Coconut Matcha Sheet Cake
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Does anyone else love a good sheet cake? I have vivid memories of making thick, rectangular cakes in college, piling on a bunch of fudge frosting for a friend’s birthday or other cake-demanding celebration and eating the leftover cake straight from the pan with a fork afterwards. To me, that’s the best part of cake. I’ve been playing with flavor combinations that might warrant sheet cake attention and knew that I wanted the cake base to be something thick and fluffy. The temperature in Central Florida has also been hanging out in the 90s for the last month (insert gif of a face dripping with sweat), but since travel (even to the island-themed cocktail bar down the street) is currently forbidden, I was looking for away to satisfy my tropical, tiki-vibe desires. I’ve always loved the combination of coconut and matcha. Coconut desserts can be overly sweet at times, but I think it pairs well with the grassy matcha flavor. And it’s a green-swirled cake and today is Earth Day. Voila! A sheet cake is born.
This cake is made using the reverse creaming method. The reverse creaming method is often used in what are called high-ratio cakes, where the ratio of sugar to flour and eggs to fat are high. Essentially, the dry ingredients, including sugar, are creamed with the fat to create a coarse, bread-crumb like texture, then eggs and liquid are added gradually, making the batter more like, well, cake batter. If you don’t have matcha, or don’t like matcha, feel free to use this as simply a coconut cake base (although the matcha is way more fun).
For the topping, I wanted something light and airy, closer to whipped cream than frosting so I whipped cold coconut cream with a little heavy cream and some powdered sugar. To whip coconut cream, it must be completely cold, so make sure to stick the can in the fridge overnight so it’s sufficiently chilled.
Coconut Matcha Sheet Cake
Yield: 1 9x13” cake
Ingredients:
3 cups (360 g) cake flour
1 1/2 cup (350 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
80 g coconut oil
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp coconut extract, optional
1 can (400 g) full-fat coconut milk
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 T matcha powder
for the frosting
1 can (400 g) coconut cream, chilled overnight
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly grease a 9x13” baking dish or cake pan. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, and coconut extract (if using). Set aside
Add room temperature butter and coconut oil to dry ingredients mix on medium speed until batter is coarse and resembles the texture of bread crumbs.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly stream in wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is homogenous and combined. Remove bowl from the mixer and fold with a rubber spatula to ensure no dry spots remain.
Pour about 1/3 of the batter into a small bowl and add the tablespoon of matcha powder. Stir to combine. Fold shredded coconut into the batter remaining in the large mixing bowl.
Pour coconut batter into the prepared pan. Dollop matcha batter on top and use the back of a knife to marble.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.
to make the coconut whipped cream
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cold coconut cream and heavy cream. Whip on medium speed until thickened to soft peaks.
Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and continue to whip until the cream reaches medium peaks. Keep in refrigerator until ready to frost the cake.
To frost: Scoop and spread coconut whipped cream over the entire surface of the cake. Dust with matcha powder and top with toasted coconut if desired.
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