Hojicha Butter Cream Cake (Printable)

Aromatic hojicha-infused buttercream layered between light sponge and topped with dark chocolate ganache.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Sponge Cake

01 - 1 cup cake flour, sifted
02 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
03 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
04 - 2.7 fl oz whole milk, room temperature
05 - 1.4 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
07 - Pinch of salt

→ Hojicha Buttercream

08 - 3 tablespoons hojicha loose leaf tea or 3 tea bags
09 - 3.4 fl oz whole milk
10 - 7 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
11 - 7 oz powdered sugar, sifted
12 - Pinch of salt

→ Dark Chocolate Ganache

13 - 3.5 oz dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa), chopped
14 - 2.7 fl oz heavy cream

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 7-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, beat the eggs and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for 5–7 minutes, until thick and pale.
03 - Gently fold in the sifted cake flour and salt in three additions.
04 - Combine milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add a few spoonfuls of batter into this mixture, then fold back into the main batter.
05 - Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
06 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
07 - Heat milk in a small saucepan until just below boiling. Add hojicha and steep for 10 minutes; strain and cool completely.
08 - Beat butter with powdered sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Gradually beat in the cooled hojicha-infused milk until smooth and creamy.
09 - Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until steaming but not boiling. Pour over chopped chocolate in a bowl. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Cool to room temperature.
10 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread half the hojicha buttercream evenly over the top. Place the second cake layer on top. Spread remaining buttercream over the top and sides.
11 - Pour the cooled ganache over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Chill for 30 minutes before slicing.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The hojicha flavor is gentler than matcha but infinitely more interesting, making this cake approachable for anyone hesitant about strong tea flavors.
  • Dark chocolate ganache pooling over soft buttercream creates this beautiful moment of elegance that feels fancier than it actually is to execute.
  • It genuinely tastes like something you'd pay $8 a slice for at a specialty bakery, but costs far less to make at home.
02 -
  • Hojicha-infused milk must be completely cooled before beating it into buttercream, otherwise the warm liquid will melt your butter and you'll end up with greasy soup instead of frosting.
  • The ganache should cool to room temperature before pouring—hot ganache will slide off the cake, but cold ganache will shatter when you try to spread it.
03 -
  • If you can't find hojicha tea locally, order it online—it's worth seeking out rather than substituting, because the flavor genuinely cannot be replicated with matcha or other teas.
  • An offset spatula makes frosting the sides infinitely easier than a regular knife, and it's a tool that costs next to nothing but changes everything about your decorating confidence.
Return