cake since I posted. I’m very confident that this recipe works. Please don’t give up and try again! 🙂
Thank you for your quick reply. The cake pan I used was an 8 in. nonstick, bundt, round cake pan. My batter was already sticky when I
did step 9 and was less in volume. Perhaps it was my meringue that I did not beat enough. I will try again. Thank you for your reply. Thellma
Hi Thelma! I heard that non-stick pan is actually not good for chiffon cake because the pan is too slippery for the cake to rise. However, I’ve seen a lot of readers tried with simple shape bundt cake pan…. so I guess it can be either way. When you properly make French meringue, volume is quite a lot. And make sure to “fold in” not mix in. Keep the air bubble in the batter. Good luck and hope next one will come out well! 🙂
Wow this cake looks delicious! I love green tea cake, but, sadly, only get it once a year on my birthday so I wanted to make it myself. I had a quick question though: Can I substitute regular all-purpose flour for cake flour and still get a good chiffon cake? If so, what amount of all-purpose flour should I substitute in? Thanks!
Jackie
Hi Jackie! For the perfect result, I would recommend to use cake flour. You don’t have to buy it, and make cake flour yourself (please see the Note section in the recipe). Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami
Can I use muffin or cupcakes liners instead of chiffon cake pan? Do you think it will still work? Firstly I do not have a chiffon cake pan. Secondly my girls love all things cupcakes.
Hi Wenny! I’ve never tried making chiffon cake with muffin/cupcake liners, so it’s hard to tell. I’m not sure how to keep the chiffon cake upside down at Step 11. It’s an important step making chiffon cake and you can’t skip this part. 🙂
I successfully baked this batter in a muffin tin last night: they turned out great! Served with rosewater whipped cream, which was a lovely complement. Grilled stone fruit could be a great pairing, too. The only trouble is that after eating two before bed, I couldn’t sleep because I’m too sensitive to caffeine. O_0
1. Must use muffin tin without liners (the batter requires support, and direct baking permits inversion while cooling).
2. Under-fill cups (2/3 full seemed to work for me and I had about one cup of extra batter after filling one 12-muffin tin). This is so your cupcakes don’t rise in a way where you can’t invert the tin.
3. Figure out how you’re going to invert the tin ahead of time (will depend on your equipment and how high your cupcakes bake–under-filling means you won’t squash the tops by inverting on a regular rack).
4. I baked at a slightly higher temperature (~350) for about twelve minutes. They came out of the non-stick muffin pan well after cooling. Great way to enjoy this recipe without keeping the oven on for long during the summer!
Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful information!!! You’re AWESOME!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Nami
I wanted to try this recipe but can not find this size pan. Your recommended store is in Japanese and I can’t read it. Would Mitsuwa have this? Or can I make into cupcakes? Thanks for your recipes and advice.
Hi Helgee! I’m not sure if Mitsuwa has this, but my guess is no… You can find Angel Food Pan like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Angel-Food-Pan-Inch/dp/B0000VMI2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392012743&sr=8-1&keywords=angel+food+cake+pan+7+inch
I’ve never tried with cupcakes before. I recommend using this pan. 🙂
Hey! Hello! I’ve just tried your recipe, which is really good, except that I utilised an organic sunflower oil which tasted a lot, (too much actually) and I was wondering what type of oil you recommend normally.
I’m gonna try again tomorrow, because I couldn’t eat it, the oil dominated all the others flavours.
Thanks a lot!
PS: I used rice flour, cause I don’t eat gluten, and the texture was just PERFECT!
Hi Tatiana! For baking, try to use no fragrant oil such as vegetable oil or canola oil. 🙂 So happy to hear rice flour works. Thank you for letting me know. I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate GF option!
Hi, I just want to try my first Matcha Chiffon cake, but have 2 questions: my chiffon pan is 26 cm, so you believe is better to double the dose or to add 1/3 ? Second question: you have used cream of tartar, the normal baking powder or both?thanks a lot!!! ^-^
Hi Licia!
