This ultra-light and fluffy strawberry matcha roll cake is an easy and elegant spring treat! Delicate sponge cake flavored with Japanese green tea powder and filled with fluffy whipped cream and fresh strawberries. DIVINE!
Doesn’t this beautiful roll cake just scream spring?
I first shared this recipe back in May of 2015 in an anticipation of my annual trip to Mongolia to visit family. My trips to Mongolia usually involve a layover in Tokyo, sometimes overnight, sometimes a few hours. And that’s when I usually stock up on my matcha inventory. (Did you see my tea collection here?)
Anyway, I absolutely love a good cup of matcha. I also love baking with it. It has an earthy, grassy, yet sweet flavor. I feel like it has a calming effect to it too. I don’t know, it might be in my head, but I enjoy my matcha time so much!
WHAT IS MATCHA?
In case you’re not familiar, matcha is a high-quality green tea leaves, specially grown in a shade, dried and ground into a powder.
There are a few grades of matcha on the market, from super high quality, used for tea ceremonies, to culinary grade and everything in between.
I don’t recommend culinary grade matcha for baking. They tend to be very low quality with dull color and bitter taste. And you likely won’t get this vibrant green color with culinary grade matcha powder.
I buy a good quality green tea (not super expensive stuff) that I can both drink and bake with, because the shelf life of matcha is not very long. Matcha powder is very sensitive to heat, light, air and loses its quality pretty quick. Once opened, green tea powder is best when used within couple of months for optimum taste and color.
I had once baked with an old matcha powder (before I knew better), and the result was not good, to say the least. Bitter, dull brown color, absolutely nothing to brag about. So pick a good quality of matcha to drink and bake. It doesn’t have to be super high-end expensive one. I loved this pure matcha from Tea Forte.
WHAT DOES MATCHA CAKE TASTE LIKE?
Matcha green tea powder infuses a cake (or any baked goods) with its delicate yet earthy, sweet yet slightly bitter flavors.
This matcha roll cake isn’t very sweet, which makes it a great dessert for those who appreciate less sweet treats.
Fluffy whipped cream pairs beautifully with the matcha sponge cake, and sweet strawberries add burst of freshness and texture to the cake.
HOW TO MAKE MATCHA ROLL CAKE?
Let me show you how to make this beautiful spring roll cake, step by step. It’s really quick and easy dessert, that you can also make it ahead. Winner!
Start with making a smooth matcha paste by mixing matcha powder with a little bit of hot water.
And then make a quick sponge cake batter. Just like I had showed you in my classic sponge cake tutorial, we’ll beat egg yolks and half of the sugar until pale yellow and tripled in size. Then we’ll stir in the prepared matcha paste.
Sponge cake doesn’t use any chemical leavening agent. Instead it rises due to all the air in the whipped egg yolks and egg whites. That’s why it’s so important to properly whip the egg yolks and egg whites separately.
Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks, which means if you flip the bowl with whipped egg whites upside down, egg whites won’t slide off. TIP: Make sure there’s absolutely no trace of oil, or egg yolk in egg whites, or it won’t whip into fluffy white stiff peaks.
Carefully fold half of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. And then add remaining egg whites and gently fold until almost smooth.
Next step: sift the cake flour into the egg batter. Sifting the flour aerates it, which helps to make a fluffy cake!
HOW TO MAKE DIY CAKE FLOUR:
If you don’t have a cake flour, you can easily make it yourself. You’ll need to measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour, take out 2 tablespoons of flour, and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift it and voila!
Again, it’s very important to mix the batter gently to keep it airy and fluffy.
Spread the batter evenly on baking sheet, lined with a parchment paper. You don’t need to grease the pan!
Since it’s such a thin cake, it takes less than 10 minutes to bake. Don’t go anywhere!
While the cake is baking, prepare a clean kitchen towel on a counter and generously dust it with a powdered sugar.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, invert it onto the prepared towel and roll it with the towel and all. This helps the cake roll without cracking by creating a muscle memory. Set the rolled cake on cooling rack and cool completely.
