Thai Tea Cookies

On the same note as my last post, and in addition to taking another stab at the Thai tea cupcakes, I wanted to improve the Thai tea cookie I made last year. I love spritz cookies (why else would I want to make 1600 of them), and I felt my Thai tea version last year needed a stronger tea flavor. To remedy this, I added more Thai tea syrup while reducing the amount of sugar and slightly increasing the amount of flour. Both the flavor and color turned out nicer this time, and I was proud to present them to my dear Thai friend, Ms. Samathananathivananathaichai. That very well could be a Thai last name, but it's just my take on her long last name. Imagine filling that out on a Scantron!

Thai Tea Cookies
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup Thai tea syrup
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. In small bowl, beat yolk and Thai tea syrup with fork until combined; set aside.
2. In standing mixer, cream butter, sugar, and salt at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. With mixer running at medium speed, add yolk/syrup mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
4. With mixer running at low speed, gradually beat in flour until combined. Scrape down bowl and give final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain.
5. Using a cookie press, press cookies onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time.
6. Cool cookies on baking sheet until just warm, 10 to 15 minutes; using metal spatula, transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Thai Tea Cupcakes

Over a year ago, I attempted to make a cupcake with a creamy Thai tea filling. The filling turned out to be a disaster so I was left with a regular cupcake with some Thai tea frosting. I said I would try making them again, but I hadn't until now. It's not the same cupcake; instead of a creamy tea filling, I decided to flavor the cake itself with Thai tea. I used CurrySimple's Thai tea syrup just like last time, and I based the recipe off Cook's Illustrated recipe for yellow cupcakes. I wanted a moist cupcake to make up for omitting the creamy filling.

The main reason I wanted to get the Thai tea cupcake right is because I'm Thai. (How my best friend of 10 years thought I was Taiwanese is beyond me) Now, that may be a silly reason, but really, I like to use food to blend together the different cultures I belong to. I grew up eating a variety of both Thai and American desserts, so now I'm trying to come up with combinations that work. Hopefully, Thai tea cupcakes are just the beginning.

Thai Tea Cupcakes
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Thai Tea Cream Cheese Frosting
from previous post

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/4 cup Thai tea syrup

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini muffin pan with paper.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
3. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.
3. Spoon batter evenly among cups. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes.
4. Use skewer or paring knife to lift cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
5. Pipe Thai tea frosting onto cupcakes and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Matcha Cheesecake

For me not really being a cheesecake fan, I suppose it's a little odd that I made a matcha cheesecake when I've never made a regular cheesecake before. I don't have a scarring cheesecake story like Jenn (imagine eating a sincere attempt at cheesecake using cheddar cheese), I've just never had an awesome cheesecake. If you know of one, please mention it.

Check out the name of this recipe from Cook's Illustrated - Light and Airy Cheesecake. "Light and Airy" sounds so innocent right? It makes it seem as if it were good for you, as if it really were just great tasting clouds of nothing. But (I'm not trying to scare you), take a look at the ingredients. A part of me ignores the fat content I use every time I bake because I know it's not light. However thanks to a couple of butter/cream-loathing friends I have, this other part of me is growing slightly more disgusted with the amount of fat content in my recipes. Throughout this recipe, that side was more prominent.

Regarding flavor, I usually gauge how much matcha to add based on color. With all the creams in this recipe, 1 1/2 tablespoons of matcha was clearly not enough. The color was a pale green and the matcha couldn't really be tasted. I compensated by covering the top with a matcha and powdered sugar coating.

Last note about this cheesecake is about its texture. The texture indeed is light and airy, and was almost mousse-like. Because of that, I'd recommend freezing the cheesecake instead of refrigerating like the directions say. It'll make for easier slicing and serving, trust me.

Matcha Cheesecake
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
2 pounds cream cheese
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs , separated
1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 small lemon, minced
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoon matcha, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons matcha
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325F degrees. Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with foil, tuck foil underneath pan bottom, assemble pan, then pull foil around side of pan.
2. Brush bottom and sides with butter. Sprinkle crumbs over bottom. Tilt pan in all directions to coat evenly with crumbs.
3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add sugar and matcha, beat on medium speed until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
4. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down after each addition, ensuring ingredients stuck at bottom of bowl are fully incorporated so as to avoid lumps. Add zest and vanilla and beat until just incorporated.
5. Remove bowl from mixer; stir in cream and sour cream.
6. Beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold into batter.
7. Bake until perimeter of cake is set, but center jiggles like Jell-O when pan is tapped, 45 to 50 minutes. Turn off heat and leave oven door ajar, using a long-handled kitchen fork or spoon to hold it open for 1 hour longer.
8. Remove springform pan; cool to room temperature.
9. Sift together 2 Tb matcha and 2Tb powdered sugar on top of cheesecake. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours. (Can be refrigerated up to 4 days.)

