Gone matcha green lately? If you’ve already tried different matcha drinks, get ready to try your hand at baking with matcha.
Matcha has taken the world by storm – courtesy of its various benefits and health-promoting qualities. Its popularity is such that a steaming cup of matcha green tea doesn’t cut it anymore. People are experimenting with matcha in cooking with promising results.
Matcha is essentially powdered green tea leaves of the finest quality. The silky matcha powder contains 10 times as many antioxidants as regular green tea.
Water only extracts a fraction of the benefits when you brew regular green tea, but with matcha green tea you use up the entire leaves, which provides you with the full benefits.
Matcha green tea can easily be added to baked goodies and desserts, and matcha cupcakes are a good start. We are providing both vegan and dairy versions of the recipe. Minor changes can be made in each recipe to suit your personal preferences.
So, get ready to try your hand at these no-muss, no-fuss recipes that you can easily squeeze into your busy schedule.
Matcha Cupcakes made with Milk
Things you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour – ½ cup
- Milk – ¼ cup
- Pure vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
- Vegetable oil – 2 teaspoons
- Matcha green tea powder – 1 teaspoon
- Confectioner’s sugar – 2 tablespoons
- Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
The given quantity of ingredients will make about 3 to 4 cupcakes. You can double or triple the recipe as needed.
Step 1. Whisk together all the ingredients except vanilla extract
- Put ½ cup of all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl.
- Add 2 tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar to it.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder.
- Add 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder to it.
- Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil as well.
- Pour in ¼ cup of milk.
- Whisk the ingredients with a wire whisk to a smooth and lump-free consistency.
Step 2. Whisk in the vanilla extract
- Add in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and whisk again.
The alcohol present in the vanilla extract keeps the batter from becoming fluffy. Adding vanilla extract after whisking the other ingredients together prevents this.
Step 3. Bake the cupcakes
- Pour the batter into silicon cupcake molds, leaving a little space at the top as the batter will expand during baking.
- Place the molds in the microwave and bake for 1 minute.
- Let the cupcakes cool down for a couple of minutes before extracting them. Place them over a wire rack to let them cool down completely.
Enjoy your matcha cupcakes with matcha lemonade iced tea or a cup of steaming matcha green tea. You can also cover them with your favorite frosting or dust them with icing sugar before feasting on them.
Vegan Matcha Cupcakes
Things you’ll need:
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour – 2 cups
- Confectioner’s sugar – ½ cup
- Soy milk – ½ cup
- Vegetable oil – ¼ cup
- Apple cider vinegar – 2 teaspoons
- Pure vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
- Matcha green tea powder – 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
- A pinch of salt
Step 1. Whisk the dry ingredients together
- Put 2 cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour in a bowl. If you’re not on a gluten-free diet, you can use regular all-purpose flour.
- Add ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar to it.
- Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to it.
- Add in a pinch of salt as well.
- Add 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder as well.
- Whisk the ingredients with a wire whisk to mix them thoroughly.
Step 2. Add in all the liquid ingredients except vanilla extract
- Pour ½ cup of soy milk into the bowl.
- Pour in ¼ cup of vegetable oil.
- Add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar (ACV) to it. ACV adds more depth to a recipe than white vinegar.
Step 3. Beat the mixture with an electric beater
- Beat the mixture with an electric beater to make a smooth and light batter.
Step 4. Mix in the vanilla extract
- Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the batter. Vanilla extract is added last so that it doesn’t prevent the batter from becoming light and fluffy.
- Give it another small round with the beater to mix in the vanilla extract.
Step 5. Bake the cupcakes
- Pour the batter in equal amounts into cupcake molds, leaving some space at the top to allow the batter to expand as it bakes.
- Place the cupcakes into the microwave and bake for 2 minutes.
- Remove the cupcakes from the molds once they cool down a little.
Enjoy tasty and healthy snacking with your vegan matcha cupcakes.
Tips
- Sift the dry ingredients together before adding in the liquids for a fluffy batter that’ll rise when baked.
- For the vegan recipe, you can substitute the soy milk with almond milk. In fact, you can make almond milk at home and use for the recipe.
- The batter should be evenly distributed in the molds to ensure even cooking. Different amounts of batter in the molds of the same batch results in overcooking or under cooking.
- You can also bake these cupcakes in an oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F while you prepare the batter, and bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Check if the cupcakes are done with a toothpick. If a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the cooked cupcakes, consider your cupcakes ready.