In college, I made a ton of new friends and acquaintances. But after graduation, work, distance and life gets in the way and I lost touch with a lot of them. I may have a whole bunch of facebook friends, but I'm sure you can guess how many of those I consider friends in real life.
I'm very thankful for the friends I see and spend time with on a regular basis, especially the friends that are always willing to try my new recipes. The friends that think all my desserts are amazing and delicious-- those friends are the greatest. And Viet is definitely one of those friends. He's one of my best friends. He pretty much knows all my downfalls and weaknesses, but I can rest assured that he would never ever in a million years use it against me.
And a best friend deserves more than the usual cupcake flavors (chocolate, vanilla, yellow cake). I wanted to make something new, something exciting, something that doesn't come in a box mix. I usually get requests for red velvet cakes with cream cheese frostings for birthdays (so boring to do and it makes my sink red). Instead, I thought it would be really fun to try out black sesame seed cupcakes with matcha cream cheese frosting.
Not only are the cupcakes visually appealing, they are just as delicious. The nutty flavors of black sesame pairs really well with the tart cream cheese and mellow matcha. Plus, the color palate of these cupcakes are more guy friendly.
recipe please :o) they look yummy, and i had bought black seasame seeds wanting to make the same thing
ReplyDeleteI used black sesame seed powder/flour. It is available at Asian markets or you can grind the seeds until they are fine.
ReplyDeleteBlack Sesame Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Delicious Coma
makes 12 cupcakes
4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
6 oz. sugar
1/4 c. black sesame seed powder/flour
1 extra large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla paste
1/4 tsp. salt
5 1/2 oz all purpose flour
2/3 c. milk
Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the black sesame powder, egg, and vanilla paste. Mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt and all purpose flour. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk on low-med speed. Repeat. Beat on med-high for 1 minute until fully combined. Divide batter between 12 prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minute until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center. Remove cupcakes from tin and let cool on rack. Begin preparing frosting. Once cupcakes are cool. Use apple corer/melon baller/fat end of piping tip to create a shallow cavity on top of cupcake.
Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz unsalted butter, room temp
6 oz confectioner's sugar, or more if you want stiffer frosting
8 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp. matcha green tea powder, or more to taste
Cream butter with paddle. Add confectioner's sugar and beat until combined. Slowly add cream cheese. Mix until combined. Add matcha powder and beat until fully incorporated.
Prepare a piping bag with a medium star tip. Place frosting in prepared bag and fill the cavity until it reaches the top of the cupcake. Pipe a large rosette to cover the hole. Sprinkle the top with black sesame seeds.
Store cupcakes in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Thes look awesome! Can't wait to try it out. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCupcakes are more like a muffin, but so damn good. I will so make these again but I will probably tweek it a bit to try to get a more cakee-like texture.
ReplyDelete