Warning to you… this recipe takes days to make and requires an ice cream machine. The good news is that you can make it significantly easier on yourself by purchasing high-quality ice cream and making only the cake and frosting.
These tasted pretty fantastic, but they were very sweet… which I like. The matcha powder I purchased was very strong and I could definitely taste the green tea. The green tea flavor was the strongest initially, with the honey coming in right behind it. I used stronger, darker honey and the taste was very ‘in your face’. Next time I would use something milder. Interestingly, the lavender came in at the end, not completely overwhelmed by the other strong flavors, making this a relatively complex if cloyingly sweet cupcake experience.
Lavender Ice Cream
3/4 cup half and half or light cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoons lavender flowers, dried
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon flour, all-purpose
pinch of salt 2 drops purple gel food coloring
1. Bring creams and lavender flowers to a gentle simmer for about two minutes then take of heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk sugar and egg yolks until they are thickened and pale yellow. Whisk in the flour.
3. Strain the lavender leaves out of the milk then slowly pour the warm mixture into the eggs while whisking the eggs.
4. Transfer everything back into the pan and gently heat, stirring with a wooden spoon constantly until thickened. Add salt and food coloring and stir to combine.
5. Strain into a bowl and let cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
6. Make the ice cream in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s directions.
lavender ice cream
Honey Ice Cream
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cups half and half or light cream
3/4 cups heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon flour, all-purpose
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1. In a bowl, whisk honey and egg yolks until they are thickened and pale yellow. Whisk in the flour.
2. Bring creams to a gentle simmer pour then slowly pour the warm mixture into the eggs while whisking the eggs.
3. Transfer everything back into the pan and gently heat, stirring with a wooden spoon constantly until thickened. Add salt and stir to combine.
4. Strain into a bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in vanilla. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Make the ice cream in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s directions.
matcha powder
Green Tea or “Matcha” Cupcakes
1/2 sheet pan / 350 degree oven
1 cup (2 sticks) 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
1. Prepare sheet pan by rubbing with butter, covering with parchment, rubbing with more butter, and dusting with flour.
2. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs/egg yolks one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to batter and mix to combine.
6. Mix matcha in with the milk. Add to the batter and mix until combine.
7. Pour into prepared 1/2 sheet pan and smooth flat.
8. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Note: You can use this batter to make straight up green tea cupcakes. Simply scoop into cupcake papers and bake for about the same amount of time.
matcha cake
smoothing out batter
Matcha Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons half and half or light cream
1 tablespoon matcha powder
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
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.
Assemble
1. Cut rounds of cake to fit in the cupcake paper. Put a round in each cupcake paper.
2. Place a scoop of lavender ice cream on top of each round and smooth with the back of a spoon .
3. Place cupcakes in the freezer and chill for 1 hour.
4. Place a scoop of honey ice cream on top of each round and smooth with an offset spatula dipped in hot water.
5. Place cupcakes in the freezer and chill for 1 hour.
6. Smooth a thin layer of buttercream over the cupcakes and top with a decoration. Store in the freezer.
Note: I purchased the cute, pink royal icing flowers at a local cake supply store. This was too much work as it is!
cut disks
place in paper
lavender ice cream layer
honey ice cream layer
freeze
then frost