
Pistachio Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting
Hello Spoonful of Flavor readers! I’m Danae from Recipe Runner. Thanks to Ashley for letting me be here again today! I always enjoy coming over to her beautiful blog and sharing something delicious. Today is no exception. Because it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day I wanted to join in the fun with all things green, so I made these Pistachio Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting!
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t all that high on my list of holidays I get excited about. Beer isn’t my drink of choice, I don’t look good wearing green, and I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me. However, I do enjoy adding Baileys to everything, my once a year splurge on a salty fatty slice of corned beef, and scarfing down a childhood favorite pistachio pudding cupcake that my mom used to make every year on St. Patrick’s Day. Those cupcakes are where the inspiration for these Pistachio Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting came from.
As much as I love that boxed pistachio pudding I am quite aware of all the additives and unpronouncable ingredients in it. I thought about making my own instant dry pudding mix and adding pistachio extract, but I’ve heard not so great things about the flavor of pistachio extract. Then I remembered that I had some loose leaf green tea in my cupboard (I’ve recently become a tea addict on top of a coffee addict). I took the tea leaves and ground them up in my coffee grinder and wah-lah green tea powder! Not only would the green tea powder be a unique cupcake flavor, but it would give them the natural green color that I wanted.
Since I wanted the cupcakes to be reminiscent to the ones I grew up eating, I of course had to add some chopped pistachios to the batter. Not only are the pistachio in the cupcake, but I also decorated the top of the matcha cream cheese frosting with them.
As we all know, the frosting is the real reason for having a cupcake and this green tea a.k.a. matcha frosting is so good! I used more green tea powder to give it that green hue and flavored it with both almond and vanilla extract. I’m pretty sure more of the frosting ended up in my mouth than on the cupcakes, I think we’ve all been there! If you’re looking for a fun and delicious St. Patrick’s Day treat to make and one that doesn’t involve boxed pudding or green food coloring, then give these Pistachio Green Tea Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting a try, they do not disappoint!
Yields 8-10 cupcakes
These naturally green cupcakes are infused with green tea powder and full of chopped pistachios. Top them with a delicious matcha cream cheese frosting for an impressive and tasty dessert!
20 minPrep Time
16 minCook Time
36 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon green tea/matcha powder (I used loose leaf green tea leaves ground up in a coffee grinder)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoon plain non fat Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- 6 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon green tea/matcha powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flours, cornstarch, green tea powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer beat the butter and greek yogurt on medium high speed until thoroughly combined, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the sugar and beat again for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until combined.
- Add in a third of the dry mixture and beat just until combined, then add in half of the milk.
- Repeat the process ending with the dry mixture.
- Add in the chopped pistachios and mix just until combined.
- Fill the paper cupcake liners 3/4 full with the batter.
- Bake the cupcakes on the middle rack of the oven for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting them.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer add all of the frosting ingredients.
- Beat the frosting starting on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Turn up the speed of the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes with a pastry bag and tip or spread it on with a knife.
- Sprinkle the tops with more chopped pistachios if desired.
Notes
Cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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Connect with Danae:
These are absolutely outstanding!!! Two of my favorite flavor combos! Thanks for introducing me to Danae 🙂
Danae and Ashley, I LOVE green tea/matcha powder!!!! These cupcakes are gorgeous!!!
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Good to see you over here Danae! These cupcakes look amazinh!!
Oh my gosh, Danae…I’m ALL OVER these yummy cupcakes! Love that you infused green tea in the cupcakes and the frosting!
OMG these look amazing!! That frosting looks like it’s TO DIE FOR
These cupcakes look fantastic! Love green tea powder and this is the perfect way to use it!
These cupcakes are gorgeous, Danae! I love the green tea and pistachio combo! The color is so pretty and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Wow, these cupcakes look absolutely stunning! And those flavors just sound SO delicious together!! Pinned 🙂
These cupcakes look perfect for st. patty’s day! I love pistachios and in a cupcake form sounds dreamy. Wish I could jump through the screen and grab a few. 😉 Pinned. Thanks for sharing Ashley & Danae!!!!
