Green Tea Cupcake

Tired of the Beer or Whisky Saint Patty's Day inspired fare? Why not mix up a new flavour that still stays true to the classic green coloured food hat your party guests have come to expect...like Green Tea Cupcakes! It's tasty, different and GREEN! For this treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water...but we're replacing the water)
• Strong Steeped Green Tea (enough to replace the water your recipe calls for)
• 1 Tablespoon Green Tea Powder (optional...it depends how much green team flavour you want)
• Green Gel Food Colouring (optional)
• Store bought Chocolate Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Shortbread Cookie or Chocolate Coasted Tea Biscuit

And now the recipe...

Step 1: Start by steeping your Green Tea.  You'll want it to be pretty strong, so if you can steep it the night before and leave the bag in, even better!  But if you forget, or you don't have time, the Green Tea Powder will save you!

Step 2: Follow the directions of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and oil. Replace the amount of water your cake mix calls for with Strongly Steeped Green Tea plus 1 Tablespoon of Green Tea Powder (optional).  Mix all the ingredients together until the batter is smooth.  Mix in a little Green Gel Food Colouring if you'd like a nice green cupcake.

Step 3: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 4: For the icing, simply mix together your store bought chocolate icing and butter on high until smooth. Give it a taste and if it's too buttery for your taste or needs to be thickened, add some icing sugar.  Once you're happy with the taste and consistency - and your cupcakes are cool of course - it's time to ice your cupcakes! .

Step 5: Layer on as much or as little of your icing as you'd like.  If you're going for a classy look you'll want to use a piping bag. I find your garnish is really what makes your cupcake seem fancy, so try using little Shortbread or Tea Biscuits to top these off.

Happy Faking!