Something green for
We Should Cocoa, Chele stated! Err, well, OK. After last month's
testing challenge, why not have another one? Only when I thought about it, it wasn't that difficult after all. It has been a while since I last used matcha (powdered Japanese green tea) in a cake and here I was presented with the perfect opportunity to use it again. In fact I had a whole load of cakes to make and wanted different colours, textures, flavours and sizes, so matcha cupcakes would be perfect - or so I hoped! A bit of a left of field choice perhaps, but I thought they were worth the risk. More on why I needed so many cakes in a later post.
The cakes were based on my
Green Tea & White Chocolate Cupcake recipe but using matcha powder rather than green tea leaves this time. The icing was something altogether different.
This is what I did:
- Melted 50g white chocolate over a pan of hot water.
- Creamed 80g unsalted butter with 125g vanilla sugar.
- Beat in the chocolate.
- Beat in a duck egg.
- Sifted in 125g flour (half wholemeal, half white), a scant tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp bicarb of soda and 2 tsp matcha powder.
- Stirred in 3 tbsp sour cream.
- Spooned mixture into 12 cupcake cases and baked at 180C for 20 minutes.
- Melted 50g white chocolate over a pan of hot water & left to cool.
- Creamed 80g unsalted butter with 160g icing sugar until very soft.
- Added 2 tsp matcha powder and creamed some more.
- Beat in the chocolate.
- Beat in 2 tbsp double cream.
- Spooned onto the cupcakes and topped with a while chocolate button.
Well, I don't want to crow, but these proved to be a sensation. The cakes were soft, moist and delicious and the white chocolate buttercream was to die for. Along with the Coffee & Walnut cake, these proved to be the most popular item. I did have to do a fair amount of explaining what this matcha thing was all about though!
Just in case your stuck for green ideas, how about a spinach cake? Here is a slice of Turkish spinach cake I tried at Truro market last year.
I've yet to bake with matcha Choclette, but these very teasingly tempting cupckes remind me why I really ought to! Really pleased they were a huge hit!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kate. It was great fun introducing people to something they've never had before and it's not nearly the acquired taste one might think.
ReplyDeleteThey sound so interesting and look so tasty, I can quite see why they were so popular. I love opportunities to share my baking, don't you? Jude x
ReplyDeleteJude, sharing is definitely the fun bit about baking - as long as I get good feedback anyway ;-)
DeleteGreen is always a mystery! They look very cute and tasty though.
ReplyDeleteHazel, matcha is delicious in cakes, even if you're not a green tea lover - it just seems to work. AND it is fun to have unusual colours.
DeleteThese look very tasty indeed, notwithstanding the green, or even maybe because of it. I must try matcha. x
ReplyDeleteKath, I think you'd like matcha.
DeleteGreat minds think alike ! This is really a wonderful combination! I like the lovely color frosting of these delicious cupcakes! LOVELY! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kit. I'm thinking we ought to form a matcha fan club ;-)
DeleteWow, that icing looks awesome - and I love that you achieved this color without any food dye! Very creative and love this...
ReplyDeleteThanks JW. I prefer not to use food dyes, but love it when I can use ingredients that give a good colour.
Deleteall the explaining... every month... 'why green?' ... 'why savoury?'... 'why is there chocolate in everything?'.... its exhausting!... but quite, quite fun!... these do look sensational Choclette... I actually want to taste one now!... please...?
ReplyDeleteOh Dom, you are sounding weary - it must be having to deal with all that fame. It can be tough being at the top ;-) Perhaps one of these would revive you.
DeleteI just know I would love these cakes. What a good choice using white chocolate with green tea powder to make the prettiest green icing but with bags of good flavour too. Bet you must have been pleased with the reaction you got for baking these! x
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura. I was thrilled with people's reactions and I'm glad you thought the colour was pretty too.
DeleteFinally someone on my wavelength - green isn't that tough a challenge teehee. Lovely cuppies and a pretty genius interpretation of the challenge this month too ;0)
ReplyDeleteThanks Chele - I guess we have to keep these folks on their toes ;-)
DeleteWhat I love about reading food blogs is learning something new. I'd never heard of macha before and now I do and am interested in how I can use it in a recipe. Thanks and the cakes look great.
ReplyDeleteIt's great isn't it. I've done so many new things since I started blogging.
DeleteI agree that it wasn't as hard as at first green seemed - I had quite a few ideas but not so much time - love the sound of these - I found that when I cooked with matcha it had a slighty bitter edge that would go well with white chocolate - is that right?
ReplyDeleteYes, Johanna, it is a bit bitter and I think that's why it works so well with white chocolate. I'm in my usual state of not keeping up, but will be over to see what you've been getting up to recently soon.
DeleteI've never baked with matcha either but these look absolutely delicious. I'm a sucker for white chocolate anyway, and I bet the green tea cuts through beautifully. Yum.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a great combination. I find white chocolate on it's own too much for me these days, but I do like it in baking, especially with fruit and um, well, matcha!
DeleteOoh I like matcha! These cupcakes look amazing - great combination with the white chocolate as well. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks Clare - glad to find another matcha fan :)
DeleteDid the cake taste very chocolate-y? And was it green?? They look utterly gorgeous, and I love the pale green of the icing, I'm not surprised they went down a storm!
ReplyDeleteNot really chocolatey C, but it sort of melted in the mouth and had a certain richness to it that I think came from the chocolate. And yes the cakes were green. It's a shame I didn't take a picture of the inside - I did manage to try one!
DeleteI love green tea in baking and this looks (and sounds) like a brilliant recipe. Yummy :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Jaime. I feel a green tea baking book is needed ;-)
DeleteI love baking with matcha but have not done so for a long time so this would be a good recipe to remedy that. Love the green colour and I can just imagine the taste - please send some over! Can't wait to hear why you need so many cakes!
ReplyDeleteps if you wanted to multi task, these would be a good "M" entry to AlphaBakes :)
Hehe Ros. I may well be multi-tasking on another post, but not this one. I was quite tempted though ;-)
DeleteI have never used match powder. Yours look pretty and inviting.
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you MaryMoh - it's not only pretty but works really well in baking too.
DeleteMatcha rules! These are a brilliant idea for this month's WSC challenge, which sadly I have not done yet!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen - there's still time :)
DeleteSorry-bit late in dropping in here. Have to say-natural green topping-fantastic-very clever indeed Choclette!!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you, however late. Although I didn't get a picture, the cake is also a lovely shade of green!
ReplyDeleteI've never used matcha powder - they look fantastic though and great way of getting the green colour.
ReplyDeleteThanks MCB - I was rather taken with the colour :)
Delete