Rustic and delectable, with its rich green tea swirls, this buttery Matcha Marble Pound Cake perfectly accompanies that afternoon cup of coffee or tea enjoyed with friends.
Do you have a good pound cake recipe in your repertoire that you gift to a friend or bring to a gathering? Today, I’ll show you how to make one of my favorites – Matcha Marble Pound Cake (抹茶マーブルパウンドケーキ). It’s buttery, tender and bursting with a unique green tea flavor – plus the striking emerald swirls make it feel like a luscious, special-occasion treat.
Whether you’re making it for a Sunday afternoon treat or to take to a party, this Japanese-inspired pound cake is going to be your new keeper!
Matcha for Pastries & Baked Goods
Matcha (抹茶) is literally powdered green tea, made of top quality tea leaves that are covered before picking, then stone-ground into a delicate fine powder.
With its earthy and slightly bitter undertone, matcha has been used as a mainstream key flavoring in making all kinds of sweets, pastries, and baked goods in Japan. I personally love the flavor of matcha. It’s especially great in baked goods as it keeps the flavor from tasting too sweet. Another beauty of baking with matcha? The bright green hue it lends to the final good that is sure to make an impression.
There are various grades of matcha, sometimes labeled as “culinary-grade” and “ceremonial-grade”, which have a slightly different flavor profile. For making desserts and baking, you can go for “culinary-grade” but the color of green will not be as beautiful as “ceremonial-grade”.
Substitute Idea
If you do not like matcha or do not want to use it, you can substitute with pure cocoa powder in this recipe.
What should I look for when purchasing Matcha?
When buying matcha powder, the first quality to look for is its color. Matcha comes in a vibrant bright green, not yellowish or brownish green. Sugar and natural flavorings should not be included in the ingredients. You should also look for the country of origin for any matcha product. And remember to check the expiration date.
As matcha should be consumed within 2-3 weeks after opening, you should get a package that contains 1 oz (30g), which is a standard matcha size in Japan. Do not buy a big bag of matcha even though it seems like a “good deal”.
Where to Get Matcha
- Amazon: Maeda-en ($11; great quality for this price range), Naoki Matcha ($23; used in this recipe)
- Japanese grocery stores: Nijiya Market, Mitsuwa Market, Marukai Market, etc
Use Cake Flour for Matcha Marble Pound Cake
Many recipes ask for all-purpose flour when making pound cake, but in Japan, cake flour is always used to make a pound cake. It makes the pound cake extra tender.
To achieve the perfect texture for the pound cake, I used Super-Fine Unbleached Cake Flour from Bob’s Red Mill®. Because it is sifted to a very fine texture, the cake flour is fantastic for all sorts of cakes. You should be able to find this cake flour at any major grocery stores. Alternatively, you can also buy it on Amazon.
How to Create the Marble Effect for Pound Cake
There are two ways to make a marble effect:
- Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter inside the cake pan.
- Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter in the bowl and then transfer to the cake pan.
I personally prefer the second method because I can see how the two colors are combined before pouring into the pan. With this approach, I feel that the swirls look more dynamic and you can control the balance of the colors.
The Crack on The Pound Cake
Did you know the pound cake is supposed to crack on the top? Pound cakes are denser than most cakes. The exterior of the cake starts to bake first in the oven, and as the heat that is released from the still-baking batter reaches the center of the cake, it needs to expand through the top of the cake since all sides have set. So a pound cake is defined by the crack which gives it a rustic appearance. However, the crack doesn’t usually appear perfectly centered in the cake.
If you wish to achieve a perfectly cracked pound cake where the rupture sets right in the middle, there are two tricks you can do:
Trick 1: After 12-15 minutes into baking, insert a knife into the top of the cake batter in the pan and score a straight line. Do it quickly so you won’t lose the oven heat.
Trick 2: Before putting the cake pan into the oven, cut a very thin strip of cold butter and lay it on top of the cake batter. Or put soften butter into a plastic bag and squeeze out from a small tip to create a line on the cake batter.
