This Yoda Father’s Day cupcake is the perfect matcha cupcake. It is soft, moist, has a fine crumb and comes together in just 40 minutes. The cupcake is really delicious on its own and you would find it hard to resist popping a few of these lovelies when they are hot out of the oven!

And if you love white chocolate, then you will love the matcha chocolate frosting in this recipe which, IMHO, takes it to the next level. Matcha paired with white chocolate is quite the unbeatable combination 🙂 

Watch the video here !

Matcha – an antioxidant powerhouse

Matcha is the name for stone ground powdered green tea used in Japanese tea ceremony. According to the latest research, matcha is packed with exponentially more antioxidants than any other ‘superfood’.

I drink green tea very often and love the subtle fragrance with a tinge of bitterness. Its function of clearing toxins from our system always makes me feel cleansed, healed and strengthened all at once.

A cuppa matcha tea is said to be equivalent to 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea in terms of nutritional content. It boosts metabolism, detoxifies effectively and delivers a mega dose of antioxidants in every sip.

Why put matcha in cake?

Well, matcha is made from stone ground tea leaves, milled to powder and makes a very thick style tea. It is not easy to drink and I am a green tea drinker. I wouldn’t say Ick…..but, it is very much an acquired taste.

A matcha cupcake is another way of having all that health buzz and extra goodness ..….WITHOUT argument. My kids won’t take the matcha tea…..yup, No Way Jose. But this delicious and yummy matcha cupcake, they will certainly reach for it in a heartbeat.

Recipe tips/notes:

This is an easy-to-do recipe. Cupcakes bake quickly and are usually fail-proof. A few key things to watch out for:

• Do not over-mix the batter or the cupcake will be dense and chewy. Over-mixing the batter also creates too much air bubbles, which could cause the cupcakes to sink. Batter texture should be drippy.

• For the matcha frosting, do not over-whip. The frosting will become grainy and broken if overdone. Whip to soft peaks and add the matcha ganache. Combine well but watch for stiff peaks and stop. If unsure, whisk the last bit by hand.

• I prefer mildly sweet frosting but if you have a sweeter tooth, you can increase the white chocolate in the frosting from 1/4 cup to 1/3 or 1/2 cup.

Lovely (our moniker for the youngest) baked these delicious matcha cupcakes for Father’s Day. She even made it Daddy’s favorite “Star Wars” themed with Yoda ears. She used a leaf cutter and worked with juniper green fondant as shown below. Note: dust a little icing sugar on the work station and the fondant to keep it from sticking.

Top it off with the matcha chocolate frosting (we used the Wilton 1M tip) and light sabres, it was the perfect Father’s Day cupcake.

Hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as we did! Click the video to see how it is done. (For Yoda fans, Yoda-ears in the making @3.06 minute of the video – zoom there!)

Print Recipe

Father's Day Yoda Matcha Cupcake (VIDEO)

This is the perfect matcha cupcake topped with divine white chocolate matcha frosting. Delicous, soft, moist and so easy to make!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Making Yoda ears30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Author: Kai

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs @room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk + 1 tbsp distilled vinegar (buttermilk substitute)
• 1/4 cup heated milk + 2 tbsp matcha powder (matcha milk)

Matcha White Chocolate Frosting

• 300 ml heavy cream
• 1 tbsp matcha powder
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 175°C or 350°F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• Heat up the milk until it just boils, stir in the matcha powder until well combined and set aside to cool.
• Whisk 2 eggs on medium speed (15-20 sec).  Add the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed (30 sec).  Add the oil and beat on medium speed (1 min)
• Reduce to low speed and slowly add the flour mixture (in 3 parts) alternating with the buttermilk substitute and cooled matcha milk.
• Whisk till just combined and smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a lined cupcake pan - fill to ~3/4 full (Do-Not overfill)
• Bake for 15 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Switch off heat and leave cupcakes in the oven for 1-2 min and then remove.
• Set aside to cool to room temperature and it’s ready for frosting.

Matcha White Chocolate Frosting

• Over a Bain Maria, melt white chocolate with 50ml heavy cream.
• Once melted, add in matcha powder and combine well. Set the matcha chocolate ganache aside to cool.
• Whip up the remaining 250ml heavy cream until stiff peaks. Add in the cooled matcha chocolate ganache and whip quickly to mix well (10-20 sec).

Assembly

• Pipe on the matcha chocolate frosting onto each cupcake.
• Decorate with Yoda ears (optional – check out the video @3.06min on how to make them).
• Cupcakes are ready to serve!

Video