It's Cupcake Day! Matcha Cupcake Recipe

   Happy Cupcake Day! To help you celebrate a (guilt free) cupcake day, I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite new recipes, from Iron Chef Shellie! They taste delicious, look stunning & they contain all the goodness of a cup of green tea!

MATCHA CUPCAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

Cupcakes

150ml milk

4 green tea teabags

2 1/2 tsp matcha (green tea) powder

110g unsalted butter, at room temperature

225g granulated sugar

2 large eggs, free-range or organic

125g self-raising flower

120g plain flower

Buttercream Icing

115g unsalted butter, at room temperature

60ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

500g icing sugar

1 tsp matcha (green tea) powder

Instructions

1. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat & add teabags. Cover with clingfilm & let the mixture simmer for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with cases. Remove teabags from the milk, squeezing out excess milk into the pan. Add the green tea matcha powder & stir.

3. In a bowl, with an electric mixer, mix the butter & sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, mixing them into the mixture. Sift the flours into a separate bowl & stir well. Add one-third of the flour mix  to the creamed butter & sugar & beat well. Pour in one-third of the milk/tea mixture & beat again. Repeat until all the flour & milk has been added.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases, so they're about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for a bout 25 minutes, until raised & golden brown.

5. Leave the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract & half the icing sugar until smooth, for the icing, gradually adding the remainder of the icing sugar & green tea powder.  When the cakes are completely cool, ice them & sprinkle a little green tea powder on top.