Matcha Coconut Cake

Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday dear daddy…Happy birthday to you! So it was my husband’s birthday yesterday. The kids decided to surprise him with a duet performance of piano and hand drum and of course singing! Oh my cuteness! My husband and me spent the whole night watching the video like 6000 times!

Just like that, we spent a lovely birthday evening home! I made his favorite spaghetti all’Amatriciana and of course CAKE! It’s a no-brainer for me to come up with his favorite cake – either something with creme brulee or coconut. Because he had a cream brulee crepe cake last year, so we went with coconut this year.

I simply used my go-to coconut cake recipe. To make it a little special, I alternated the coconut cake layers with matcha cake layers, and turned it into a matcha coconut cake. I had a feeling that coconut and matcha would go well together. And the cake turned out to be so perfect not only for the flavour, but also the color combination. The natural green and white color together easily made the cake look elegant and lovely.

Ingredients (one 5-inch 4-layer cake):
Coconut Cake
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Matcha Cake
1 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon matcha powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
Coconut Buttercream
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
Matcha Ganache
50 grams white chocolate, cut into small chunks
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon matcha powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease four 5-inch cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper.
To prepare coconut cake, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coconut in a large bowl.
In another bowl, mix coconut milk, egg, oil and vinegar until well combined.
Fold in the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
Evenly distribute the batter into two of the prepared cake pans and spread evenly.
To prepare matcha cake, mix flour, baking powder, salt and matcha powder in a large bowl.
In a bowl of standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until well combined.
Reduce the speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
Evenly distribute the batter into two prepared cake pans and spread evenly.
Bake all cake layers for 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes before inverting on rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
To prepare buttercream, beat butter for a few minutes in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add powdered sugar and turn your mixer on low, beat until the sugar incorporates with the butter. Add coconut milk, beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes, or until buttercream becomes light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, place one coconut cake layer on a serving plate, spread 1/4 cup frosting on top. Follow with a matcha cake layer, frosting, coconut cake layer, frosting and the last matcha cake layer. Frost the cake top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Cover and refrigerate the cake when you prepare the ganache.
To prepare ganache, place the chocolate and heavy cream in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Tint the ganache with the matcha powder.
Remove cake from the refrigerator. Pour ganache over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to gently push the ganache over the sides of the cake to create the dripping effect.
Decorate the cake with the remaining frosting and shredded coconuts.

8 comments

  1. Hi it’s sound so interesting, with simple decoration and will try to bake one day!.

    By the way, why do you add white wine vinegar to the coconut cake? What’s the purpose of it?

    1. Hi Michele, I add vinegar to (1) balance the sweet flavour of the cake batter, and (2) make a moist cake. You can substitute the vinegar with same amound of lemon juice. :)

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