See this image if you need a visual guide. I use Trick 1 as it’s easy to do, but both tricks work beautifully. Since pound cakes are supposed to crack, it’s nice to know how to control the cracking so you get the best looking pound cake possible.
2 Most Important Tips to Make Delicious Matcha Marble Pound Cake
These two tips are important to make sure that the pound cake rises properly and the cake won’t end up with a tough texture.
Tip 1: Cream the Room Temperature Butter
It’s very important that your butter is at room temperature before you start. Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy and lots of little tails foam around the beaters, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the sugar to the whipped butter and beat thoroughly about 3-5 minutes. The sharp sugar grains cut through the butter and create tiny air pockets that aerate the batter and cause leavening. The mixture should be creamy but grainy.
Tip 2: Slowly Add Room Temperature Egg to the Creamed Butter
Again, it’s also important that all the eggs are at room temperature. If you forget to take out the eggs from the refrigerator ahead of time, you can submerge the cold eggs in warm (body temperature) water for 10 minutes.
To achieve a smooth batter (not a curdled mixture), add in a very small amount (1 Tbsp) of the beaten egg in the mixture and beat well after each addition. The eggs contain water and the yolks and the butter are fats. Remember, oil and water will not mix without an emulsifier (in this case, the yolks), which suspends fat molecules in water making a smooth mixture.
If there is a slightly curdled appearance to the batter after adding the eggs, don’t worry. The emulsification is usually complete enough that the batter will become smooth. The addition of flour helps as it absorbs some of the excess water.
I hope you enjoy this Matcha Marble Pound Cake recipe as much as my family does! It also makes the most gorgeous edible gift if you are thinking to make someone smile today.
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Rustic and delectable, with its rich green tea swirls, this buttery Matcha Marble Pound Cake perfectly accompanies that afternoon cup of coffee or tea enjoyed with friends.
- 160 g unsalted butter (1 ½ stick; at room temperature)
- 160 g sugar (¾ cup)
- 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (7 oz or 200 g without shell)
- 60 ml milk (¼ cup)
- 20 g matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g so you will need 3 Tbsp)
- 200 g cake flour (1 ½ cup; If you're using a cup measurement, please follow this method to measure. Otherwise, the amount of flour tends to be more than you need. 1 cup should be 120 g. You can make your Homemade Cake Flour.)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
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Gather all the ingredients. Make sure the butter, eggs, and milk are all at room temperature. It’s important! Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 ºF (180 ºC).
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I use the leftover butter on the butter wrapping paper to grease the pan (9"x5" top/8"x4" bottom). Then place the parchment paper inside the pan (paper will stick to the butter).
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Put the softened butter in a large bowl and beat it with medium speed until it is light and fluffy (pale color, sugar completely dissolved) and lots of little tails foam around the beaters, about 1-2 minutes. Tip: This process adds air to the mixture and it is very important for the light and delicate texture of the pound cake.
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Add the sugar to the whipped butter. Crean the butter and sugar thoroughly with medium speed (not high speed), about 5 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. The color is pale and sugar is completely dissolved). Tip: The sharp sugar grains cut through the butter and create the tiny air pockets that aerate the batter and cause leavening. This process is very important for the light and delicate texture of the pound cake.
- Crack the eggs in a small bowl and whisk well.
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IMPORTANT: To achieve a smooth mixture (not a curdled mixture), add in a very small amount (1 Tbsp) of the whisked egg in the mixture and beat well after each addition. Tip: The eggs contain water and the yolks and the butter are fats. Remember, oil and water will not mix without an emulsifier (in this case, the yolks), which suspends fat molecules in water making a smooth mixture.
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If there is a slightly curdled appearance to the batter after adding the eggs, don’t worry. The emulsification is usually complete enough that the batter will become smooth with the addition of flour. The flour helps absorb some of the excess water.
