Green Tea Cupcakes

I love to explore local small markets. There's an Indian store by my job, and in Orlando we have a little collection of Asian markets and restaurants called Little Vietnam. I was in need of some sweet potato noodles, so I made a stop by one of the Asian markets. I can't even describe the variety of food items you can find - spices, fresh meat, sauces, and most vital to this post: unique candies. GREEN. TEA. KIT KATS. Yes, they are real. And yes, they are glorious.

I'd heard of them before, but was never fortunate enough to find them in stock. That day was a lucky one, as the treats from Japan were aplenty.


The flavor is unique. No, it does not taste like a cup of green tea. But it is white chocolate with green tea flavor, and is an all around yes. I was SO impressed, that it being Father's Day just around the corner, I decided to bake some inspired cupcakes for Dad.

I'd like to point out that this is my very first baked good post from my new kitchen! I'll have to post some house renovation photos soon. Because this place is my little haven.

My basic cupcake recipe started this off. I followed the same one as I had for Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes, which is my new favorite.

Aaaaand there's my freshly baked lovelies!

Once the buttercream was whipped up (see what I did there?), I added some finely ground green tea, made from tossing some green tea into a food processor. I was not picking up a super potent green tea flavor, so I decided to go a step further and ground up some white chocolate chips to mix in. And then I had my icing.

After the great blueberry-blocking-the-piping-bag debacle of 2016, I frosted the cupcakes using the piping bag, but no tip. Though this wasn't a chunky frosting, I didn't want to risk it. I was happy at how the frosting ended up looking.

Topped with a green tea Kit Kat, the final product was ready.

New ideas are my favorite. It amazes me that I can run by the store, find a candy, and end up with a new recipe as a result. I admit, I was unsure about the green tea flavor at first. It's not a flavor typically associated with sweets, but it turned into a great cupcake. The white chocolate and green tea frosting had added a really nice flavor to the cupcake, and I am definitely a fan. But let's not forget the most important taste tester...Dad. I received a 2 thumbs up rating, which made me quite happy. When I saw him go back for seconds, I knew I did good.

The great thing about cupcakes is that a cute little mini cake can take a bad day and flip it on it's head. I love baking.

Green Tea Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chia seeds

For the frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
3 tea bags, finely ground
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, finely ground

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, salt, vanilla, eggs, and chia seeds. Beat on low speed until combined, and then increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 4-5 minutes. The batter will be light and fluffy. Spoon in to cupcake pans and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool. To make frosting, beat butter on high speed for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk. Mix in tea and white chocolate then frost cupcakes.