Chocolate Cupcakes with Matcha Ice Cream and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Totally slammed and busy this weekend foraging for food or studying. A unique post from the archives.

I have been itching to utilize these two flavors together for some time now. Both flavors are slightly bitter and slightly sweet, so they compliment each other well.

I had to admit I had some trouble with the cake for a while, I wanted something chocolaty and moist, so it had the texture of a cake, but it couldn't get too soggy with the ice cream. Basically I had to find a balance between cake and brownie, and I think I accomplished it. It's chewy and dense, but also deliciously moist.

I've been giving the ice cream maker a workout, and with the heat starting to near hellfire temperatures, it just seemed like the natural step to take in cupcake development. The matcha ice cream was sweet, creamy, and slightly pungent. It's also $25 for 1 ounce (ouch). So if you can spare the expense for a flavor, go for it. Otherwise, I would suggest maybe buying green tea (ooh, or maybe mint!) ice cream and using that instead.

The frosting is a real basic chocolate buttercream, but it's a frosting and it completes the cupcake nicely. Plus, it's purty. Purty is good.

This is also a cupcake that may require a bit of patience, so wait for a day where you'll have a few blocks of time free. The end product is worth the wait though, and it's a fun activity to do with friends and family.

Overall, a tasty treat which has set the pace for many more tasty ice cream cupcake treats in the future!

Chocolate (Halfway-to-Brownie) Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes / 350 F oven

What You'll Need...
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of kosher or other salt
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of milk

What You'll Do...
1) Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat the crud out of it until light and fluffy.
2) Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for thirty seconds after each.
3) Sift the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder together. Measure out the milk. Add some of the dry, then some of the wet, continuing to alternate between the two and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
4) Scoop about one heaping teaspoon into the cupcake papers. Spread it out a bit so it covers the bottom of each paper. You want only a small amount of rise there will still be enough room left over for the ice cream layer.
5) Bake for 12 minutes at 350 F. Let cool on a wire rack.


Matcha Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

What You'll Need...
6 egg yolks
1 cup of whole milk
2 cups of heavy cream
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons of matcha powder
3/4 cup of sugar

What You'll Do...
1) Whisk together the matcha and the cream in one bowl. Whisk the egg yolks in another.
2) In a medium saucepan bring milk, sugar, and salt together over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the egg yolks while whisking like a crazy person to avoid cooking the eggs (mmm, scrambled egg ice cream!).
3) Return the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Constantly scratch the bottom of the saucepan to prevent sticking. It should thicken into a custard. When it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it'd done.
4) Pour the mixture through a strainer (to catch any solids, just in case) into the matcha and cream. Whisk until frothy and place into the fridge to cool completely. Then pour into your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.


Simple Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
What You'll Need...
1 cup of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

What You'll Do...
1) Beat the crud out of the butter. Add the sugar and cocoa powder in increments. Taste as you go in case you want to lessen or increase the amount of sugar or cocoa. I find frosting is finicky with people, so go by your own taste. Pipe onto frozen cupcakes.


How You'll Assemble...
1) Be sure the cupcakes are completely cool, and the ice cream freshly made or thawed if frozen. Scoop the ice cream onto the cupcakes and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the freezer, preferably in covered containers, but if not no worries, plastic baggies work to avoid a bit of freezer burn.
2) Pipe frosting on and serve or place back in the freezer. Garnish with come matcha if desired.

Ichigo Abekobe Cupcakes (Matcha Cupcakes with Adzuki Paste Filling and Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting)

(From the Cupcake Archives)

I've been wanting to make a cupcake with Japanese flavors for some time now, and after the matcha ice cream cupcake, I decided this was the perfect chance to continue in that direction. Part of the inspiration came from Cheryl's Mooncake Cupcakes, which I must admit are quite awesome. Plus I had a lot of matcha left over after the matcha bombe cupcake I did.

Ichigo Abekobe means "Reverse Strawberry" in Japanese, so named because of the green cake and pink frosting, colors opposite of a real strawberry (so I took liberty with the pink, sue me). Many of these flavors are found in Japanese sweets and candies, and compliment each other well.

The bitter and slightly pungent flavor of the matcha is made slightly sweet in this cake. The bean paste is amazing, I can see why it's loved by so many. It's sweet and, well, beany. The strawberry cream cheese frosting is delish as ever, packed with fresh flavor and fruity aroma.

These are time consuming, I won't kid you, but they taste different and make for a very unique cupcake. You could cut some work out and just throw in a bit of matcha into the cream cheese frosting instead of macerating strawberries, or cut out the bean paste if you like. For me this was mostly a cupcake that allowed me to experiment with some new flavors, still each component is delicious on it's own and I hope to try out using adzuki beans in a few new ways.

Adzuki "Red Bean" Paste
What You'll Need...
1 1/4 cup of red beans
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

What You'll Do...
1) Place the beans in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit overnight in the fridge.

2) Rinse and place in a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for an hour and fifteen minutes. Drain again.

3) Puree the beans in a food processor or blender.

4) Warm the vegetable oil in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the sugar and bean puree and stir with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and let cool.


Matcha "Green Tea" Cupcakes (Filled with Adzuki Red Bean Paste)
Makes 15 cupcakes / 350 F oven

What You'll Need...
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of matcha

What You'll Do...
1) Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Beat the butter for about 2 minutes until well creamed. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.

2) Add the eggs one at a time and beat for 45 seconds each. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

3) Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and sift together. Combine the milk and matcha together. Add some of the flour mixture, then some of the milk, alternating between dry-wet-dry and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix together until just combined.

4) Fill the cupcakes about 1/4 full and smooth out the top. Place a small amount (1 tablespoon, more or less) of the bean paste on top. Cover with more cupcake batter until almost full.

5) Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 15. Check with a toothpick for doneness of the cake on top. Place on a wire rack to cool.


Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
What You'll Need...
8 ounces or 1 package of cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
5 strawberries
2 spoonfuls of sugar

What You'll Do...
1) Macerate strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes.

2) Put strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on. Cook strawberries for approximately 8 minutes till strawberries cook down and become soft and saucy. Place in a blender and pulse a few times. Taste and adjust sweetness with sugar until you get the desired sweetness. Allow to cool completely.

3) Using a hand blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness. Cool before using.

4) Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.

5) Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, beat until combined. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor, making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.