Green Tea Cupcakes

This rather simple recipe makes light, fluffy cupcakes with a gentle green tea taste.  Nothing too intense.  I especially love the frosting because it’s not overly sweet like most standard recipes which call for your weight in sugar.  Overall, these cupcakes go very nicely with a hot cup of afternoon tea. ^^

[Adapted from grouprecipes.com's “Mom’s Favorite White Cake”]

• 2-1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp Matcha powder

Preheat oven to 350° F.

PREP: Set out a muffin pan with tin foil muffin/cupcake liners. (TIP: you know how those liners come in alternating layers of tin foil and paper?  I like to use the tin foil ones for cupcakes and the paper ones for muffins.  Why, you ask?  Because muffin batters are typically thicker and less oily than cake batters and will not seep through paper.) Also be sure to bring both butter and eggs to room temperature ahead of time.

COMBINE: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg whites – two at a time – and be sure to beat well after each addition.  Also add vanilla.  Then, with mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.  Finally, mix in the Matcha powder. (TIP: 2 tsp. is a good starting point, but you can keep adding more depending on your preference.  I wound up throwing a couple more teaspoons into the batter, but that’s because 1) I really love the green tea taste, and 2) I was going to top the cupcakes with plain vanilla frosting)

BAKE: Pour the batter into the lined muffin/cupcake pan.  The rule of thumb is to fill it up two-thirds of the way, but I tend to add just a tad bit more.  Esther does not like small cupcakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean.

FINISH: Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost them to your liking and enjoy.

* For the pictured cupcakes, I divided the cupcake batter in half before adding the Matcha powder, then only added Matcha powder to one of the portions.  The same goes for the frosting.  This way, once everything was baked I had four different things to mix and match: green tea cupcake, white vanilla cupcake, green tea frosting, plain vanilla frosting.  So if you look closely at the picture, you’ll see that I had green tea cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting and white vanilla cupcakes topped with green tea frosting.  Hm…does that sound too confusing?

[Green Tea Frosting]

[adapted from The Fat Bottomed Girl's "Not-Too-Sweet frosting"]

• 1 cup milk
• 5 tbs flour
• ½ cup butter (softened)
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp Matcha powder

PREP: Whisk the flour and milk together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until they thicken into a smooth paste. (TIP: be sure to whisk diligently and watch out for overheating, as this will result in a thick and chunky mass you’ll be throwing out) Pour into a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

COMBINE: Beat the butter and shortening together for 3-4 minutes.  Gradually add sugar to the butter mixture and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Slowly beat the cooled flour paste into the mixture.  Finally, add vanilla and Matcha powder. (TIP: again, adjust the green tea flavor to your taste)