1) Probably double is okay, as adding 1/3 is a bit tricky? If you can calculate and make 1/3 portion nicely then probably that’s the most accurate recipe to fit in your 26cm (I’d be happy to have this one big green tea chiffon cake!).
2) No cream of tartar. I know a lot of recipes uses it, but not for this one. Normal BP. This recipe makes a fabulous green tea chiffon cake! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Nami, thanks a lot for your reply! at the end I have decided to try adding 1/3, but it didn’t really work ’cause the cake was very low, but the taste and the softness were ok!!So I need to try again, and next time I’ll double the dose!!!
Hi Licia! Ahhhh! I also made mistake the other day and use 20 cm pan instead of 17 cm. Of course it came out flatter… it tasted great, but chiffon cake should be tall… 😀 Good luck next time! 🙂
😉
Oh gosh, I felt in love in your blog *^* I discovered the chiffon cake thanks to my travel in Japan and I missed that cake, thank you so much !
And I have a question, can I translate this recipe in french for my own blog? I want to share that beautiful cake !
どうもありがとう~
Hi Jin-chan! Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m really happy to hear you like my blog. 🙂
If it’s just this green tea chiffon cake recipe, then I’m fine with your request. PLEASE credit back to my original post (this page) and attribute “curtsey of Just One Cookbook.com”. You can use ONE of my images. Usually if someone uses my image, I do not allow them to copy my recipe and I would request them to link back to my post for the recipe; however I consider this is as an exception due to the translation.
Thank you for your interest! 🙂 どうもありがとう!
Oh gosh, I’m so honored, thank you so much ! I will do it, that’s not my recipe 😀
Last question, can I edit your photo? (just a little drawing near the cake) I’ve already did the translation^^
Hi Jin-chan,
It will be great if you don’t because it’s my photography and it has my copyright. Please keep the copyright and watermark on the image when you use it. So someone who’s interested in knows that this picture belongs to me and can contact me.
I cannot make too many exceptions and I hope you understand… 🙂
Hi Nami ! 😀
I don’t really know this story of copyright sorry… So I didn’t edit ^^
And then the translated recipe :3 -> http://leblogdejin-chan.blogspot.fr/2014/02/chiffon-cake.html
I understand and I’m glad you made this exception :3
Thank you for the feature! 🙂
I thank you for your kindness and your recipe~
I’m so happy to have a comment from you >w< (And I loved draw you too)
Hi Nami, I love matcha/green tea and am so glad to have found your recipe! What would be the best way to store this chiffon cake if I plan to serve it a day after making it?
I’ve seen some chiffon cake recipes using an additional egg white over yolk.. would that make a difference to the outcome of the cake?
Hi Mindy! You can put on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Till next day, it is stored very well like that (without icing or anything in my case). Yes, I’ve tried that too. But this recipe works perfectly for my liking. You should try both and see which you prefer. It’s just a personal preference how you like the cake. 🙂
I am so glad I chose your recipe to make my FIRST chiffon cake. It turned out just as you said- light and fluffy! I could really understand why you would want to eat the whole thing by yourself, because I felt the same way, too, when I tasted it. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Kate! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear yours came out well too. It’s pretty straightforward and I like it when the result is just like how it should be! It’s so light that I can eat half by myself! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Just made it this morning and it turned out amazingly moist and fluffy. I dropped in a little honey to the wet ingredients before adding the dry ingredients because I wanted just a hint of honey. I also really appreciate that you use grams rather than cups. Thanks again!
Hi Vee! Thank you for trying my recipe! So happy to hear you enjoyed it. Love the addition of honey! I really think all recipes should be written in gram, especially baking. A small difference can make a huge difference in result. 🙂 Thank you again!
By the way, I just checked your website, and wow, your photography is AMAZING! 🙂
Oh the photography is mainly my better half’s but Thank you!! 🙂
Look forward to trying more of dishes from your blog.