Cake for breakfast! Justine Doiron, author of Justine Cooks, shares her recipe for green tea cake with us.

"I took the cinnamon-y, wonderfully blank canvas of coffee cake and added a hint of matcha. It makes the cake feel extra breakfast-y, even though you have my permission to eat it any time of the day." - Justine

Ingredients

Makes one 8-inch cake
    Matcha Cake
  • ¾ cup / 150g granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoons, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup crème fraîche
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ceremonial-grade matcha
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt

  • Cinnamon Filling
  • 2 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon 12g dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon 9g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Matcha Crumble
  • ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ceremonial-grade matcha
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter, chilled
Cookware Used
Square One
9x9-Inch Nonstick Square Pan
$30$25
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All Aboard
16 x 12-inch Cutting & Serving Board
$60
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Stir Crazy
3-Piece Nested Mixing Bowl Set
$95
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1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. Make the cake: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and crème fraîche. Pour this into the butter mixture. Mix on medium speed to combine, scraping down the sides as needed. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, matcha, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix on the lowest setting to combine.

5. Make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together both sugars, the flour, and cinnamon.

6. Pour two-thirds (400g) of the batter into the lined baking pan. Spread the batter to the edges (it’ll be thick!) and sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly over the top. Dot the rest of the batter on top of the cinnamon filling, then spread it out so that it evenly covers the filling layer. 

7. Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and matcha. Cube in the butter and use your fingers to toss the butter pieces to coat in the flour, then pinch and flatten them into pieces no bigger than a bean, creating a chunky, gravelly texture. Scatter the crumble evenly over the batter, reaching all the way to the edges. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. 

8. Let cool to room temperature before slicing; otherwise, you risk losing some of the crumble and that clean-cut look.

 

Reprinted with permission from Justine Cooks: A Cookbook Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen by Justine Doiron. Copyright © 2024 by Justine Doiron. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Jim Henkens. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.