niner bakes
#MatchaMunchMonday is what it is today! Oh well I just made that up! :)
A general cupcake recipe is already good enough to blog about – no wait, it is perfect to blog about.
But I added a lovely ingredient that makes it even greater! It even has a healthy touch to it!
Have you ever heard of Matcha – Green tea?
Well, THE green tea of all!
Matcha is the most exciting discovery I made this past year. Let me just say this: I usually never drank tea at all, only when I was sick with the flu.
I used to be a coffee girl. With lots of milk. Now that I do not drink milk anymore (at least trying to eliminate it whenever I can), I had to find a great alternative – and what I found was one of the healthiest beverages on the planet. Too dramatic? :)
I get hyped when I find something simply amazing.
Since I am all into superfoods, I do my research regularly. I discovered Matcha last year and do not want to miss it – not a single day, just like green smoothies!
It’s a habit you want to keep.
Now I finally get to share this amazing green tea with you!
Matcha is not new at all, in fact it was created over 800 years ago. Buddhist monks drink Matcha as a meditational drink. It is the rarest and most premium of all tea varieties of Japan.
Why?
Matcha tea leaves grow very slowly in shaded tea plantations, yes shaded! Isn’t that awesome?
They put a lot of effort in it. The shade stimulates an increase of the chlorophyl in the tea leaves, the leaves turn into dark shades of green and they produce lots of antioxidants and amino acids, L-Theanine for example – SO good our bodies, our health!
Afterwards, the fresh leaves are dried and milled by granite stones, into this ultra fine and bright green powder. Yes green powder – it differs from regular tea, because you consume THE WHOLE leaf, you drink all the nutrients – I was so fascinated and still am.
Now that’s when I knew: It makes sense to drink tea now. It is so healthy, it is not even funny.
Every morning I take my sweet Kleen Kanteen Bottle with me and drink my beloved Matcha Latte at work.
(See here photos from my Instagram account):
Or at home while sitting on the couch:
The whole preparation of Matcha tea is so fun!
Et voilá, so beautiful! I LOVE my matcha with rice milk, or coconut rice milk: Matcha Latte!
Matcha gets whisked with a bamboo whisk and the result is absolutely amazing. I usually make Matcha Latte, with rice milk or coconut-rice milk – no need for coffee anymore.
Matcha is a great source of energy! 3 – 4 hours of energy needed? No problem!
In Japan it is totally common to put matcha in almost everything! Chocolate, candy, ice-cream, cakes, smoothies and lattes…the list goes on and on. I hope for this trend to grow – I would love to grab me a cup of Matcha Latte anywhere – not just at home. If you are on instagram, make sure to search for the hashtag “matcha” – You’ll be amazed by the results!
Which Matcha?
I tried a couple of brands out. But nothing satisfied me more than Aiya Matcha. It’s available worldwide – so make sure to give it a try – plus the people behind are super nice, make sure to follow them on Facebook, so fun to see what they share each and every day.
How matcha green can YOU get?
On April 17th 2014 Aiya Matcha is calling everyone who’s on social media to post about your green moments on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
It would be so awesome if you’ll be a part of it:
It can be anything: Green cupcakes, green cake pops, green cake in general, green drinks or smoothies, green clothes, your gorgeous green tea face mask, fresh green grass…
Post anything green and please use these hashtags so we all can see your greenie photos:
#matchagreen #ninermatcha
I am SO looking forward to see many many green posts from you!
Matcha green is the new black indeed :)
P.S.
I am totally ready for spring now!
- Prep Time 10 minutes
- Baking Time approx. 20 minutes
- Difficulty Easy
- Servings 10
For the Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Matcha green tea:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (or regular, I used whole wheat)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cups raw cane sugar (or regular)
- 1/4 cups of vegetable oil
- 3/4 cups of rice milk, coconut/rice milk, almond milk, soy milk etc. – I used coconut/rice milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp. of vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Matcha powder – my absolute favorite is Aiya Matcha – I used Matcha for Cooking by Aiya. I recommend to use definitely less than 1 tbsp. for a less intense flavor of the matcha.
Note:
For more cupcake decorating tips and techniques, please click here.
- 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees / 180 G Celsius and prepare your cupcake pan with 10 cupcake liners of your choice.
- 2. In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and your raw cane sugar. Make sure everything is combined.
- 3. Add your remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed until well blended and incorporated.
- 4. Now fill your cupcake liners with your batter (rather thin batter), I am using a pitcher so fill the batter in easily. Bake your vegan cupcakes for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You can also test your cupcakes like this: Press them lightly and when they bounce back, they are ready to take out the oven.
- 5. Let cupcakes cool for a couple of minutes before you remove them from the pan. Let cool completely on a plate or wire rack.
Here’s a quick pictorial for you guys:
That color is so lovely!!
