Did you know the pound cake is supposed to crack on the top? Pound cakes are denser than most cakes. The exterior of the cake starts to bake first in the oven, and as the heat that is released from the still-baking batter reaches the center of the cake, it needs to expand through the top of the cake since all sides have set. So a pound cake is defined by the crack which gives it a rustic appearance. However, the crack doesn’t usually appear perfectly centered in the cake.

Matcha Marble Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 160 g unsalted butter (1 ½ stick) (at room temperature)
• 160 g sugar (¾ cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 60 ml milk (¼ cup)
• 20 g matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp matcha = 6 g)
• 200 g cake flour (1 ½ cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients. Make sure the butter, eggs, and milk are all at room temperature. It’s important! Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 ºF (180 ºC).
2. I use the leftover butter on the butter wrapping paper to grease the pan (9"x5" top/8"x4" bottom). Then place the parchment paper inside the pan (paper will stick to the butter).
3. Put the softened butter in a large bowl and beat it until it is light and fluffy and lots of little tails foam around the beaters, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the sugar to the whipped butter and beat thoroughly, about 5 minutes. The sharp sugar grains cut through the butter and create the tiny air pockets that aerate the batter and cause leavening. The mixture should be creamy but grainy.
5. Crack the eggs in a small bowl and whisk well.
6. IMPORTANT: To achieve a smooth mixture (not a curdled mixture), add in a very small amount (1 Tbsp) of the whisked egg in the mixture and beat well after each addition. TIP: The eggs contain water and the yolks and the butter are fats. Remember, oil and water will not mix without an emulsifier (in this case, the yolks), which suspends fat molecules in water making a smooth mixture.
7. TIP: If there is a slightly curdled appearance to the batter after adding the eggs, don’t worry. The emulsification is usually complete enough that the batter will become smooth with the addition of flour. The flour helps absorb some of the excess water.
8. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. In a fine-mesh strainer/sifter, add 200 g (1 ½ cup) cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt in a fine-mesh strainer and sift a third of it over the egg mixture. Switch to a silicone spatula (or with mixer on the lowest speed), and mix by hand so you can scrape to the bottom of the bowl to get any little pockets of flour.
9. Now add another third of the dry ingredients and mix
10. Stir in the last third addition. Mix only until the batter is smooth. Even though we are using a low protein cake flour, excess mixing will develop the gluten and create a tougher cake.
11. Heat 60 ml (¼ cup) milk in a microwave or saucepan until warm (roughly body temperature) and add to 20 g (3 Tbsp) matcha in the bowl. Whisk well till combined. TIP: Warm liquid is easier to blend matcha.
12. Take ⅓ of the batter and add to the bowl with matcha
13. Fold in just until the batter is smooth and homogenous. Do not overmix.Add 6-8 dollops of match batter into the original batter. Then fold the entire batter from the bottom of the bowl THREE (3) times.
14. Add 6-8 dollops of match batter into the original batter. Then fold the entire batter from the bottom of the bowl THREE (3) times.
15. Pour the batter into the pan without mixing the batter, keeping the swirl effect. Tap the cake pan on the countertop once to release the trapped air.
16. Using the offset spatula, smooth out the surface without mixing too much.
17. Put the cake pan in the oven and lower the oven temperature to 340 ºF (170 ºC) oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
18. After 15 minutes, open the oven and quickly score the top of the cake with a sharp knife (Read the blog post why we do this). Continue to bake.
19. The cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
20. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to rest in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack before taking the cake out of the pan to cool completely.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/matcha-marble-pound-cake/