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Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. In a fine-mesh strainer/sifter, add a mixture of 200 g (1 ½ cup) cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt and sift a third of it over the egg mixture. Switch to a silicone spatula (or with mixer on the lowest speed), and mix the mixture by hand so you can scrape to the bottom of the bowl to get any little pockets of flour.
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Now add another third of the dry ingredients and mix.
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Stir in the last third addition. Mix only until the batter is smooth. Tip: Even though we are using a low protein cake flour, excess mixing will develop the gluten and the cake will rise nicely in the oven, then sink as soon as you pull it out. And the sinking cake is what makes a tougher cake and dense, moist, gluey streaks.
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Heat 60 ml (¼ cup) milk in a microwave or saucepan until warm (roughly body temperature) and gradually add the milk to 20 g (3 Tbsp) matcha in the bowl, 1 Tbsp of milk at a time. Whisk well till combined. Tip: Warm liquid is easier to blend matcha.
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Take ⅓ of the batter and add to the bowl with matcha.
- Fold in just until the batter is smooth and homogenous. Do not overmix.
- Add 6-8 dollops of match batter into the original batter. Then fold the entire batter from the bottom of the bowl THREE (3) times.
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Pour the batter into the pan without mixing the batter, keeping the swirl effect. Tap the cake pan on the countertop once to release the trapped air.
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Using the offset spatula, smooth out the surface without mixing too much.
- Put the cake pan in the oven and lower the oven temperature to 340 ºF (170 ºC) oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
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After 15 minutes, open the oven and quickly score the top of the cake with a sharp knife (Read the blog post why we do this). Continue to bake.
- The cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
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Remove from the oven and allow the cake to rest in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack before taking the cake out of the pan to cool completely. Enjoy!
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.d link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
this looks great. could I substitute almond milk instead of the milk? thanks
Hi Esti! Sure, you can do that. 🙂
Hi Nami, Hi Esti,
thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe.
I tried it yesterday with almond milk and it tuned out great 😉
Thanks for your feedback, Linda! I’m happy to hear yours came out good! 🙂
Hi, I tried making this but it came out shorter than yours and I am using the regular loaf pan. It still tasted good just a bit dense. What do you think happened? Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Hi Lisa! Thank you for trying this recipe! First of all, let’s check your pan size. I use 1 lb pan, but some pound cake pan/molds are 1.25 lbs or 1.25 lbs (see this: https://www.surlatable.com/usa-pans-loaf-pan/PRO-2817104.html), so be careful as the bigger size means wider and if you use the same amount of batter as I did, your cake will shorter. I got my 1 lb loaf pan on Amazon (https://amzn.to/30wG4dv).
Now denser can be another reason. Is it possible that you overmix? Did it look like this? This post explains well: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2014/07/15/how-to-prevent-dense-gluey-streaks-in-your-cake
My oldest daughter’s boyfriend loves matcha, so I can’t wait to make this at our fourth of July weekend this summer. Thanks again, Nami!🍵
Hi Dani! I hope he’ll love this pound cake! 🙂
Do you think substituting the matcha powder with kinako powder will work? I really love kinako and I’m wondering if a kinako pound cake would work.
By the way for dissolving matcha powder without any lumps, I find that it’s easier to start off with a tiny bit of liquid first, mixing until a thick matcha paste is formed. Then continue to thin the paste out with a little more liquid, eventually adding all the remaining liquid.
This idea came from watching cake videos where tempering of the batter (mixing a small amount of meringue with an egg yolk base batter to lighten the batter first before adding all the meringue) is done.
Hi Jessica! Yeah, you can definitely use kinako to sub, but remember the taste is subtle so you may want to add more than matcha. 🙂
Also, what you said about the matcha and liquid is correct. I didn’t make a video for this recipe, but I usually make into paste form to make sure no lumps and create a creamy texture. Matcha (the ground leaf) does not “dissolve” into liquid. So the only way is to blend really well.
Right, it’s always easier to “loosen up” the main batter by mixing with 1/3 of additions first. Thank you for mentioning this with us!
This looks like a great recipe Nami! Anything matcha is wonderful!
Thank you Mai! Hope you enjoy!
It’s great cake, I baked it today. I love matcha flavour so I had to try baking it immediately 😀 The flavour was a bit strong for me so next time less matcha will make it for me – I guess it’s because I have a new batch of tea.
Is there any other flavour then matcha and cocoa that could be tried?
Hi Petra! Thank you for trying this recipe already! Hmmm like a commenter above, you can use soy bean flour (“kinako” in Japanese). You can also try with tea flavor (earl grey) or citrus or red bean paste. It can be any flavor you enjoy. 🙂
Matcha is tea.
And earl grey is tea with citrus bergamia oil.
Earl Grey is black tea,
matcha is green
If I make earl grey flavour, do I just seep the tea with 60ml of milk and mix with the batter? Do I need to adjust any ingredients to achieve the same consideration as matcha flavour pound cake? Thank you.
Hi Wing! Ohh that sounds delicious! But I really don’t know how to convert to a delicious earl grey pound cake without testing it myself… not sure if that’s enough flavor, or color, or sweetness. it’s hard to tell. If you end up trying, keep us posted in case someone wants to do the same change. 🙂
This is awesome Nami and what a fun quick bread to make. Can’t wait to make it.
Thank you, MJ!
This looks so wonderful. Can you tell me what size loaf pan is used in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Jane! Thanks for bringing to my attention. I somehow left out the information from my recipe notebook. I now added to the recipe. It’s 9″x5″ top and 8″x4″ bottom. Thank you again!
Awesome recipe! Made it for my friend and she said it smelled so good! Wish I can post picture. I used cocoa instead of matcha as I ran out.
Hi Lizzy! I’m so happy to hear your friend liked it! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. You can post your picture on Instagram with hashtag #justonecookbook. Or feel free to send me an email as I love to see your photo! xoxo
Hi Nami,
Hope you have a great Easter.
I like to know if this recipe can use muffin pan instead of loaf pan to bake.
Will the baking temperature be the same 340F ? How long will it take?
Thank you.
Hi Wendy! Thank you for asking, I had good Easter. 🙂
I think you can use a muffin pan but I have to tell you that I haven’t tried it before. In general, both muffin pan and loaf pan works. Hope this link is helpful: https://www.realsimple.com/static/pdfs/PanEquivalents_0508.pdf
Just tried this recipe today and it turned out great!
If my version is a bit dry, what should I do to make the cake more moist?
Wondering if I could put blueberries (frozen or fresh?) into the mix too?
Hi JT! Thank you for trying this recipe! Is it possible that you might have overbaked it? Maybe check the doneness of the cake a few minutes early (if the oven temperature is truly what the oven says… sometimes true temp can be different)? You can add blueberries but to me they overpower matcha taste. 🙂
Your recipes are wonderful – can’t wait to try this poundcake. I also love black sesame seeds. Would you consider developing a neri goma marble poundcake? I saw the comment about red bean paste and I am wondering if the neri goma could just be stirred into the batter portion without using the milk? Or would it need to be thinned a little?
Hi Darcy! I haven’t made it but that sounds delicious. I think you should just add the Neri Goma into the half of the batter to keep it the black color. Depends on the neri goma brand, but mine comes pretty runny if you mix well with oil (oil and solids are separated).
Thanks very much, Nami. I will give it a try.
Let me know how it goes! 🙂
First and foremost; thank you for posting this recipe with all of the tips and tricks you have gathered in your bouquet of culinary know-how!
I found your instruction and the thoughtfulness of posting both forms of measurement (grams and cups) helped me understand and want to produce something that was both beautiful and heartfelt.
As an autistic person, I cannot thank you enough for your blog and feel really happy to have digitally stumbled upon your recipes.
I am looking forward to learning from you. :] Thanks!