Once cooled, unroll the cake and spread half of the whipped cream over the cake and sprinkle chopped strawberries.
Then spread the remaining whipped cream over the strawberries and roll the cake into a log. Dust it with powdered sugar and serve!
I can’t wait for you to try this delicate and fresh strawberry matcha roll cake. It’s quite a treat! And so impressive without much effort.
Strawberry Matcha Roll Cake
Ingredients
For cake:
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup sugar divided
- 1 tablespoon 5gr matcha powder
- 1 cup 125gr cake flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
For filling:
- ½ cup 120ml heavy whipping cream
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- 7 oz 200gr fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped
Instructions
- To make the sponge cake, preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Line baker's half baking sheet (about 16.5 x 11.5 inches) with parchment paper.
- Separate egg yolks and egg whites. (Tip: Make sure there's absolutely no trace of egg yolk in egg whites, or it won't whip into fluffy white stiff peaks.)
- In a small bowl, mix matcha powder with 1 tablespoon hot water until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and ¼ cup of sugar until pale and tripled in size, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in the matcha paste.
- In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add remaining ¼ cup of sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add half of whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold the batter with a spatula until almost smooth, and then add the remaining whipped egg whites. Carefully fold the batter until smooth.
- Sift in the cake flour and salt. Gently fold it until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly and smooth the surface.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter and generously dust with powdered sugar.
- Once the cake is out of oven, immediately invert it on the prepared kitchen towel. Peel off the parchment paper and roll it with the towel and all. (This helps the cake roll without cracking by creating a muscle memory.) Set the rolled cake on a cooling rack and cool completely.
- To make the whipped cream, in a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, beat heavy cream on low speed until frothy.
- Add sugar and continue to whip on medium speed until hard peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To assemble, once cooled completely, unroll the cake and spread half of the whipped cream over the cake and sprinkle chopped strawberries.
- Then spread the remaining whipped cream over the strawberries and roll the cake into a log. Dust with powdered sugar and serve! Refrigerate the cake, covered, if not serving right away.
Tips & Notes:
This recipe was originally published on May 13, 2015.
MP says
Mine wasn’t the best. Followed everything except for the pan since I used a silicon mat for rolls. The batter was thicker than the usual sponge and chiffon batters I have done in the past. I guess, it still needs the oil and water as in my other recipes. At 10 minutes, it turned out to be a chewy sheet. The Heavy whipped cream I use in France turned out as more liquid than I hoped and i tried to save it by stabilizing with gelatin. Still didn’t work out so I rolled it and placed it in the freezer hoping it can be a frozen cake. I think im having a bad cake day.
Shinee says
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about your bad cake day! Don’t we all have one of those days? I know I have! Hope the cake was still enjoyable after freezing. Thanks for trying my recipe and sharing your experience though!
Mathilde says
Hi Shinee! Thanks for this delicious recipe 🙏🏻 (thanks the grams equivalent – I am in London). I just made your cake for my son’s birthday and he was so happy, thanks for saving the day! I only swapped the matcha powder for pandan extract…Just one dumb question, when you roll you cake, do you roll it on the smallest side side to be able to roll it more? Thanks!
Shinee says
Hi, Mathilde. Yay, so happy your birthday boy loved it!! Thank you for your feedback! Yes, I roll it from the short end for thicker roll cake.
Stephanie says
Just made it today! Great, clear easy to follow instructions. My cake turned out great, a little off colour just because I only had old matcha powder.
Shinee says
Awesome!! So happy you tried and loved this roll cake, Stephanie! And I totally know what you mean about the color with old matcha powder. I’ve been there too!
Avgi says
That looks amaaazing! Is there an alternative to eggs to make the sponge vegan??
Shinee says
Hi, Avgi! Unfortunately I have zero knowledge on vegan baking and can’t offer any advice on substitution.
Iz says
I’m a little late, but the next time you cook chickpeas, save the extra water. It can be whipped into a meringue.