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.

Matcha Icebox Cookies

I've made the matcha spritz cookies dozens of times, but for some reason, I never thought to work from a different butter cookie base recipe until now. I started with a basic icebox recipe from Martha Stewart's archives, and added my standard tablespoon of matcha, and voilà: it's a completely different cookie.

Coincidentally, Tim and I recently had a conversation about the important role refrigerators play in our life. I remember going to a student's apartment in China where the kitchen didn't have a fridge. They didn't cook much because it's extremely hard to with that kind of limitation, but also because cheap (and great!) food was plentiful on every corner of every street. Well, I am grateful for my fridge and that it's advanced far from the old icebox. Technically, these cookies should be called Refrigerator Cookies, but I guess it's just one of those things that are still named after obsolete technology. Like a stock ticker. Wow, that's the best I could come up with, but I know there are other things we still call by their obsolete origins. Help?

Matcha Icebox Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Tablespoon matcha
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Sift together flour, confectioners' sugar, matcha and salt in a large bowl.
2. Use food processor or hands to mix butter into flour mixture until mixture is the texture of coarse meal.
3. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla; add to . Process just until a dough forms
4. Divide dough in half; form into two 2-inch square logs, each approximately 5 1/2 inches long. Wrap logs in waxed paper; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. You may also freeze dough up to 2 months.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough crosswise, 3/16 inch thick; carefully transfer slices to baking sheets.
6. Bake until edges are firm (not brown), 10 to 15 minutes. Cool 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheets; cool completely on a rack.

Matcha (White) Chocolate Chip Cookies

My parents were in town this past weekend, and the second they stepped into our apartment, my mom said quickly, "more green cookies??" Because of our matcha cookie overload in March, she thought I would be sick of matcha cookies, but really, how could I be? Plus, this was a completely different recipe. To start out Matcha Month, I chose to put a matcha spin on Martha Stewart's soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. And though I personally prefer the combination of matcha with regular (or even dark) chocolate, I know some prefer matching it with white chocolate, so I took care of both preferences.

Matcha (White) Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon matcha
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet or white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, matcha, and baking soda; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.
3. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

May is Matcha Month

If you've been here before, you should already know that I love matcha. I love its taste, its health benefits, the memories I associate with it, and the versatility of its flavor. I love it so much, our wedding theme was inspired by it. Actually, there are even more reasons why I love it, so I'm dedicating the entire month of May to matcha! All month long, I'll be making an assortment of new matcha recipes to showcase my absolute favorite ingredient. May is a perfect time to do this because the weather's warming up and we're seeing more green all around. For more green in your baked goods to match, please check back here. May is Matcha Month at Talida Bakes!

[edit] Love the suggestions so far! Keep them coming, no matter how crazy they may be. :)

Wedding Favors: Matcha Cookies

Well, it happened already. Tim and I tied the knot in Houston, TX on March 8, and we've since begun our new life together in LIC (Long Island City). And the wedding? It honestly could not have gone any better. I'd really love to go into the details, but I'm going to hold off for now. Check back later for that post.

As for this post, first I'm dedicating it to my mom, who graciously put up with my crazy idea to give homemade matcha cookies as wedding favors. We initially tried to find a bakery that would bake my recipe for us, and after a trial run with them, we decided ours tasted much better. Plus, I made my own bridal shower favors, so why not do the wedding favors as well? Oh boy..

Everything was prepared the week before the wedding, and we even did a sample batch Tuesday night. That first batch was rough - under my bossy reign, we only made about 200 that night. But after a good night's rest and after my mom got me to lose the bossiness, we started again early the next morning. For about 7 hours straight, the kitchen became a matcha cookie factory, and Tim and my dad were even helping with the packaging.

In the end, I'm happy we made them ourselves. A lot of love went into those 1600 cookies, and I was amused to hear that our guests were arguing with each other whether we bought or made the cookies. For those who were still wondering... yes, my wonderful mom and I made them. And here's the recipe.

Matcha Cookies
original post

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tb matcha
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 375°F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, tea flavoring of choice, and salt and continue beating until well mixed. Using a spoon, stir in the flour until blended.
4. Pack the cookie dough into a cookie press according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fit with the desired-shaped cookie plate and press the dough out onto ungreased baking sheets or sheets lined with Silpat nonstick liners, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart.
5. Bake until the cookies are light golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool. Makes 40 to 60 cookies.

