NuM NuM

For my sister's birthday, she requested green tea chiffon cupcakes for her dessert of choice. I was excited to make these little "Green Hulk" babies since they're not your "typical" cupcake and a bit out of the norm.



The chiffon cake was fluffy and moist and the green tea frosting was the perfect compliment. While the frosting tasted terrific, I had a bit of trouble with the consistency since the end result was a bit runny. Not sure what I did wrong, but just wanted to give you a heads up before you try them. Make these for the green tea fan in your life and they'll love you forever!



Matcha Green Tea Chiffon Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Mood Food Blog
Makes 12 cupcakes

150g golden caster sugar
175g all purpose flour
2 tbs matcha green tea powder (Maeda-en brand)
½ tsp baking soda
1 eggs
175 ml vegetable oil
145 ml buttermilk*
½ tsp sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
• Sift flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Add sugar and green tea and mix well.
• In another bowl, mix together eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.
• Make a well in the flour bowl and add the wet ingredients. Slowly begin to incorporate the two together making sure you have a nice smooth mixture.
• Do not over beat.
• Have your oven on at 350F and prepare add batter to paper lined muffin tins.
• Cook for about 15-17 minutes and then leave them to cool down completely.
*I added 1 ½ tsp of white vinegar to regular milk for the buttermilk


Green Tea Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 oz Philadelphia cream cheese (1/3 less fat)
3 tbs unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ tsp matcha green tea powder*
Milk or heavy cream, optional

Method:
• Make sure everything is at room temperature.
• Mix together the butter and Philadelphia and beat till well combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated. Add the green tea powder and mix until fully incorporated
• Begin adding the icing sugar and continue beating until you get to the right fluffy silky consistency for about 1-2 more minutes. If you need to thin out the frosting, add a bit of milk or heavy cream a little bit at a time till you get to the right consistency.

*Add more to taste
**UPDATE: so I realize where my frosting went astray - I didn't have the correct amount of butter to cream cheese ratio. I would add an additional 2 tbs of butter next time.

Notes: While the overall taste of the cupcake did not taste oily whatsoever, next time I would use a bit less oil b/c the cupcakes left a ring around whatever they touched. If you try this recipe with less oil please let me know how it worked out for you.