These cupcakes look incredible! So creative with the matcha frosting…
So so so pretty! Love the pistachios/matcha! Pinning 🙂
Pistachios and matcha sound like a dessert made in heaven, love the recipe!
Beautiful cupcakes, Danae, and great flavor combo, too!
What an awesome idea for cupcakes! I LOVE the flavor of pistachio… And the color, too!
Dear Ashley, These look marvelous. I love the all the flavors and the natural coloring. These are a keeper. Pinning. xo, Catherine
These are so pretty Danae! I’ll take these over a beer anyday!
What a lovely color! The taste also should be really nice 🙂
I work at Starbucks and sometimes the matcha cloud gets overwhelming when scooping it into lattes or frappuccinos. I love that you only used a little bit in the frosting because a little goes a long way! These look like a really tasty treat for St. Patty’s Day. 🙂
I love this cupcake GREEN on GREEN action…especially when it’s two of my favorite greens! Pistachios and green tea are such a lovely pairing!
Such a great idea to use green tea for the color and flavor! The frosting looks amazing!
Those green tea cupcakes look so so good! I love green tea and I love cupcakes, so I’m thinking that I would love these! Thanks for sharing! i am pinning this recipe for sure!
How pretty are these cupcakes??? I love that they are naturally green 🙂 And I am never one to turn down ANYTHING with pistachios! These sound delicious!
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These look gorgeous! Love the idea of using green tea. Thanks so much for sharing.
Pinned!! Oh my goodness, this looks amazing! Thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful week and please come share and link up with me now!! http://www.wrightsimply.com/2015/03/those-messy-leprechauns-wordless.html
xx Ashleigh @SimplyWright
Happy Thursday and thank you so much for linking up with OMHG WW! Please come and share with us again next week! xx Ashleigh @SimplyWright
Co-Host, Oh My Heartsie Girls Wordless Wednesday Link Up
These are very pretty and it’s so great that you used all natural ingredients.
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These sound amazing- I love pistachio ANYTHING! So glad you linked up at Snickerdoodle Sunday- can’t wait to see your latest makes this weekend!
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
What’s the nutritional facts??
H, Lauren! I don’t post nutritional information, but you can use these recipe calorie calculators: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
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Thank you thank you thank you for this amazingly delicious recipe! It is incredible! Mine turned out beautifully and I popped a white chocolate truffle in the centre! Wonderful texture and a gorgeous flavour, thank you again!
You’re welcome, Suzannah! I am so glad to hear that you loved them. The addition of the white chocolate truffle sounds divine!
Fantastic recipe! Very nice touch with the matcha tea powder!
what is the use of the cornstarch on the recipe? and i dont have whole wheat pastry flour ,what can i substitute for it?
Hi Melody! The cornstarch is used in step 2. You can substitute standard pastry flour for the whole wheat pastry flour.
Hi Danae! Is it possible to replace whole wheat pastry flour with wholemeal flour because their nowhere to be found in my country:( Thanks!
Hi there! If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour I would suggest using half whole wheat/wholemeal flour and half all purpose or regular flour. I use whole wheat pastry specifically when I bake because it yields a lighter and more tender baked good vs. when I use just regular whole wheat flour. Hope this helps and that it works out well for you!
I just made these last week for St. Patrick’s day and they were excellent! I had no Greek yogurt so used 1% sour cream instead. I also used 1% milk. The rest of the recipe I followed except I did not read where it says it makes 8-10 muffins so I squeezed out 11 so they were a tad small. I found the batter somewhat runny so I poured it into a measuring cup with a spout and poured it into the cups which worked well. I rate all my recipes and gave this 10/10. My boyfriend and co-worker also both really liked them. I personally liked it better without the icing. They were nice and dense and moist. Most of all though I really loved the flavor. Once in awhile I treat myself to Coffee Culture’s pistachio muffin which I love but is loaded with fat and calories. This muffin was just as good but included the benefits of low fat dairy, green tea and some whole wheat four. This recipe is a definite keeper for me!