Hi C. Kelsey! Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I’m really happy you enjoy reading my blog. When I write posts and recipes, I think of my readers. They help me to imporove my blog. So your feedback meant a lot to me. Thank you for your support! xoxo
The recipes lists 1 Tbsp of matcha, but in your pictorial instructions, it mentions 3 Tbsp of matcha. Which is the correct amount to use?
Hi Jan! The recipe list 20 g (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 grams. Many people thinks 1 tbsp is 15 grams or so, but matcha is light and it’s 6 grams. So you will need 3 Tbsp matcha which is roughly 18 g). 🙂
I made the recipe with 2 Tbsp matcha before I read your reply and it was very moist with a subtle flavor. Also it didn’t have the intense green color as yours so I’m going to try it again. But my family really enjoyed it as they do with many of your recipes that I’ve tried. Thank you Nami!
Hi Jan! I’m so happy to hear that! The color of matcha doesn’t change much after you bake. If your final result didn’t have the intense color, then your matcha itself didn’t have that color to begin with. Try to get the higher quality matcha which has intense color. If it’s yellowish green, it’s low quality and doesn’t have good taste. I recommend getting a smaller matcha can (usually 30 g or 1 oz) instead of a big bag which is cheaper but low quality. 🙂
Hi thanks for the guide to make the cake. However the cake I made is a quite dense, could it be overmix? I realised few things; my batter seemed to be more watery , could it be the size of egg chosen affect the texture of cake as I follow the recipe? Due to this, I couldn’t make the swirl effect and there’s matcha lumps everywhere, could it be me not whisking milk-matcha mixture enough? Thanks.
Hi Elsie! Maybe it might have been overmixed, but not too sure. Did you measure it by weight? The lumps of matcha is due to not mixing in perfectly beforehand… The batter is definitely not watery in this recipe.
Thanks Nami, And yes I did measure all by weight. Thanks for confirmation, I’ll try it again. Hopefully it will turn out better.
Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I can’t seem to find the Bob’s Red Mill cake flour. 🙁 Do you have another brand that you recommend? Is there a specific store in SF that you get it at? Thanks in advance! Love your recipes!
Hi Connie! Sorry for my late response. Hmm I buy their flours from a local gourmet/small chain supermarket, not for example Safeway. You can use King Arthur brand too. I like either one. I live in the Peninsula, so I can’t give you a store in SF… sorry. 🙁
Hi! Newbie baker here, your blog has really inspired me to get back into baking. Can you explain what sugar I should use for this recipe ? Will brown sugar be ok? Or cane sugar? Thanks!
Hi Elza! Thank you for your kind words! I try to use white granulated sugar for my baking recipe as majority of my readers are accessible to that. I use organic cane sugar (beige color in my picture) for my savory recipes. I don’t think brown sugar works here as we don’t need molasses in this recipe. 🙂
Hi! thank you for sharing the recipe and for your tips 🙂 May i please know why is it that you’ve preheated the oven to 180degrees and then proceed to lower the temp to 170? Thank you!
Hi Gisella! Thanks for asking! Because when you open the oven door to put the pan and again at Step 18 to score the batter, the temperature drops quickly. To avoid that, we want to keep the oven hotter so it minimizes the temperature decrease. I sometimes use this method in my recipes and I see that in many Japanese recipes (I am sorry but I can’t tell if American recipes etc do it). 🙂
Hi nami, I want to try this recipe but I only have medium eggs. Do you think adding an extra egg helps make it to be the equivalent of 4 large eggs? Thank you!
Hi Cecilia! American large egg (without shell) is 50 grams. So 4 large eggs are 200 g. Could you try to see if 5 medium eggs are closer? Since we don’t have to separate, maybe you can beat the eggs first and scoop out extra? 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I baked it today and it was awesome! I finally baked something from your recipes that made it good 🙂 thanks for sharing.
Hi Rosemarie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m glad it came out well. Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Can I substitute it almond flour?