Chocolate Matcha Marble Loaf

My goodness, this blog sure is dusty and covered in virtual spiderwebs. Life for me has changed so much since the last time I updated. The highlights: I'm getting married next spring, and I moved to New York! You'd think being here would inspire me to bake more, but... well, I have a good excuse. Really. I actually moved twice since July. The first move was to a tiny sublet in Upper East Side, and being so tiny, I couldn't unpack most my boxes. As a result, all my baking supplies have been stored away for the past 4 months, not getting any love from me. Fast forward to my most recent move to Long Island City, where I'm now in the place where Tim and I will settle when we're married. I'm relieved I can finally unpack things, settle in, and throw away the moving boxes I've held onto for the past few years, readily awaiting the next move. Now I have decorating on my mind in addition to wedding planning, which gets quite distracting. Especially when it comes to my blog reading. Wow, there are so many fantastic bakers, designers, brides, and just everyday people out there that inspire me daily. It makes me feel a little guilty about not baking and blogging more, but... well, I'm working on that now, aren't I?

Anyway, if you don't remember, I'm in love with matcha, so when I saw Béa's recipe for Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Cakes, I had to try it. But in loaf form.

Chocolate Matcha Marble Loaf
adapted from La tartine Gourmande

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup butter
4 large eggs
4 oz chocolate 70% cocoa
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cold milk
2 tablespoons matcha
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 4 mini-loaf pans and coat with flour.
2. Melt the butter and keep.
3. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler.
4. Sift unsweetened cocoa and dilute with milk
5. Beat the eggs with the sugar until white in color.
6. Add the melted the butter to eggs and sugar and mix well.
7. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, with a pinch of salt.
8. Divide the batter in two halves. In the first half, add the matcha, in the second the chocolate and cocoa diluted in milk.
9. In each loaf pan, pour in equal proportions of chocolate batter and then matcha batter. Swirl a butter knife through the batter to create marbled effect.
10. Bake for 30 minutes.

Taro, Matcha, and Thai Tea Cookies

Three flavors I love to use (and have used in previous posts) are taro, matcha, and thai tea. I've been on a little quest to come up with as many recipes using those flavors, especially since I bought the tea ingredients in bulk and don't want them to go to waste. Here they reappear in a cookie form. I got a cookie press a couple years ago, and since it's only been used once or twice, I wanted to put it to use this weekend. Both the taro and matcha cookies turned out with a nice strong flavor, but I couldn't taste the thai tea in the thai tea cookie. Next time I'll definitely play around with the recipe to get a more pronounced thai tea flavor.

Taro/Matcha/Thai Tea Cookies
adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tb taro bubble tea powder, 1 Tb matcha, or 3 Tb thai tea syrup (if using thai tea syrup, add about 1/2 cup flour extra)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 375°F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, tea flavoring of choice, and salt and continue beating until well mixed. Using a spoon, stir in the flour until blended.
4. Pack the cookie dough into a cookie press according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fit with the desired-shaped cookie plate and press the dough out onto ungreased baking sheets or sheets lined with Silpat nonstick liners, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart.
5. Bake until the cookies are light golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool. Makes 40 to 60 cookies.

Taro Mousse

This is a first for me - participating in Hay Hay It's Donna Day! I do adore Donna Hay, and I also adore all the previous hosts of this event. I've been a long time reader of Helen's at tartelette, and when I saw she was hosting HHDD #11, I had to join in on the fun.

















My attempt at a mousse was this taro mousse. My love for all things tea inspired me to make a mousse that resembled one of my favorite drinks - taro bubble tea.

With previous taro recipes, I found working with fresh taro gave me a headache since the flavor wasn't the same as the taro bubble tea flavor I was expecting. This time, I decided to try it with what actually goes into making the taro bubble tea - taro bubble tea powder. (Similarly, almond bubble tea is made with... almond bubble tea powder!) I can't say for sure that all bubble tea shops make their drinks this way, but I have an inkling many do.

Taro Mousse

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
3 Tb taro bubble tea powder
1 Tb sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 heavy cream
1 pack gelatin
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Dissolve gelatin in water by sprinkling gelatin over water, set aside.
2. Heat milk, bringing to a boil. Mix sugar and taro bubble tea powder into milk, remove from heat.
3. Whisk egg yolks, and slowly pour into the milk mixture. Stir gelatin mixture into milk and egg mixture.
4. Place bowl of milk mixture inside a larger bowl with ice. Stir until mixture thickens, remove from ice.
5. Beat heavy cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the tea mixture.
6. Spoon mousse into 4 glasses or ramekins, cover, then chill overnight.
7. When serving, bring to room temperature, and garnish with white chocolate shavings.

