Cookbook Challenge: Week 26, Green

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Pandan cupcakes

Cookbook Challenge: Week 26
Theme: Green
Recipe: Pandan Cupcakes & Green tea cupcakes
Adapted from: Primrose Bakery’s Cupcakes

Wow, it’s week 26 of the Cookbook Challenge – and you know what that means, don’t you? We’re half way through the challenge! The theme for this week is “green” and I really like these kind of themes because it’s so open.

This week I really wanted to make something with green tea – but unfortunately I couldn’t find any recipes in any of my cookbooks. So I decided I would bake cupcakes and adapt a recipe for my purposes.

Green tea cupcakes

For the cupcakes, I thought that using matcha powder would be best. However, when I went to the Asian grocery store I couldn’t find it anywhere. Fortunately, I came across a bottle of pandan extract. Perfect – for green week AND cupcakes!

Pandan cupcakes

For the pandan cupcakes, I followed a recipe for vanilla cupcakes, but substituted pandan extract for the vanilla extract. The extract was really green, but I wasn’t sure how strong the colour would be after baking so I added a few drops of green colouring – it was for green week, after all!

Pandan cupcakes

For the frosting, I made pandan flavoured buttercream, piping it on in a rose shape. I didn’t really think it through – green roses?? Maybe I should have tried piping leaves!

Taste wise, I didn’t think that much of the cupcakes. I wish I had used this recipe for vanilla cupcakes which I have always had great success with. I found these cupcakes a bit dry, and they weren’t as fluffy as I would have liked. But the pandan in them was lovely – giving a vanilla-ish, nutty fragrance. I would definitely try using the pandan extract in cakes/cupcakes again, with other recipes.

Green tea cupcakes

For the green tea cupcakes, since I couldn’t find any matcha, I tried infusing milk with green tea. This didn’t work as well as I had hoped – when they were warm and not frosted, there was a faint taste of green tea But when they were cold and with buttercream on top, I couldn’t detect it at all.

Oh well! I’ll have to get my hands on matcha and have another go. Now, who wants some cupcakes??

See previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.

Update: See the round up at My Food Trail.

Pandan cupcakes

Pandan cupcakes

Adapted from the vanilla cupcake recipe in Primrose Bakery’s Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

110g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
125g plain flour, sifted
120ml milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pandan extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for several minutes with an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating well between additions, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Add a third of the flours to the butter mixture and beat on low speed. Add a third of the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added. Add the pandan extract and beat until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcakes cases. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cooked.

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. When completely cool, ice with pandan flavoured buttercream – see recipe below.

Green tea cupcakes

Green tea cupcakes

Adapted from the Earl grey cupcake recipe in Primrose Bakery’s Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

125ml milk, at room temperature
4 teaspoons of green tea leaves (I used sencha)
110g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
125g plain flour, sifted

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.

In a saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add the green tea leaves. Leave to infuse for about 30 minutes. Once infused, strain the milk into a measuring jug. You may need to top up the amount of milk, so do that if necessary.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for several minutes with an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating well between additions, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Add a third of the flours to the butter mixture and beat on low speed. Add a third of the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcakes cases. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cooked.

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. When completely cool, ice with vanilla flavoured buttercream.

Pandan cupcakes


Pandan buttercream


Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

250 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes and very, very soft
3 cups sifted icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pandan extract

Beat the butter in an electric mixer on high until it is very pale and fluffy.

Gradually add the icing sugar (I do this a tablespoon at a t
ime), beating well between additions. Beat until the buttercream is very fluffy – about 5-6 minutes.

Heat the milk in the microwave until it’s very warm. Add to the butter cream and beat on high for another couple of minutes. Add the pandan extract and mix to combine. Pipe on top of the cupcakes.