Open (Your Mouth To) Sesame (Matcha Cupcakes)

Some days it feels like my head's not screwed on all the way. I seem to muck up all sorts of tasks, even the ones that usually bring comfort through their familiarity. Like baking up a batch of cupcakes. This time they were to be black sesame matcha (green tea) flavored for September's caffeine-themed Cupcake Hero challenge. The first wave of trouble hit when I attempted an ambitious photo of the ingredients. As you'll see below, it turned out to require balancing skills beyond what I possess -- oops!

Well I cleaned up the mess and forged onward. So determined was I, in fact, that I ignored the fact that my batter looked thin enough for crepes... Only after pulling a gooey mess (yep, another one) out of the oven did it dawn on me that I'd forgotten to decrease the liquid when I halved the original recipe. As I dumped my rawcakes into the garbage, I couldn't help but wonder if my mind had gone on vacation without the rest of me. Have you guys had days like this, too?

It took 2 days for the shame to wear off, but I did try again and apparently second time's the charm. The cakes rose high and fluffy and were filled with the distinct nuttiness of sesame. The matcha cream cheese frosting was also a success. Tangy and just sweet enough to offset the bitter edge of green tea but firm enough to pipe, thanks to a new method using cold cream cheese. What a relief it'll be not to choose anymore between flavorful but goopy or thicker but tooth-ache inducing frosting!

Some of you may not be familiar with black sesame, so I'll leave you with a lil' background info. Personally, I don't feel it's very different from white sesame as whole seeds. Both are used primarily for their look and crunchiness. But when ground, black sesame has a richer and slightly more bitter flavor that I find delicious. I was introduced to it early on in Chinese treats like sweet rice dumplings (tang yuan) with a sesame filling and a pudding-like soup (zi ma hu) many Chinese believe to prevent gray hair (I doubt that works, but the seed is high in calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus.). Now that I've also found these cupcakes and other creative uses for it (e.g., in panna cotta or macarons with nutella), black sesame will definitely be appearing frequently in my kitchen.

Black Sesame Matcha Cupcakes [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Delicious Coma
Makes 12 cupcakes

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I actually used 36 g of a pre-ground black sesame powder but still followed the same toasting and grinding process. Both whole and ground seeds are available at well-stocked Asian grocers. If you're able to find and use the powder, be sure to keep a close eye on it in the pan. The frosting recipe below made a little more than needed to frost the cupcakes you see in the photos. Scale the recipe up or down, if you usually prefer more or less frosting. This method makes for a firmer cream cheese frosting than is common and should be pipeable.

6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup black sesame seeds PLUS extra for garnish
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups (155 g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup PLUS 3 Tbsp milk

Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting (Recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with 12 baking liners.

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan on the stove over medium heat, stirring them constantly, until they are fragrant (about 2 minutes). Crush toasted seeds with a mortar and pestle OR spice grinder until they are the texture of damp sand and set aside. Separately, sift the dry ingredients into a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the ground sesame seeds, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually beat in half the dry ingredients. Add the milk and mix well. Lastly, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until batter is well-combined and smooth.

Fill cupcake liners until they are about 2/3 full (I like to use my large cookie scoop for this). Lift the pan 1-inch above the kitchen counter and carefully slam it down to expel any large air bubbles in the batter. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan as soon as safely possible. Cool completely before frosting as desired. Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with extra sesame seeds.

Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 to 2 cups (4 to 8 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted (more if needed)
10 ounces cream cheese, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 tsp matcha (green tea) powder, or to taste

Sift powdered sugar and matcha together into a small bowl. In a larger mixing bowl, cream the butter, powdered sugar mixture, and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Add the cream cheese, a chunk at a time, beating after each addition (just enough to work it in).