Hi Evelyn! I’ve never tried that before. If you end up trying, please let us know how it goes!
Hi Nami,
I’m a big fan of matcha. Just wondering if can substitute with almond flour?
Hi Vivian! I think so but I haven’t tried it with almond flour so please test and see how it works. 🙂
Yummy. My daughter loves matcha. Will try this recipe one day.
Hi Rose! I hope your daughter will enjoy this poundcake! 🙂
Hi, I just bought the 1 oz Maedaen matcha powder. Since it’s only 1 ounce, wouldnt this recipe use the entire can?? Thanks
Hi DD! You will need 3 Tbsp for this recipe. 1 oz is 30 g, and 1 Tbsp match ais 6 grams. 🙂
Definitely the most delicious and light pound cake!
Thank you Jeannie! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Will it make a big difference if I use all purpose flour? What changes can I make in order to make it work?
Hi Fi! Typically, Japanese sweets are made with cake flour, so I’d go with cake flour to keep it more authentic result. However, if you only have AP flour (especially at this time), I think it’s okay to use it (just simply replace it).
looks sooo good… !!! gona try this out later!
question: can i replace milk with sour cream for this recipe? if so, isi it the same ratio? and do i include baking soda too?
Hi ss! Thank you! I hope you enjoy the recipe! I never used sour cream for this recipe, so I’m not too sure. If you decide to use it and work out, let us know! No baking soda in this recipe. 🙂
thanks very much for the lovely recipe! i’d tried this with sour cream instead of milk and added some baking soda too.. taste good but a tad dry 🙂
Hi SS! Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
I made this cake for my husband who loves matcha. I halved the recipe and made it in a round cake tin.
The mix was way thicker than other cakes I’ve baked and the end product had a hard crust on top so I was a bit worried. I need not have been!
The cake was light and fluffy inside, with a lovely matcha flavour and pretty marbling. Perfect with tea. Would definitely make again 🙂
Hi Sheesa! Aww I’m glad your pound cake came out well! Thanks so much for your kind feedback, Sheesa! 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out very bitter because of the matcha, and I am saying this as someone who LOVES matcha. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but with 160g of sugar it tastes more like bread than a cake. Additionally, the recipe does not state to sift the matcha into the warm milk, and I feel like if I had done this that it would have turned out better. Even after whisking the matcha into the milk, it was rather clumpy.
Hi Melissa! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m sorry it didn’t come out as you wish it to be. The amount of sugar for this recipe is a pretty common ratio in the Japanese pound cake recipes (which is not as sweet as American pound cake recipes). If I sifted the matcha powder, I would mention in the recipe but I didn’t. You make the matcha paste first at Step 11, until well combined. Hope my step by step pictures show that it’s not clumpy at Step 13. Good quality matcha is also important in this recipe (or any matcha recipe). A lot of low-grade matcha (rather yellow-ish green color, not vivid and bright green) has this bitter taste, so please be careful when you choose matcha for drinking and using in the recipes. Thank you very much for sharing your feedback with us!
Another perfect recipe! Thank you so much for the thoughtful instructions. They made my cake come out light and delicious and beautiful. I have never had any luck making marble designs, but with your tips I was successful for the first time! As always, it was the perfect sweetness. I love it.
Hi Cindy! Aww I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this marbled cake and yours came out well! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xoxo
Hi, is there a way to modify the recipe for me to make it in a bundt pan? Timing, temperature and measurements wise.
Hi Syahira! I’m sorry I have never converted this recipe to a bundt pan before… 🙁 I wish I could help!
I wish I had read the comments below more thoroughly before making this recipe and checked the cake a bit sooner, my loaf was a little on the dry side as well. I made it with 2 tablespoons matcha and the matcha flavor still came through nicely, I was more frugal with our matcha since it’s a bit more harder to get where I’m living. Thanks for sharing your recipe! With your technique of dotting and folding the marble came out very pretty, before I would just dump the second batter and mix it weirdly.
