2.19.2010

Friday Feast: Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes

Mr. Geek brought home some lunch guests today, and I decided a trip to Asia was in order. Both of these co-workers are fans of matcha, powdered green tea, so I thought that I'd whip up some cupcakes with matcha as a highlight.
As I've probably mentioned here before, Mr. Geek is a Japanophile. He loves Japanese culture, from the finest Japanese incense to sushi and tea. He enjoys whisked matcha tea (I'm much more of a coffee junkie), which is an intensely bright green color, as seen in the package below.
I find that it tastes a bit like corn leaves, but that's just me. I do like it every now and then for its fresh flavor. That's the only way I can describe it. Here are the dregs from his cup.
On to the cupcakes: to make them, I just used a typical vanilla cake recipe and added a teaspoon of matcha powder to the lemon buttercream frosting. I sprinkled some of the cupcakes with shredded coconut and some with lemon peel. They were delicious!
I would have added matcha to the cake itself, but I ended up baking them at my mom's yesterday and didn't have the matcha with me. I think these would be great for coloring some St. Patrick's Day goodies, especially because it's not an artificial dye, yet the green is so bright. And the benefits of green tea are always being heralded. Surprisingly, the flavor was not as intense as I had hoped.

Oh, and here's what we had for lunch, cucumber/mango salad (a variation on this recipe)
and a regular favorite, egg noodles with Thai curry gravy. I just kind of make it up as I go along (ginger, garlic, onions, curry paste, lime juice, cilantro, chili sauce, peanut butter, coconut milk, veggies, soy sauce, etc.).
I'm so stuffed, but I can't wait to have more of this for dinner! Check out Momtrends for more Friday Food ideas.


8 comments:

Nicole Feliciano said...

Those cupcakes are awesome! As a big fan of asian foods I give this a huge thumbs up! Would pair it with green tea ice cream.

Braley Mama said...

Hey, I am a Japan-ophile too! But I have never tried that powder. I love sushi and Hello Kitty. I have always loved Japan, and now I am going to work for a missions org. called Gospel For Asia. It is amazing how we all have a heart for different things!!!

pish said...

Mmm, the cupcakes look yummers! My mom got me hooked on matcha when she made these delicious cookies: http://leitesculinaria.com/25599/recipes-matcha-tea-leaf-shortbreads.html

I LOVE the smell of this stuff!! I want to eat it straight off the spoon. = P

TheEclecticElement said...

Oh wow! That looks incredible Kathleen-I bet your guests were completely happy with the meal you prepared :)

Muthering Heights said...

You are such a creative cook!!!

I'll keep this in mind for my "green" cooking needs. ;)

CanCan said...

Yum! I have had that tea before and liked it, but I didn't know the name. I like the whisk and how it gets all frothy. Mmm. Corn leaves.

Michelle @ Flying Giggles said...

Your husband and I both! I love matcha! No one I know likes it, more for me. We have some fabulous Asian markets in our area, I love visiting them for things like that.

I am definitely going to make those cupcakes! Yum!

Victor | UPrinting said...

The cupcakes, the salad and the Thai Noodles look fantastic! I love Thai dishes! Especially their vegetables and seafood dishes!

What you did with the cupcakes is amazing. You create a very good healthy variation of the treat! Hope to see more innovations like this :-)

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