Filled Matcha Cupcakes

I thought calling May Matcha Month would instantly make it easy for me to bake at least twice a week. I was hoping to pump out recipes one after another until you all were sick of matcha. Alas, that was not the case, and last week was a flop. Sorry for the quiet week, but I'm getting back into the matcha groove now.

I originally wanted to make a mini wedding cake to demonstrate what I wanted for my own (in reality it didn't turn out quite how I'd imagined). But it was probably 10PM when I started baking last night, and I just didn't have it in me to do all that baking and decorating. My decorating skills need lots of practice and knowing how I function late at night (not well), it would not have been a pretty sight.

So here we revisit the matcha cupcakes I made last year with a tiny twist. I recently tried two signature cupcakes from Purple Dots Cupcakes, and I absolutely love them! I've had both red velvet and chocolate with peanut butter frosting, and the thing I love most about them is the frosting in the middle. Jenny of Purple Dots says that's her thing: Frosting in Every Bite! Well, I was inspired and I wanted to put some frosting inside my own cupcakes. I tried two methods: the cone method and via mechanical pastry bag. For reasons unknown, I could not get the mechanical pastry bag to function as supposed to, so the cone method won simply because it worked. I realize I don't have pictures of the cupcakes' insides, but I'll try to work on that.

Filled Matcha Cupcakes
modified from original post

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon matcha

Directions:
1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs/egg yolk, beat for 30 seconds.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, matcha, and salt in a bowl. Add to batter and mix to combine.
5. Add milk to the batter and mix until combine.
6. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake for 25 minutes at 350F degrees until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Fill mechanical pastry bag with matcha frosting (recipe below) and using the filling tip, gently pipe frosting into cupcake from top. Frost cupcake using frosting spatula or your method of choice.
-OR-
7. Using a small pairing knife, cut off the top of the cupcake in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
8. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon of frosting.
9. Replace the top of the cone. Frost cupcake using frosting spatula or your method of choice.

Matcha Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon matcha powder
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Sift together the confectioner's sugar and matcha powder.
1. Beat butter briefly, scrape bowl.
2. Add the sifted sugar and matcha mixture. Beat until smooth.
4. Add milk and continue to add for desired consistency.