Hi KK! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m happy to hear your marble became out well! 🙂 Do you think you baked a bit longer? Next time, try reducing the baking time and see if your skewer comes out clean earlier to see if it comes out more moist (don’t reduce any sugar because that keeps it moist too). 🙂
I made this in 3 smaller pans and baked for 30 minutes. For Japanese palettes, this is a great “tea cake” texture and flavor. For more Western palettes, it is a bit too dry and needs sugar. I used Sugimoto culinary grade matcha and couldn’t really taste it (but could smell it). I think I’d rather make an all matcha cake instead of a swirl.
Hi Nicole! Thank you for trying my recipe and for taking the time to write a feedback! 🙂
can I use soy milk instead of normal milk? will it taste good or not?
Hi Mary! I think it should be okay… but I’ve never tried it before. 🙂
Hi Nami, I am wondering if it is possible to substitute the pound cake’s cake flour with store-bought yellow cake mix. I know, horrible question, but I just haven’t been able to find decently priced cake flour during this pandemic with all the price-gouging that’s going on. I would appreciate if you could let me know if 1:1 substitution is OK, or perhaps substitution is just impossible?
Hi Addie! No, I’m so sorry but you can’t use a yellow cake mix. However, you can make your own cake flour with cornstarch. I added the link next to cake flour in the recipe. It’s better to sub with AP flour than a yellow cake mix. 🙂
Hi there! I was hoping to make this cake tomorrow. but I’m thinking of making mini cakes (in this pan https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-91377-Bundt-Quartet/dp/B01DMYTTNE/) but I’m wondering how to adjust the bake time and if I should adjust the temperature as well. Any advice?
Hi Gisele! What a beautiful and decorative cake pan! I’m not too sure, to be honest. I’ve never used it and tested it so you have to check the cake’s doneness by inserting a wooden skewer to see if it comes out clean. The oven temperature should not affect too much, but you need to watch out on baking time. Wishing you success!
Thank you Nami! I’ve been baking and cooking using your recipes recently and my family loves the food and desserts! I just tried the matcha marble pound cake today and my mum who usually dislikes eating cakes actually asked me for a second slice! Thank you so much! Am looking forward to try another dessert from your list next week!
Hi Joanne! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed my recipes! Thanks for trying my recipes. 🙂
Can I replace the Matcha with chocolate or cocoa powder to make chocolate marble cake?
What other ingredients do i need to adjust?
Hi Tin! Yes, you can do that if you like. Both matcha and cocoa powder absorbs moisture, so depending on it, you *might* need to increase more moisture… test and see how it goes? Oh and add vanilla. I don’t add vanilla with matcha.
Hi – I only have ceremonial matcha at home. Can I substitute with that or will it be too bitter or different taste? Should I adjust how much matcha I use? Thank you for such a great and detailed recipe!
Hi Lily! I’d use it if you don’t mind using it. 🙂 It’s just better/higher quality matcha and it’ll be beautiful because it has brighter and vivid green color!
Tried this over the weekend and it was surprisingly easy to follow! The cake came out great and my family loved it. If I could change anything, I would try it again mixing the matcha powder in the way that was mentioned in one of the comments by Jessica. I did have trouble mixing the matcha as I dumped all of the milk in at once.
Hi Naomi! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so glad your family enjoyed it. 🙂 I’ll change the text to gradually add milk into the matcha powder in the
bowl.
I followed this recipe exactly, and it worked perfectly. The loaf turned out beautiful (thus making it enticing to eat). Nami’s detailed descriptions and step-by-step photos made this recipe foolproof. It was my first time marbling a cake. I was very paranoid about accidentally over-mixing at the last part, and oops, out of the oven comes a green loaf (!), but good news — it turned out totally fine.
