Tea Hostess Cupcakes

I’ve been a bad hostess. After what seems like way too long away from blogging, I’m back this week offering you Tea Hostess Cupcakes! Consider these my sorry for being away treat, a way to rekindle and celebrate our love for tea!
So what’s a Tea Hostess Cupcake? These are basically the gourmet version of those iconic treats we always see at the market, only way better. This time, they’re made with glorious green tea and best quality cocoa, homemade from start to finish.

It’s hard to decide which part of this cupcake is the tastiest. Would it be the moist, decadent, Devil’s food cake? Possibly…

Maybe that glossy, semi-soft ganache? Ahhh…so good.

Or, perhaps, that bittersweet, marshmallow-like, matcha fluff filling? Yes, that’s it!

This recipe for Matcha Fluff makes a generous amount, enough for a few extra fluffernutters or s’mores long after the cupcakes are gone. The ratio of green tea powder to fluff is 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of fluff so that the pure flavor of matcha comes punching through.

With its fabulous flavor and color, Aiya’s culinary matcha is fantastic for using here. Looking at the ingredient list, you might be surprised to find coffee also used in this recipe. The addition of coffee simply helps the chocolate cake base taste richer, more like chocolate. In a pinch, just use a boxed Devil’s food cake mix to make the cupcakes. The unique part of this recipe is the Matcha Fluff, so that’s where you’ll want to invest your effort. To put it simply, the fluff is basically a tea flavored Italian meringueRetro meets modern in these dreamy Tea Hostess Cupcakes. Draw some extra squiggles for the matcha lover in your life and you’ll be known as one hospitable hostess (or host!).

The culinary matcha used in this recipe is courtesy of Aiya

Matcha Hostess Cupcakes

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

{Cupcakes}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 salt

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup hot coffee

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

{Matcha Fluff Filling}

Based on KAFlour’s recipe for Homemade Marshmallow Spread

1/3 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup honey

3 egg whites, at room temp

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3 Tbsp matcha, sifted (I used Aiya’s Culinary Matcha)

1 tsp vanilla extract

{Ganache}

4 oz. chocolate

1/4 cup heavy cream

{Squiggly Icing}

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp matcha, sifted (I used Aiya’s Culinary Matcha)

2 tsp milk

1 tsp honey

Equipment:

cupcake tins

18 cupcake liners

mixing bowls

whisk

1/3 cup measure

toothpick

cooling rack

stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment

large pot

thermometer

piping bag fitted with a medium-sized, star tip (I used #864)

thin spatula

piping bag fitted with a thin writing tip (I used #2)

Directions:

1. Make the Cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cupcake tins with the liners. Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Mix the liquid ingredients in another mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, then mix vigorously with a large whisk until everything is incorporated. Using a 1/3 cup measure, pour 1/3 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake the cupcakes for about 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

2. Make the Matcha Fluff. Place the water, sugar, and honey in a large pot. Swirl the ingredients together with your finger, being careful not to let any sugar crystals set up on the edge of the pot. Place the pot over low-medium heat. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream of tartar, and start to whisk on low. Meanwhile, check the water-sugar-honey mixture with a thermometer. The target temperature is 240 degrees F. Check the egg whites and stop the mixer when it looks like bubble bath-like foam. When the syrup has reached 240 degree F, take it off the heat and carefully and slowly pour it in with the foamy egg whites. Increase the speed of the mixer to high and continue to mix for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, slowly add the matcha and continue to mix. Add the vanilla and mix for another 1-2 minutes until you get stiff peaks. Set aside in an airtight container at room temperature and use any extra within 2 weeks.

3. Make the Ganache. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream to scalding and pour it over the chocolate. Let the chocolate melt then combine it with the cream until glossy and thick. Set aside.

4. Make the Squiggly Icing. Combine the powdered sugar, matcha, milk, and honey together in a small bowl. Set aside.

5. Assemble the Cupcakes! Place some of the Matcha Fluff in a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized, star tip (I used #864). Insert the tip into the top center of each cupcake, then squeeze 1-2 tsp of the fluff into the cupcake. Use a flat spatula to smooth the fluff flush to the surface of the cupcake. Dunk each filled cupcake into the ganache, then allow the icing to cool completely. Place the Squiggly Icing into a piping bag fitted with a thin writing tip (I used #2). Draw a line of several loops across the center of each cupcake. Enjoy!!

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