Soft Centered Green Tea Cupcakes Recipe

After experimenting with green tea powder/matcha in my baking, I realise it is a tricky ingredient to work with; too much of it and there will be a bitter after-taste, too little of it and you don't get the taste and fragrance.

Wanting to try something new, I decided to make green tea soft centered cupcakes. This recipe by Rachel Yau, 丘桂玲 in 为你做甜品 Dessert for you, gives a twist on normal green tea cupcakes. Imagine peeling apart your warm green tea cupcake to reveal more oozing green tea custard!

The time consuming part of this recipe is the green tea "soft centers" or green tea custards. You will need to prepare and chill them ahead of making the cake batter.

(makes 9 cupcakes)

Ingredients

For green tea custard filling

30g sugar

1 egg yolk

150ml milk

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp green tea/matcha powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

For green tea cupcakes

100g unsalted butter

120g plain flour

1 tbsp green tea/matcha powder

1 tsp baking powder

70g sugar

2 eggs (I used large eggs)

2 tbsp milk

Method

1. To make green tea custard, whisk egg yolk and sugar till pale. Sieve in flour, plain flour and green tea powder. Mix well.

2. Scald milk and pour heated milk slowly into mixture, mixing well after each addition. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook at medium fire for another 30-60 seconds whisking constantly. The mixture should thicken. Bring mixture off fire and stir in vanilla essence. Leave to cool. 

3. Using two teaspoons, shape out small circles of custard on a plate lined with wax paper. Cover with cling wrap and leave in freezer to chill for 15 minutes or till cake batter is completed.

4. To make the cake batter, cream sugar and butter till fluffy. Add in whisked eggs. Mix well.

5. Sieve in flour and green tea powder. Add in milk. Mix well with each addition.

6. Half fill cupcake moulds with cake batter. Place a piece of green tea custard in each mould. Top up mould with remaining cake batter. Bake in pre-heated oven of 180 degrees for 20 minutes or till tops are dry and springy to touch.

Tips

If you are not a huge fan of green tea, you can choose to have vanilla flavoured custard instead of green tea. 

Make sure you have enough batter to cover the half-filled cupcakes. Allocation is key if you do not want cracks to form on cupcakes.

As this is soft-centered cupcake, a normal clean tooth-pick test to the centre of the cupcake would not work. Test the sides of the cake and they are ready when they are dry and springy to touch. 

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