the details
Can you tell I love matcha yet?? For those unfamiliar with matcha, it is a Japanese green tea which is grassy, earthy, and super umami. What’s better, it’s loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients. Matcha is just a gift. These Matcha Cupcakes + Dreamy Strawberry Buttercream were inspired by the matcha pink-drink from Starbucks, where light strawberry pink foam sits atop a vivid matcha latte. I feel like I see them everywhere these days! Turns out matcha + strawberry is a flavor match made in heaven. Here they are in all their glory, in a cute fun lil cupcake.
Ingredients + Process
This cupcake is light, fluffy, with an open crumb and weightless mouth feel. It is sweet but also noticeably matcha flavored. Also, it’s a very pretty green. Make sure you use culinary-grade matcha powder and that you sift it so there are no matcha-bomb chunks lingering in the batter. You can find culinary-grade matcha powder that’s great for flavoring bakes at gourmet grocery stores or online. Another key to the right cupcake texture is to beat butter+sugar+eggs+extracts on medium high until slightly glossy and fluffy in order to allow the egg to completely emulsify with the fats. Chemistry stuff!
This dreamy strawberry buttercream is rich, creamy, and perfectly sweet. A lot of the recipes I see for strawberry frosting I see out there on Insta these days call for flavoring with powdered freeze-dried strawberries. Though this is a great way to get concentrated flavor into the cupcake, I find that it is at the sacrifice of texture. I wanted my buttercream to be smooth and ultra creamy. To solve the issue of strawberries making the buttercream too wet/runny, I like to puree and reduce my strawberries for a strong strawberry flavor and color. The extra step is worth it, trust me! This buttercream is SO nice with the matcha cupcakes, but honestly it’s delicious atop pretty much every cake flavor! Strawberries are just cool like that.
Love matcha?
Try out my Matcha-Almond Pound Cake + White Chocolate Ganache.
Bake to this music
Matcha Cupcakes + Dreamy Strawberry Buttercream
Sweet, creamy strawberry buttercream pairs effortlessly with light-as-air matcha cupcakes. The flavors are just as perfect together as their colors are! This recipe screams spring.
- Yield: 16 cupcakes 1x
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg white, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp matcha powder, sifted
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temp
- 1/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt, room temp
For the strawberry buttercream:
- 1 cup chopped and hulled strawberries
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes. In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg white, and vanilla, and continue to beat on medium-high until the mixture becomes slightly glossy and smooth, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and sifted culinary matcha powder. Turn the mixer to low speed and alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients (dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry). Mix until just combined. Add greek yogurt and fold until just combined. Fill a muffin tin with liners and fill about 2/3 with cake batter.
- Bake cupcakes at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the strawberry reduction. Puree fresh strawberries in a blender or food processer. Pour puree into a medium saucepan and reduce over medium heat until the mixture deepens in color and reduces by half. Put aside and allow the puree to cool to room temp.
- Make the strawberry buttercream. In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room temp cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add strawberry reduction and beat until smooth. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, almond extract, vanilla, and salt, and beat on medium-low until combined. Add heavy cream and turn the mixer up to high, whipping the buttercream until it becomes a shade lighter in color.
- Put the bowl of strawberry frosting in the fridge and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes, until the bowl is cold and the frosting is thickened slightly.
- Frost your cupcakes! I used a Wilton 1B tip, but it’s just as delicious slathered on with a knife.
- Cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Allow to come to room temp before serving.
Notes
- Culinary-grade matcha powder can be found at some gourmet grocery stores and online here.
- Sour cream can be substituted for greek yogurt in a pinch.
- You can skip chilling the frosting, but the frosting will be a little thinner.
- Freeze any extra buttercream! Before using, allow to defrost in the fridge and stir well with a spatula.
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