Coconavo Matcha Cupcakes: A delicious failed experiment (BTW I'm 21!)
- Amy Yu
- Jun 27, 2015
- 5 min read
So yesterday I turned 21, for real. (Awww yeahh bring on the legal booze! Except the booze part was quite unexciting because I was already legal. Ponder on that!) To make things complicated, I sort of have two birthdays. Long story short, the birthday on my legal documents is a few months earlier than my real birthday because my parents wrote an earlier birthday thinking that it would allow me to go to school a year earlier. Turns out, it didn’t make a difference because I ended up attending school in America instead of China but I got stuck with the fake birthday regardless. Anyway, I didn’t have any alcohol on my 21st birthday, sorry to disappoint. My day was about as tame as Grandma’s homemade dumplings sans hot sauce. Read: still delicious.
I woke up early and decided to bake cupcakes, hence this blog post. Now most people might think that the birthday girl shouldn’t be baking her own cake but the only reason that I allowed myself to bake was because it was my birthday. I’ve been trying to lay off the baking to focus on studying for the DATs. That’s not to say I haven’t been in the kitchen all summer. I’ve been cooking dinner from scratch every night so I definitely spend a fair share of my time making food every day. Yesterday was definitely a special day because I didn’t cook dinner and I got to spend time making “not real food” aka dessert.
My birthday dinner was at Doolittle’s, a restaurant chain in MN/ND that’s known for its wood fire cooking. I went with my mom and our family friends Jackie and Roger. We got Walleye fingers and fried calamari for appetizer, my mom and I split the Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad and Prime Rib French Dip for the entrée, and I got the Molten Nirvana for dessert, complementary since I was the birthday girl. (It’s a good thing they didn’t check my ID aha.) Everything was on point, especially the fresh, crispy appetizers and the decadent dessert. The Molten Nirvana was a chocolate molten lava cake served with a generous amount of vanilla bean ice cream. I usually feel like the ice cream to cake ratio is too low when I eat restaurant desserts but I didn’t have that problem here. The ratio was perfect, and I finished the last bite of gooey cake with the last bite of smooth ice cream. Doolittle’s is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Fargo.
Back to the cupcakes, my inspiration largely came from my desire to use a few specific ingredients that I already had on hand. I sort of like to play solo ‘Chopped’ when I cook/bake and yesterday my “basket” contained a can of coconut milk, an avocado, and Matcha powder. The recipe definitely needs some tweaking. I’m not completely happy with the result, but considering that it was my first attempt at something of this sort, it wasn’t a complete fail. The cupcakes tasted great; moist, tender, not too sweet, and with hints of green tea. The frosting tasted really good too, light yet rich and creamy.
The main problem was aesthetics. Here's a look at that sad cross section:
The batter was bright green when I put it in the oven but the avocado likely oxidized as it baked, causing it to turn an ugly brown. I imagine that if I blenderized a big chunk of my lawn with garden soil it would be that exact brown; yes so appetizing. Actually it's not that horrible, but I wanted it to look green like green tea, not a bran muffin. I might try adding a bit of lemon juice to the avocado if I ever revisit this recipe. Let me know if you have other suggestions as well! The frosting also needs a makeover. It was a bit too runny and definitely wouldn’t hold its shape for pipetting. It also melted quickly at room temperature but that’s probably just the nature of coconut oil. I might try increasing the ratio of coconut oil to coconut cream but again, please let me know if you have any suggestions! Here’s the recipe anyway. If anything, the cupcakes could pass for super tasty muffins. Happy munching!
Coconavo Matcha Cupcakes
Makes 15
Ingredients:
1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled in the fridge overnight
1 tbsp. Matcha green tea powder, divided
¼ cup coconut oil
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ripe medium avocado
1 1/3 cups All-purpose flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup avocado oil
Sprinkles, optional but highly recommended
Preparation:
1. Skim the solid fat layer from the coconut milk and place in a medium microwave safe bowl, being very careful not to scoop up any of the clear liquid below. Reserve the remaining liquid from the coconut milk. The solid should equal about ½ cup and the liquid should equal about 1 cup. You should have some solid coconut fat left in the liquid portion.
2. Add ½ tsp. Matcha powder, coconut oil, and powdered sugar. Stir to combine. Microwave on high until the mixture liquefies, about 1 minute. Stir again until the mixture is homogenous. Let come to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until solid, at least 4 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 15 muffin cups with cooking spray.
4. Puree the avocado flesh with the remaining 1 cup liquid and fat from the coconut milk in a blender.
5. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, remaining 2 ½ tsp. Matcha powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
6. With a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the eggs and granulated sugar on high until thick and pale, about 5-7 minutes. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the avocado oil.
7. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the avocado mixture in two additions with the mixer on low, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
8. Divide among the prepared muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, or until the tops are browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
9. Whip the coconut oil mixture with a stand mixer or hand mixer on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate again until firm, about 2 hours.
10. When ready to eat, spread a generous dollop of frosting on top of each cupcake and sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles. Store leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
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