Matcha pistachio cupcakes

I attended a chanoyu (茶の湯 or Japanese tea ceremony) a couple of weeks ago at House of Tea. While not a lover of ceremonial preparations and presentations per se, I have been interested in matcha and its culinary application for some time now. 

Last November, I made a loaf of matcha pistachio bread (recipe and pictures to follow). It was quite a success. This time, adapting a recipe from Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less!) Cookbook, I made a batch of matcha pistachio cupcakes complete with frosting, which Husband helped to pipe! 

Matcha pistachio cupakes

Ingredients for cupcakes 

makes 12-14 cupcakes


4 C All-Purpose Baking Mix
1 C xylitol
4 tsp matcha
¾ C raw pistachios, finely chopped
¼ tsp pink salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 C buttermilk
¼ C coconut oil, melted
3 large eggs

Ingredients for frosting

260g cream cheese, at room temperature

½ C xylitol

2½ tsp matcha

½ tsp ground green cardamom

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix, xylitol, green tea powder, chopped pistachios, and salt.
   
2. Stir in the lemon juice and let stand for 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and coconut oil.
   
4. In batches of 3-4, stir the egg mix into the flour mix and combine thoroughly.
   
5. Let the batter sit in room temperature for 1 hour.
   
6. Preheat the oven to 175⁰C and grease the muffin cups if required.
7. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (77g x 12-14).
   
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until a pick inserted in the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean.
    
   
9. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
   
10. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, green tea powder, ground cardamom, and xylitol in a medium bowl. Combine well and beat till fluffy and soft peaks form.
    
11. Pipe or spread over the cooled cupcakes.
    
12. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.
    

The cupcakes were delicious. The cake itself was moist and light, but the crowning glory has to be the frosting. I'd never used cardamom in desserts before (I did have a panna cotta years ago with cardamom in it though I could barely taste it), but its aroma and fragrance complemented the depth and slight bitterness of matcha very well. As with most of my spiced bakes, the cupcakes tasted even better after the flavours have had a chance to develop for a couple of days.