Hojicha Cupcakes or Muffins

 

I bought some hojicha powder from Japan so I was excited to try this recipe. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. I could not really taste the hojicha at all despite putting a lot of hojicha powder. Perhaps it would have been better with the icing.

Hojicha Cupcakes with Hojicha Ganache Cream | Sugimoto Tea Company, Japanese Green Tea Maker Since 1946

 

INGREDIENTS

For the Cupcake

1 ¼ cups all-purpose Flour

¼ cup unsalted Butter (room temperature)

¼ cup vegetable Oil

½ cup sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

½ cup milk

1 ½ Tsp baking Powder

2 Tbsp hojicha Powder (used 4 tablespoons)

 

For the Ganache Cream

1 oz white chocolate

½ cup heavy whipping cream

½ Tbsp hojicha powder

1 oz melted milk chocolate for the antlers

Red M&Ms

 

DIRECTIONS

Make the Hojicha Ganache Cream

 

Heat half of the heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Sift in the matcha powder and whisk until well combined. Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour the heated heavy cream over the white chocolate. Gently stir the chocolate until smooth and combined. Then strain the matcha chocolate through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining clumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.

 

Make the Hojicha Cupcakes

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

 

Step 2: Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

 

Step 3: In a large bowl, mix unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in vegetable oil and continue to mix until combined. Add in eggs one at a time. Place a third of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix with a spatula until combined. Next, add a third of the milk and mix. Complete this process two more times until the dry ingredients and milk are well combined. Place the mixture into cupcake liners.

 

Step 4: Bake in the oven at 350 °F for 20-22 minutes.

 

Step 5: While the cupcakes are in the oven, take the hojicha ganache out of the fridge to allow it to warm up slightly. Then, whip the remainder of the heavy whipping cream until it forms soft peaks. Mix the whipping cream and the ganache mixture. Add extra sugar to your liking, although it tastes sweet on its own. Place the cream into a piping bag with a round tip.

 

Step 6: Once the cupcakes have cooled down, pipe the ganache cream onto the cupcakes in the middle for the nose. Add a red M&M on top. Next, using melted chocolate, pipe the shape of the antlers onto parchment paper. Once they have cooled down and hardened, use a toothpick to poke two holes in the top of the cupcake where the antlers will go and gently push the chocolate antlers into the cupcakes.