“IT’S the most … wonderful time… of the YEAR!” Yep, that’s right – TOTORO WEEK! Where a coupla kooky fun loving blogger buddies get together and make some Totoro stuff to flood the internet, including my main blog squeeze, Steph of I Am A Food Blog! This year, I decided to combine a Halloween kawaii-spooky vibe with Totoro, inspired by cookie queen Vickie… and since I was going for an “undead” green vibe, it seemed right to make a Matcha Frankenstein Totoro cake! Also: SQUARE Totoro equals extra cute Totoro!
For this cake, you will need two piping bags both fitted with either a multi-opening/grass tip, or you can use drop-star tips if you have that on hand. If you only have one piping tip, no problem! Just rinse the matcha buttercream out before piping the plain vanilla buttercream for Totoro’s signature tummy. Of course, you can always omit the decoration and just have yourself a matcha cake with matcha buttercream – but you wouldn’t do that to me, would you?? :P
Matcha Green Tea Cake
ingredients
For the Matcha Cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder
- 1 cup whole milk
For the vanilla buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the matcha buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
Fondant or candy or chocolate buttercream for decorating
- White and black fondant for decorating, black comes in these little 4 ounce packages
- Or use black liquorice, or chocolate buttercream
- You can also use paper to make the ears – cut the shape and tape onto wooden skewers!
instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 inch square cake pan by spritzing with vegetable oil and lining with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and matcha powder.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry mixture to the bowl in three additions, alternating with the whole milk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Gently mix until incorporated, about one minute.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan and use offset spatula to level the batter.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking at 30 minutes for doneness, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on wire rack.
Make the buttercream(s)
- Make both buttercreams at once! We’ll make the entire batch of buttercream ingredients called for above, remove half of the buttercream from the bowl, then add the matcha powder for the second half. Matcha more efficient! :P
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 2 cups of unsalted butter on high speed until fluffy, about two minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar and two teaspoons pure vanilla. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, and turn the mixer on low speed to incorporate ingredients.
- Once ingredients have melded somewhat, turn the mixer on to high speed, beating until light and fluffy and doubled in volume.
- Remove half of the buttercream and place into a medium bowl.
- Add the matcha green tea powder to the stand mixer bowl, cover with towel, and beat again to incorporate.
Decorate Totoro!
- Once the cake is completely cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully level the cake.
- Place a dab of buttercream on a square cake board or appropriately sized plate. Place the single layer matcha cake on top, pressing down slightly to adhere.
- Using an offset spatula, frost the matcha cake with a layer of vanilla buttercream, smoothing the sides as you go.
- Chill the cake briefly in the fridge or freezer, about 10 minutes.
- Fill the first piping bag fitted with a multi-opening grass tip with the matcha buttercream. Pipe the sides of the cake with “fur” – hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle against the sides of the cake and squeeze piping bag, creating fur. Cover the sides with fur!
- Looking down at the top of the cake, pipe a semi-circle of matcha buttercream fur, basically leaving a half-circle for Totoro’s vanilla tummy.
- Pipe the entire top of the cake with the matcha buttercream:
- Using the vanilla buttercream, fill in the tummy with fur. Store any leftover buttercream in the fridge, covered, for another use, for up to 1 week.
- Now onto the fondant! Make 3 inch long pointy white ears. Cut a wooden BBQ skewer in two and insert each piece into an ear. Roll out the fondant. Using the clean edge of a piping tip, cut out circle shapes for the eyes in both white and black. Use a tiny drop of water to adhere the black circle to the white circle for the eyes. Hand shape a nose, and using a sharp paring knife, cut out the shapes for whiskers and the “stitches.” Punch out semi-circle shapes for the tummy markings.
- Insert the ears into the top of the cake, and add all of the fondant bits!
Tag @cococakeland on Instagram or leave a star rating!
Tessa Huff
SO DANG CUUUUTTTEE! I adore this little guy. And I adore you. It’s just too good xoxo
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Hehe thanks so much Tessa! XO
Shannon @loveatfirstbento
Love this and love the step-by-step photos and instructions! And square Totoro is SOOO cute! Such a fun & unique idea (it’s always nice seeing some “different” Totoro stuff, if you know what I mean). I’m always down for any kind of celebration that involves anime :P
Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land
Aw thanks Shannon! I’m glad I decided to weird him up this year, I was originally just going to go SQUARE TOTORO but then was inspired by my friend Vickie to make him Halloween-y!!! XO
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
ahhh i love this idea! i’ve never thought of / seen / heard of a totoro x frankenstein mashup, which makes it that much more interesting. plus, matcha makes everything better (: