Monday, July 21, 2008

Chocolate Matcha Cupcakes

chocolate matcha cupcake

Blame it on the heat, I find it hard to sit still in front of the laptop to write you a coherent post about the chocolate matcha cupcakes I made last week.

30 minutes has passed and I am struck after the first sentence. I think I am not going to try too hard for now. Let us just get straight to the cupcakes, shall we?


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The chocolate cake base is from my favorite author Alice Medrich's book- Chocolate and The Art of Low Fat Desserts . The batter doesn't rise much, but it is moist and chocolatey. Everything you can hope for in a chocolate cake. Most importantly no one can tell that it's low fat.

The matcha cream cheese frosting, is adopted from chockylit. I use the Philly 1/3 Less Fat Neufchtel to cut down on the fat content, although I believe one could substitute the fat free cream cheese here with no problem. My tasters love the chocolate cake, but find the frosting slightly too sweet for their tastes. That can be easily adjusted by reducing the amount of confectioner's sugar used. Because I am aiming for a deep matcha flavor, I used a heaping 2 tablespoons of matcha powder in the frosting. You can certainly taste and adjust the amount according to your liking.

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Tip: If you are looking for matcha powder, try the Asian grocery stores. They are usually shelved with the rest of the tea products. I paid between $4.99-$6.99 for the 1.1 oz tin. Note that matcha powder is different from green tea powder, which the color and flavor is not as intense as the former.

When I couldn't find an Asian grocery store that stock matcha powder in St Louis, I bought mine at Teavana for $16.00!Extortion, I know.

Chocolate Matcha Cupcakes
adapted from Alice Medrich's "Chocolate and The Art of Low Fat Desserts" and here

cupcakes:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all purpose flour (4.5 oz)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
scant 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon instant espresso or coffee powder dissolve in 1.5 tablespoon of hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon buttermilk,at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
Matcha Cream cheese frosting:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces or 1/2 package of Neuftachel 1/3 less fat Philedephia cream cheese
1.5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons matcha powder

Position the rack in the lower third of the oven and prehear ro 350F. Line the muffin pan with paper liners.

Combine and sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Whisk the whole egg and eggwhites in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the vanilla, espresso mixture and buttermilk in another small bowl, set aside.

Cut the butter into chunks and place in the electric mixer bowl. Beat to softenend, about 1 minutes. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly for about 3 minutes, until the color of the butter turns pale. Dribble the egg mixture gradually, beating at high speed for 2-3 minutes. On low speed, add in a third of the flour mixture. On medium speed, dribble in half of the buttermilk mixture, scrapping the bowl when necessary. On low speed, add in a third of the flour, followed by the rest of the buttermilk mixture. Beat in the remaining flour until well combined. The batter may look slightly cuddled.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out barely clean. Cool cake on a rack.

To make matcha cream cheese frosting:
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.

Sift 1.5 cups of confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon of matcha powder into the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.

Taste and add more matcha if desired. I like the matcha flavor, so I used 2 tablespoons in total.

Other matcha recipes on Fresh From The Oven:
Chocolate Matcha Loaf Cake
Matcha Cookies
Chocolate Matcha Brownies
Mini Matcha Cheese Tarts

25 comments:

  1. Pretty cupcakes! I love the idea of pairing chocolate with matcha...

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  2. these look really nice and bet they re really yummy too :-)

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  3. Yummy. Anything with matcha really needs no additional introduction, in my opinion :D

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  4. Holy crap that is some expensive matcha! :O

    I love how moist and dark the cupcakes look!

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  5. Oh, I love these photos!

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  6. Very pretty. What an interesting combination of flavors...

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  7. always a marvel HOW green that can get...

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  8. That is the coolest looking cupcake I have ever seen. Anything with chocolate and matcha has got to be delicious. Sometimes I get stuck trying to write for my blog, then I have a glass of wine and it helps get those creative juices flowing.

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  9. I love anything with matcha in it, and I bet these cupcakes must've tasted really good!

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  10. ooo...so pretty and delicious looking. there must have been chocolate and matcha in the air last week...look at this too!
    teaspotnyc.blogspot.com/2008/07/matcha-made-in-heaven.html

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  11. I adore matcha, but here it's so expensive! I'll have to be happy just by looking at your gorgeous cupcakes! Here's it's very hot as well and I also find it difficult to write anything these days, don't worry!

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  12. I adore matcha but here it's so expensive, that I have to endulge only on you beautiful pictures. Here's it's very hot as well, and I find it difficult to write anything, you're not alone!

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  13. Those look so good! What an amazing shade of green.

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  14. Gorgeous! What a color combination.

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  15. Those cupcakes looked really pretty! I came by through baking cottage. Can't wait to try a version of yours and hers combine.

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  16. Anonymous2:45 AM

    I seldom see chocolate paired with matcha. Sounds like an amazing combo.

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  17. Those are so pretty, looks like a great combo!

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  18. Mmmmmm...this looks amazing...love the color. :) I don't think I like matcha, but I've seen it around as a flavor so much that I'm dying to try it anyway.

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  19. I love deep match flavor too, Mandy. Your cupcake looks delicious, I like the deep green color of the frosting.

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  20. I wish I could have one now...hehe.
    By the way, I baked the matcha chocolate marble cupcake (which you had baked before) using the same recipe by Alice Medrich, the cake was good, but it seemed more dense and moist than soft and fluffy. Is that what's the texture supposed to be??

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  21. Anonymous6:08 AM

    oh hon, those are absolutely divine!

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  22. oh how cute!
    check out my food blog and tell me what you think:
    http:/thegodscake.wordpress.com

    Michael

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  23. Hello,
    I never beleived green colour in food may look so delicious!
    I would like to try it but could you please tell me what it means
    "1/4 teaspoon", how do you mesure this?

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  24. Mila,
    that's a quarter teaspoon. :) let me know how it works for you.

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  25. Kelly9:59 AM

    Try this recipe with flavored matcha! After reading all of the health benefits of Matcha Tea I ordered some online. I fell inlove! I have always been a fan of regular green tea so this seemed like a no brainer to me. I had read a lot of comments of people complaining about the bitterness of matcha but I think either 1) they are using a low grade of matcha or 2) they aren't preparing it correctly. If the water is too hot then the bitterness is brought out. I have been a lifelong lover of coffee but matcha has actually replaced coffee for me! AND THEN I discovered there are various flavored matchas out there that can also be served cold or hot such as apple pie and banana & cream flavors! I am in heaven! I am only disappointed that I didn't discover this earlier in my life! I'm a vegetarian and I also run 5k and 10k races on a regular basis so health is very important to me. I highly recommend checking out the numerous flavors at a price I have yet to beat anywhere else at http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/. The flavors are too tempting to pass up. Best yet is the smoothness of matcha regardless how it is prepared. I have found it also makes a great addition on top of yogurt as a treat.

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