Dairy free chocolate Guinness cupcakes, matcha cream cheese frosting { Saint Patrick's Day }

    I know quite well England, I have been to Scotland and even spent a few hours in Wales, in Cardiff, when I spent two weeks in the beautiful city of Bath when I was a teenager but I have never been to Ireland so far and I just dream to go and visit this country so I decided to take you there this week. 

   Saint Patrick's Day is next Thursday and I wanted to share a special recipe for the occasion. No pop green cake full of chemical coloring but chocolate cupcakes baked with the national Irish beer, the Guinness. I still wanted to add some green touch so I tried powdered matcha to naturally color the frosting and it gave a nice pastel green and the taste matches very nicely with the chocolate flavor.

   You can prepare a vegan version by not frosting the cupcakes and replacing the brown beer - that should become vegan this year - by some plant based milk. I didn't try it but you can add some powdered matcha to the cupcakes if you don't frost them, just be careful to use it wisely because - as any green tea - it turns out quite sour if you use too much.  

   Concerning the beer flavor, don't worry, it remains very subtle as cider is in my cider crêpes recipe. I found that these cupcakes tasted a little like licorice, it's very original and pleasant, I'm curious to know what your palate says.

    You can notice that my frosting skills didn't get better and I still only have one little icing pipe as I almost never make icing but fortunately, it doesn't affect the taste! You can also use a freezing bag and draw grooves with a fork.

--> Recette en français ici.

Dairy free chocolate Guinness cupcakes, matcha cream cheese frosting


Prep time : 15 min
Cook time : 15 to 20 min
Rest time : 20 min
Serving : 5 cupcakes


Cupcakes

- 1 tbsp margarine (or soft butter)
- 3 tbsp organic whole sugar
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water (or 1/2 beaten egg)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp soy yogurt (or sour cream)
- a few drops vanilla extract
- 50 g (1,75 oz) melted 70% cocoa dark chocolate
- 10 cl (0,40 cup) Guinness (or 8 cl or 1/3 cup plant based milk)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda, sifted
- 3/8 cup (65 g or 2, 28 oz) flour, sifted
- 1 tbsp corn starch, sifted

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the margarine and the butter together until smooth. Add the corn starch + water, the salt, the yogurt, the vanilla, the melted chocolate and mix well.

• Add the brown beer and whisk again. Add the flour, the baking soda and the corn starch and mix well until the batter is homogeneous.

• Pour the batter into cupcake molds or cupcakes liners until the 2/3 or each. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 min at 160°c/350°F (mine were ready after 16 minutes).

• Take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool down before taking them out of the molds.

Frosting

- 120 g (4,2 oz) cream cheese
- 1 tbsp margarine (or soft butter)
- 30 g (1, 05 oz)  icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp powdered matcha, sifted

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream cheese with the soft butter, the icing sugar and the matcha until you have an homogeneous batter. Be careful not to whisk it too much or it could become too runny. If it happened, just add some cream cheese and whisk just a few seconds.

• Put aside in the fridge at least 20 min to let it thicken. When your cupcakes are cooled down, frost them as you can, with a piping bag or a tablespoon and a fork.
  
   
• If you don't eat them right away, keep them in the fridge if you have already frosted them, the better is to do so before enjoying them.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

--> Recette en français ici.

 

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