Matcha Cake

Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line the bottom of three 6-inch cake pans with round parchment paper.

Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, sift the cake flour, matcha powder, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

Make the meringue. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until foamy. Then add the cream of tartar and beat on high until the egg whites turn pale white and frothy. While the mixer is running, slowly add 1/3 of the sugar one tablespoon at a time until the egg whites reach stiff peaks. To test, when you lift the whisk the egg whites are smooth, moist, shiny, and the tips will stand straight up.

Egg yolk mixture. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg yolks, the remaining 2/3 of the sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat on high speed until fluffy, and pale yellow.

Add dry ingredients to egg yolk mixture. Add in the dry ingredient mixture into the egg yolk mixture in 3 additions and gently fold to incorporate after each batch.

Add the oil to egg yolk mixture. Take a few spoonfuls of the egg yolk mixture and mix with the oil. Then gently combine the oil mixture with the egg yolk mixture.

Combine meringue with egg yolk mixture. Fold the egg white meringue into the egg yolk mixture in 3 parts, gently folding the batter in an upwards motion in between each addition until no streaks remain. Be careful to not over mix and deflate the batter.

Bake. Divide the cake batter evenly into the 3 parchment lined cake pans and gently tap the pan on your workspace to remove any large air bubbles. Bake cakes for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let matcha cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the pan and releasing the cakes. Let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

Heat the heavy cream. Heat 1 cup of the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to steam and simmer.

Sift in matcha powder. Sift in the matcha powder and whisk the mixture until combined.

Melt the white chocolate. Place the white chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl and pour the heated matcha heavy cream over the white chocolate. Let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes and then stir the chocolate until smooth and combined. Then, sift the matcha chocolate mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any remaining clumps.

Cover and chill. Cover plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the matcha chocolate to prevent a film. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until cold or overnight.

Whip. Once the ganache is cold and chilled, using a whisk attachment of your electric mixer, gently whisk the ganache on low and gradually working to high speed until the ganache is light and fluffy about 1 minute. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup of cold heavy whipping cream and whip on low speed and slowly increase to medium speed until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape for another 1-2 minutes.

Decorate. Using an offset spatula, layer the matcha ganache frosting in between each layer. Add fruit in between each layer if desired.

Crumb Coat. Frost the top and edges of the cake with a thin crumb coat. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set. Then finish frosting with the final layer.

Chill. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.