Green Tea & Lemon Cupcakes with Green Tea Frosting

My fiance came home one day and told me that I should try making green tea cupcakes because he had them at work a while back and they were simply divine (he is always giving me ideas). Well, it turns out that you need matcha to make green tea cupcakes, and our grocery store doesn't sell it. So, I decided to make a trip into town to my favorite health food store and they had two different kinds, one that was £28.99 and one that was £3.99. Which one would you buy? I went with the £3.99 one and I think my cupcakes came out just fine (the lady that worked there told me the more expensive one was better quality, but it was just too much for such little quantity, and that's why I chose the less expensive one). Give these bad boys a try, I dare ya!

*Makes: 16 cupcakes, give or take

Ingredients

For cupcakes:

• 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 oz (170g) butter, at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 2/3 cups (160ml) milk
• 2-3 tbsp matcha powder
• 3-4 tbsp lemon juice

For frosting: 

• 6 tbsp butter at room temperature
• 8 oz (230g) Philadelphia cream cheese
• 4 cups (520g) powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp milk (if needed)
• 2-3 tbsp matcha powder (depending on how much you want to add)
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice 

Mango Banana Bread From Scratch

Every time I think of my mom and then think of baking, I am always reminded of her infamous banana bread. She uses the same recipe that my grandmother uses and it is always the best thing I've ever put in my mouth (besides a burger or macaroni and cheese). I have been experimenting with recipes, like I've mentioned in my last posts, and once again I did so with this one. I had purchased a ton of fruit from the grocery store and I happened to buy four humongous mangoes. I saw online that mango banana bread is quite common but all the recipes I came across, they left their mango pieces whole, where as I pureed mine. Here is my Mango Banana Bread recipe. Check it out!

*Makes: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120g) butter
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup (240g) sour cream 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups (170g) chopped fresh mangoes