Matcha Kasutera

I really enjoy working with teas for baking. I have many many more recipes for tea cakes/cookies/etc. lined up waiting to be made. This sponge cake is something I've always wanted to create, especially since I've grown up eating the store bought ones. It went okay for my first try. Unfortunately, now my matcha supply is dwindling down to the last bits...

Matcha Kasutera (Japanese green tea sponge cake)
adapted from Susan Fuller Slack

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 large eggs, separated
1 cup cake flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon matcha

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 C). Use parchment to line the bottom of mini loaf pans. Grease the parchment. In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt into egg yolks. Place bowl in a large pan of hot water. With an electric mixer, beat about 5 minutes on medium-high speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume. Gently fold in sifted flour.
2. Wash beaters. In a large bowl, beat egg whites in electric mixer on a low speed 1 minute, increasing speed to medium-high. When foamy, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon sugar and cream of tartar. Beat until stiff but not dry. With a spatula, fold the egg whites in thirds. Pour batter into pan. Tap gently on the counter to remove air bubbles.
3. Bake on middle rack of oven 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. When done, cake sides will pull away from pan slightly; top will be flat and feel spongy when pressed with finger. Cool 20 minutes. Run a small knife between edge of cake and pan. Remove from pan carefully. Pull off parchment and cool completey. Serve or store airtight.

Matcha Cupcakes

Here's another recipe from chockylit's cupcakeblog. This was the first cupcake recipe of hers that I've been dying to try out. I even had a friend from California purchase and send me the exact brand of matcha used from his local Whole Foods because unfortunately, they don't carry the brand on the east coast. I was very pleased with the whole cupcake, especially the frosting. I think it tastes like green tea ice cream. Yum.

Matcha Cupcakes
slightly adapted from cupcakeblog

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons 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 yolks one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to batter and mix to combine.
5. Mix matcha in with the milk. Add to the batter and mix until combine.
6. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 60 mini cupcakes.

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

Directions:
1. Mix matcha in with the light cream to make a paste.
2. Beat butter briefly, scrape bowl.
3. Add the sifted powdered sugar and matcha paste. Beat until smooth.
4. Continue to add milk for desired consistency.

Faux-Thai Tea Cupcakes

I'm a big fan of chockylit's cupcakeblog, and this was my first attempt at making her Thai Tea cupcakes. Unfortunately, they didn't turn out my first time. I messed up the very essence of the cupcake, the thai tea filling, so I went ahead and omitted the filling. Which is why I called them faux-thai tea cupcakes. Lesson learned: take your time! I started baking late at night, and while I was testing the cupcakes to see if they were ready to come out, I let the creamy filling burn on the stove.

There will be a next attempt, I promise.

Thai Tea Cupcakes
from cupcakeblog

Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large egg whites

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. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
4. Measure out vanilla and milk together.
5. Add about a third of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
6. Add about one half the milk mixture and beat until combined.
7. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture. Transfer to a bowl.
8. Clean mixer bowl well and dry thoroughly.
9. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form.
10. Mix in about a half cup of egg whites in to the batter, then fold the batter into the egg whites, gently until all egg whites streaks are gone.
11. Scoop into cupcake papers about two thirds full.
12. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 15 regular cupcakes.

Thai Tea Creamy Filling
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup CurrySimple Thai Tea syrup
4 large egg yolks

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, flour, and salt together and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, bring milk and Thai Tea syrup to simmer over medium-low heat.
4. Pour about a half cup of the milk over the dry mixture and mix to combine.
5. Transfer back into the pan and continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. About 5 minutes.
6. Slowly add a small amount of the hot mixture to the eggs and mix to combine. Transfer back into the pan and continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
7. Transfer to a bowl, let cool for 10 minutes. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

Thai Tea Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8-ounce package Phili cream cheese
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons CurrySimple Thai Tea syrup
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:
1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.
3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.
4. Add half of the sugar and 1/4 cup of Thai tea syrup. Beat until combined.
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. Add more syrup to get to the flavor you want. I added 2 more tablespoons.

Assemble:
1. 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.
2. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon of cream filling.
3. Replace the top of the cone.
4. Frost then sprinkle with crushed Thai tea leaves.