Greetings from the Cupcake Militia! Here we are once again on another baking adventure. We all really love tea and for some reason I have a crazy obsession for baking with flowers, so this cupcake turned out to be fun for all of us. Kelly invited us over for dinner and a movie so we decided that green cupcakes would be the perfect dessert for the movie selection. Paul was the feature film and I do have to say, the movie was as enjoyable as the cupcakes!
We started the process early by infusing the lavender into the milk. We have never made flower frosting before so the process for infusing the milk was interesting.
While the lavender milk was cooling, we got on with making the batter and frosting. Here are the ingredients that we used this time.
I would like to take a moment to discuss two of the ingredients in this recipe. The first one is the lavender flowers. Since lavender is used in aromatherapy as well, you have to be careful to buy the correct product. Always look for culinary lavender. Don't say I didn't warn you if you try this recipe with aroma therapy oils and come out smelling like flowers! The other notable ingredient in this recipe is matcha green tea powder. This ingredient had me on the phone calling several health food stores and tea shops. I finally located some at a tea shop in down town. It is a bit on the expensive side, but well worth it for the flavor. Besides I plan on using it to make green tea ice cream as well.
We started the recipe off by making the frosting. The lavender was intoxicating as we added it to the mix. The purple food coloring added just the right hue as well.
This is me, slaving away over the frosting while Jen and Kelly enjoy a glass of wine.
And the finished frosting. It looks so yummy!
The cupcake batter proved to be just as interesting to make. The green tea powder had to be added to milk before being added to the batter. It did not look appealing at all!
We carried on with mixing the batter. Kelly actually got on with tasting the batter, but since she was working at the same time, Jen and I let her have her fun.
While the cupcakes baked we took a few group shots with our significant others. These men put up with our baking, talking through movies and other womanly wiles. Besides, they give us great feedback on our creations. So to Andy, Brian and Paul, you guys are awesome, we love you, and thanks for eating what we bake!
So back to the cupcakes. Can I just say that when we pulled them out of the oven, they looked amazing! They smelled good too, but the color, much like the main character in the movie we were watching, was out of this world!
The three of us were very excited to begin decorating. There was no rhyme or reason to our designs. We are all really just trying to get the hang of the piping bag and the designs that are possible. The three of us are fairly creative so our frosting reflected that perfectly.
All in all this cupcake turned out well. It was unique and tasted good. We even had fun eating them out of tea cups!
So until next time, which by my calculations say next week, the cupcake militia bids you a fond farewell.
Recipe for Green Tea Lavender Cupcakes
Lavender infused milk:
You will need to make this your first step. It is very simple. Add 1/2 cup of half and half to a small saucepan with 3 tsp of culinary grade lavender flowers. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately, cover and let stand for 20 minutes. After cooled, strain through a coffee filter into a small bowl of coffee cup.
Green Tea Cupcakes:
You will need:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder
3 table spoons of milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix the milk and match powder until well blended. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the sugar with the butter until it is well blended and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the tea mixture to the sugar mixture. Beat well after each addition. Once all of the mixtures are incorporated, fill prepared muffin cups to 3/4 full and bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes.
Lavender Buttercream Frosting:
You will need:
lavender infused milk
4-6 cups powdered sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter
In a large bowl, mix the butter and 3 cups of sugar until well blended. Alternately add the lavender milk and the rest of the sugar until you reach the desired consistency. It should be firm but not so firm that it won't come out of a piping bag. You can also add purple food gel at this point.
After the cupcakes cool, frost as desired and enjoy.
