Sencha Cakes with Cardamom Frosting.

Sencha is a kind of Japanese Green Tea. It has a very delicate and fragrant flavour, and is full of anti oxidants (so you could even claim these cakes are healthy... ...err if you ate only celery for the rest of the day). They are not very sweet compared to most european cakes, but I find this balanced well with a sweet Cardamom Cream Cheese frosting. Note: The frosting recipe makes enough to pipe swirls on 12 cupcakes.

The Cakes

3 large eggs
130g - 2/3 cup caster sugar
80ml - 1/3 cup boiled water
2 tbsp sencha green tea leaves + 1 tsp
80ml - 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola oil)
160g - 1 1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
(A little mint green food colouring - optional)

Preheat oven in 360F / 180C

Brew 2 tbsps of sencha green tea in 1/3 cup of freshly boiled water. Cool the green tea then strain. Add the food colouring to the brewed tea if it is being used.

Whisk eggs in a bowl or your mixer.

Add sugar to the bowl. Then sift in the flour, baking powder, and 1 tsp of green tea leaves into the mixer and mix quickly.

Whilst mixing add the oil and green tea and mix the batter well.

Divide between 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tray.

Bake the cake for 25-35 minutes in the oven. Until they are risen, the tops are firm and a skewer will come out cleanly.

The Cream Cheese Cardamom Frosting

57g - 1/4 cup of butter

28g - 1/8 cup of vegetable shortening (Trex)
114g - 4oz cream cheese
400g - 14 oz Icing sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Beat all the ingredients together until smooth.