Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Frosting

Green is the new red when it comes to cupcakes ? try this delicious combination of traditional Japanese flavours.
Ingredients
Serves: 12
For the cake mix:
- 90g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100g butter
- 100g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 10g matcha powder
For the frosting:
- 350g sweet potato
- 200ml full fat milk
- 125ml double cream
- 30g caster sugar
- 2 or 3 drops of vanilla essence
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas 4.
- Sift the flour, matcha powder and baking powder together. Beat the butter until soft.
- Fold the flour mixture, eggs and sugar into the butter and beat.
- Spoon the mixture into cake cases. Fill the cases to about two-thirds to prevent cake explosion.
- Bake for 16 minutes or until the cake tops spring back when lightly touched with the back of a fork.
- Take out and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- As the cakes are cooling, remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the pieces in cold water.
- Drain, put the sweet potato pieces into a pan, and add 100ml milk. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, then add the rest of the milk, stirring slowly.
- Break up the sweet potato pieces with the back of a spatula, and remove the pan from the heat.
- Press the sweet potatoes through a small-meshed sieve with a spatula (you can cheat and use a blender).
- Add 30g of caster sugar to the double cream and whip for approximately 7 minutes, until the cream is thick enough to stand up in peaks.
- Add the whipped cream to the sweet potato paste and mix well. Add two or three drops of vanilla essence.
- Scoop into a piping bag and pipe over the green tea cupcakes. Decorate with whole boiled azuki beans.