Two superfoods in one tasty cupcake? Why not. In this creation, the green tea actually takes a back seat to the pomegranate whose tart flavor takes center stage. The pomegranate flavor really shines is in the frosting (and the many pomegranates I topped each cupcake with)…
I wanted to celebrate the pomegranate’s tartness and ended up with what I will describe as a pomegranate foam. The texture may be off-putting to some, but the end result was indeed a not-overly-sweet, tart “frosting” as envisioned.
Covering the whole cupcake with seeds had its pros and cons. On the good side, it covers up the frosting which isn’t so pleasing to the eye and makes for a gorgeous cupcake. On the not-so-good side, pomegranate seeds in abundance are odd from a texture standpoint, but you could take a cue from my daughter and pick each one off and eat them before tearing into the cupcake itself.
I definitely think these cupcakes could make an awesome holiday display!
Pomegranate Green Tea Cupcakes
12 cupcakes / 350 degree oven
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons green tea (matcha) powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
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 egg/egg yolk one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha in a bowl.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Fold in pomegranate seeds.
7. Scoop into cupcake cups about 2/3s full. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Note: Normally I would get fresh, whole pomegranates and deal with the messiness of removing the seeds. Recently both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s started carrying fresh pomegranate seeds. I find them to be reliable sources of pomegranate seeds and recommend that route when you need them in bulk.
Pomegranate Foam
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon sugar (plus more to taste)
3 egg whites
1. Heat pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling. Reduce to a simmer.
2. Simmer mixture until its reduced by half about 5-8 minutes.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of your electric mixer with the whisk attachment until foamy, about 3 minutes.
4. Slowly pour the very hot, reduced pomegranate juice into the egg whites while whisking at medium speed.
5. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until the mixture cools, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Assembly
1. Top each cooled cupcake with pomegranate foam. A pastry bag with a large tip simplifies this.
2. Cover each frosted cupcake with pomegranate seeds. The more the merrier.
