After many tests, this matcha raspberry pound cake is ready to debut! The green tea-scented crumb strikes the perfect balance between dense and fluffy — but it’s a delicate balance.

Here are the five most important things to watch out for when making this recipe:

1. Everything from the milk to the butter to the eggs simply must be at room temperature when you begin. Taking the extra hour or two to make sure everything is at the same temperature will save you many headaches along the way.

2. Under-mixing is better than over-mixing. When you add the milk, oil, vanilla and matcha, take care to mix just until incorporated — a few lumps are okay. Over-mixing at this stage activates the gluten in the flour and causes the batter to seize up. That means when it hits the oven, it will have a very difficult time rising, producing gummy streaks.

3. Don’t cream butter and sugar on high; keep it on medium-low until it’s white and fluffy. Beating on high doesn’t allow the butter to trap air gradually. It over-inflates, then collapses in the oven.

4. This is a low-and-slow bake, baking at 325° F for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Any less and I found the cake would sink onto itself. Surprisingly, skewers and cake testers did not give me an accurate read of doneness.

5. Measure your ingredients *the right way.* I will say, I recommend investing in a digital kitchen scale to measure by metric weights. They’re pretty affordable and they make your measuring super precise! If you don’t have one, use the spoon-and-sweep method to measure dry ingredients. Instead of just plunging your measuring cup into the bag, spoon the flour or sugar into the cup, then with a straight-edge like the back of a knife, sweep off the excess.

Did you make this matcha raspberry pound cake? I want to see! Tag me @easygayoven on Instagram and TikTok.

Matcha Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

Print Recipe

The two flavors of this matcha raspberry swirl pound cake can be made using the same base batter! Top it with icing to make it dessert!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword marble cake, marble cake recipe, matcha pound cake, matcha raspberry, matcha raspberry swirl pound cake, pound cake, pound cake recipe, swirl pound cake

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings 10 servings

Author Eric King

Ingredients

• 1 pint of firm raspberries
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks) (226 grams)
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (325 grams)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (270 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 milliliters)
• 1/4 cup whole milk (60 milliliters)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 teaspoons matcha tea powder

Instructions

• Position a rack in the middle of your oven. Preheat to 325° F.
• Butter an 8×4 loaf tin (or 9×5) and line with parchment paper.
• In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the milk, oil and vanilla. (You’ll need to divide this between the two batters later, hence the measuring cup.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-low until it’s lighter in color—about 1 minute. Then, with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and beat until it is almost white in color and fluffy, 3 minutes.
• With the mixer still running, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between every addition. Make sure each egg is totally incorporated before adding the next. The mixture might begin to look curdled, just carry on.
• With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in thirds.
• Transfer half of the mixture to a medium-size bowl, about 460g.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the vanilla-oil-milk mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer. With a rubber spatula, fold the liquid in, just until it’s barely incorporated.
• With a fork, vigorously whisk the matcha into the remaining liquid—until there are no lumps. Pour the matcha liquid into the other bowl and fold it in, again, just until it’s barely incorporated.
• Dollop the batter into the lined loaf pan, alternating from matcha to plain, until the bottom is covered. Use the back of a spoon to even out the batter, then run a skewer or butter knife in swirls to create the “marble effect.” Top with about one third of the raspberries. Repeat this process until all the batter is gone.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If your oven has hot spots or uneven heat distribution, rotate the pan very gingerly at around 1 hour. Any bumps or big temperature drops before that will cause your cake to collapse, so no peaking.
• Remove from oven. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out, remove parchment and let fully cool.
• If desired, top with a basic icing. I just take about a cup or so of powdered sugar and mix in a teaspoon of milk or water, one at a time, until it’s a very thick but pourable consistency.