Lemon and Matcha Marble Pound Cake

Springtime Springtime Springtime!

It's getting warmer and this recipe is perfect for the blooming flowers and chirping birds weather.

After spotting this recipe on Joy the Baker, I knew I had to try it. The gorgeous pictures and the enticing lemon and green tea flavors had me hooked from the beginning. 


Few friends and I attempted this gorgeous pound cake along with these Lemon Sugar Cookies from a few weeks ago when we had a little sugar mishap. But luckily our baking plans were not derailed!

History Lesson of the Day: 
Pound cake was first mentioned in print in 1740, but people were making it ages before then.  A British creation, original pound cakes had a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.  This simple recipe made it easy for people to remember and increased its popularity. 

Enough history!

Adding lemon and matcha (green tea) powder pushed this cake to perfection.  Green tea powder can be picked up in many places, but I got it from an Asian supermarket. Don't be afraid to ask!  It's definitely available online too.



 Lemon and green tea make a great combination. In the future, however, I might boost the lemon flavor just a tiny bit!  This cake was probably one of the prettiest things I have ever made. The swirls! The yellow! The green! Usually, my amateur baking skills result in not-so-pretty cookies or cakes that taste much better than how they look. 

There was even left over batter that we made a few cupcakes (that we gave to our kind neighbors who gave us some sugar in our sugar emergency).  Even the cupcakes look so good!


 Ah! my fingers!


Here's the whole pound cake in its entirety -so big! Definitely make this cake when you have friends around to share. It's such a gorgeous cake that everyone will love it.

Recipe (adapted from Joy the Baker)
2 2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon (go for zest of 2 lemons or just extra juice)
1 tbsp matcha powder
1 stick + 7 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat to 350 degrees.
Butter loaf pan, dust with flour and tap out excess.
Line a muffin tin (4-6) for the extra batter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs one by one into the sugar. 
Whisk in vanilla extract and sour cream.
Stir in dry ingredients slowly. 
The batter should be smooth and thick
Fold in the melted butter.
Divide batter into 2 separate bowls.

In one bowl, add zest and lemon juice. In the other bowl, add the matcha powder.
Pour some of each batter into the loaf pan, alternating.
Leave at least 1 inch from the top of the pan.
Swirl gently and minimally to get the swirl.
Bake 55-60 min.  
Cool for 20 minutes.

*I baked it slightly longer, more like 66 min because the top didn't seem to be done, but it was totally fine. Had I known, I would go for 61-62 min to get it perfect!

Cupcakes: bake 18-20 minutes
Mini-muffins: bake 15 minutes






In anticipation of the Royal Wedding (which has literally crazed the media), enjoy this little clip. I love Graham Norton.  His talk show never fails to make me laugh -pay attention American talk show hosts!


P.S. It also has David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and Josh Groban! YAY!

Linked up to Mangia Mondays, Savory Sunday, Sweet Indulgences Sunday, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Lark's Country Heart , Cupcake Apothecary

Comments

  1. lchemail2003April 27, 2011

    Oh so different! I am so glad to see you back at Made it on Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Graham Norton is the awesomest. I wonder who knitted those for him though... And I agree, I think adding more lemons would be great. I've decided that at minimum I will always add one lemon's juice and zest to whatever I'm making. There's no such thing as too much lemon, anyway. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nutmeg NannyApril 28, 2011

    Delicious! I love all that matcha flavor swirled in...yum!

    ReplyDelete
  4. KimMcCallieMay 01, 2011

    Oh, your cake is beautiful. I love pound cake and this is definitely a new one on me. I would love to taste it. Thanks for linking to A Well-Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday! Kim

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh this looks great! thanks for sharing it on my blog! glad you did because now i found your blog! have a great sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Found you through Savory Sunday. This pound cake looks great, and like one I would enjoy. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm also inviting you to participate in my recipe linkies on Mondays and Thursdays at Joy of Desserts. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great job on the linky party last week! It was very hard to choose from everyone. Come by again and link up to this week's theme: Chocolate! Hope to see you there.
    http://cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/05/themed-bakers-sunday-3.html
    Alyssa

    ReplyDelete
  8. archanaaaaaaaaaMay 07, 2011

    M! I didn't know this was you! K told me :) I just looked at your baking!!! AMAZING!


    I recently tried my hand at baking...and ended up blogging about my experience as a complete mess in the kitchen. Basically, I have major respect for the magic you do in the kitchen :)

    ReplyDelete

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