Vegan Vanilla version without matcha: for everyone who likes their matcha in the frosting (that would be me haha)
Matcha Green…puuurfect!
And here’s a yummy vegan vanilla frosting on top for you guys:
For the vegan vanilla frosting:
- 2 cups vegan butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp. vanilla extract
- Matcha – your choice how much you put into the frosting, I would start with a teaspoon and taste it.
Note:If you want A LOT of frosting, to practice piping, making high swirls, use this recipe. If you do not need as much, please use half of it!
- 1. Mix the vegan butter on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until very light and fluffy. Vegan butter itself is rather pale so your result will be such a wonderful white frosting
- 2. Gradually pour in the powdered sugar, bit by bit. Mix on low to medium speed until everything is incorporated.
- 3. Add your vanilla extract and give it a taste. Add more if you feel like it.
- 4. And your vegan frosting is done! I have to say: It is delicious!! Usually I add cream cheese to a lot of my frosting to make it less sweet. But that was not necessary here. I love this taste. And: no animal products in it, SO GOOD!
Quick pictorial:
I made three various shades of green and piped them (three piping bags) on top of each other. A gum ball on top was a must :)
Mhmm..yummy
Mini Cupcakes – I love those.
Closer…that frosting is really good, peeps! :)
Wish you all a sweet and blessed start into the new week!
Don’t forget to post your greeeen photos! How Matcha Green can YOU get, hm?? :)
#ninermatcha #matchagreen
Many blessings,
niner
Danke danke danke <3 wahhh die muss ich gleich ausprobieren!!
Hallo,
Ich finde die vorgestellten Ideen klingen sehr lecker! Ich werde mich wohl auch gleich mal daran ausprobieren.
Für all diejenigen die noch weitere Ideen mit Matcha suchen, habe ich eine gute Seite, in denen auch 5 Top Rezepte vorgestellt werden.
Für alle Interessierten habe ich hier den link: http://matcha-tee-kaufen.net/top-5-matcha-rezepte/
yummy, yummy, tasty tasty
I’m going to have to try this, I love tea, but have never heard of this before.
Oh I have to try these! I’m looking forward to trying matcha to drink first, for sure! Tried at one little store the other day, and will try at our local health food store this week. I’m looking forward to it!
Love, love love your matcha cupcakes – beautiful! xo
Hey Niner,
ich muss schon sagen, ich habe bis jetzt noch nichts von Matcha gehört und du hast mein Interesse geweckt. Vor allem, weil ich auch immer weniger Kaffee trinke und sowieso gern Tee trinke!
Bin gerade auf der AIYA Seite und sehe es gibt da verschiedene Sorten. Welche Sorte kannst du empfehlen. Ich überlege, ob ich mir ein Matcha Set, Silber Edition hole, in welchem gleich alles drin ist. So für den Anfang ;)
Übrigens toller Blog, mach weiter so!
Liebste Grüße Bea
Liebe Bea,
das freut mich sehr, ich finde so ein Starter-Set ist super, ich persönlich trinke sehr gern den Hikari oder auch die Premium Variante.
Und Matcha Latte ist super für zwischendurch. In der Silber Edition ist ja auch der Hikari dabei, find ich toll und kann es dir wärmstens empfehlen :)
Ich freue mich auf Feedback – darfst gern berichten :)
Liebste Grüße an Dich und viel Vergnügen beim Ausprobieren.
niner
Niner,
I didn’t know there was Vegan butter! I have a friend that is vegan, so I’ll have to bookmark this one for her. A little off topic, do you find that Germans try to use vanilla extract? If they don’t have it, what would you suggest to substitute? I’m in Hamburg and have just gotten used to using vanilla sugar for all German recipes, and the extract for American ones.
Hi Robin,
oh yes of course there is vegan butter, it is SO good!
Germans do not use a lot of vanilla extract, more vanilla powder/sugar, which I do not like, it is not the same but it works and I would use that. There is vanilla extract available in Germany though. At Edeka, Real, etc.
Many blessings to you and sorry for the late response.
niner
Hello, I love the cupcakes so yummy and different, In my country (Guatemala) it is really hard to get vegan butter, what do you recommend I use as a substitute or do you have another way to make vegan frosting? Thank you
Hi Vera,
you cannot get margarine in Guatemala? It is probably not listed as “vegan” but most margarines are vegan. There are many recipes online which contain coconut oil as well, which is perfect for frostings. Please google “vegan frostings” and you will be amazed by the outcome. I do not have any on the blog yet.
Wishing you a sweet day!
I really like your recipe and will try it myself soon. And the idea on kleen kanten bottle and matcha latte….just great for this summer and all matcha addicts out there.
take care :)
Hi there, thanks so much for your comment and for stopping by.
I really love my Matcha lattes, every day. Sending many blessings around your way :-)