One suggestion, Nami — I know you’re still recovering from surgery and welcoming a puppy, but in the future, I think it’d be helpful to have a a detailed post and/or video about creaming butter and sugar “until light and fluffy.” It doesn’t seem like common Japanese baking practice (I feel like I see it in the beginning of more quintessentially “American” recipes, but I’m no expert…). However, in making this cake, I wasn’t sure whether I was under-creaming, just perfect, over-creaming my butter + sugar, and I scoured the internet and couldn’t find a helpful resource (with photos for each of the stages) about this fairly common baking technique (this is compared to the number of helpful websites about beating egg whites, for example). However, I know that if there’s one person who can write up a detailed and helpful resource that many people could benefit from, it’s Nami 🙂
Sending love from a fellow Bay Area resident!
Hi Angie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind, detailed feedback. 🙂 Typically, Japanese describe the stage of until light and fluffy “whip until white color” (白っぽくなるまで混ぜる).
Hi, I want to make this for my sisters birthday but she really wants it in a specific cake tin i have and i wanted to know if i can double this recipe to make a bigger cake? 🙂
Hi Julia! So you’re saying this won’t be baked in a pound cake mold? I’m not sure how the baking time would be, but I guess it’s possible to do that? I haven’t tried, so I can’t guarantee though… 🙁
Hi! I’m gonna try making this but before that just wanna ask is it possible to reduce the sugar? Will it affect the cake? If yes, what are the alternatives available?
Hi Soam! You can reduce the sugar slightly but please know that Japanese sweets should not be as sweet as western desserts. Remember that sugar keeps the cake moist. 🙂
I just made this yesterday to enjoy with tea since my parents are obsessed with matcha (seriously, they would put it in everything if they could), and it tastes amazing!! I did add some vanilla powder to the plain cake batter for more flavor and I can’t remember how long I had it in the oven for since I just checked on it every so often. I will definitely be making this again, the marble turned out gorgeous. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Clarice! Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’m so happy to hear you all enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Hi, my mixture at the end is still very watery and not dough-like. Do you know what went wrong?
Hi Umi! Watery as in like… pancake batter? This should be “batter” like, not dough like bread dough. How was the result after baking? Do you see the texture of my batter in the picture? How “watery” was yours if you describe it?
i tried this recipe a while back and loved it! it was a tad bit too sweet for my family though so i was wondering how much could i lower the sugar by without destroying the recipe haha. also my pound cake became a bit denser after a day, can that be prevented?
Hi Naomi! I haven’t changed the amount of sugar for this recipe, so it’s hard for me to say. Sugar keeps moist in the cake and it makes it light and airy, so I’m not sure if you want to cut down more sugar… if you really want to, try cutting down little by little and see? Regarding the dense texture the next day… hmmm maybe not enough air was incorporated into the butter and sugar? This could be because the creaming (butter and sugar) time wasn’t long enough. 🙂
Hi Nami-san,
Hope you are doing well.
May I please check if this cake is overly sweet. Are we able to reduce the sugar quantity further.
Looking forward to your reply.
Thank you
D.Wee
Hi Dal! I wouldn’t reduce the sugar as this is already Japanese/Asian sweetness level. Plus, removing sugar is also taking away moisture too…
My first time using one of your recipes. Did not have cake flour, so I used “homemade cake flour” (thanks for your recipe of subbing in some corn starch to all purpose flour). After cooling, I dusted with some powdered sugar. I like the taste and texture. I did not find it overly sweet (make sure you are using pure matcha powder, not the sweetened kind or matcha latte mix) or bitter. This tastes good with coffee/tea or topped with ice cream if you want something a little more sweet. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Krystal! Thank you for your kind feedback. Japanese sweets are not sweet compared to American sweets. You’ll notice the amount of sugar is not that much. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Photo of each and every step was just like watching the recipe video. Very well explained.
Love how the sweetness is balanced by matcha https://heapwell.in/
This is a straightforward recipe with perfect results. A bit more involved than a typical pound cake recipe, but I think the time is worth it. It’s not overly sweet and has a nicely balanced matcha flavor. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Hillary! I’m so happy to hear yours came out well! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo