Green Tea Butterfly Cupcakes w Mascarpone Frosting

I admit to a minor unhealthy obsession with butterflies, they popped up on our wedding invitations and often pop up on my clothes (well the fabric print anyway). When I found a butterfly cutter in Plenty at Bondi Junction ($2.95) I grabbed it straight away. I had been looking on ebay US for some butterfly cutters but didn't realise that Bondi Junction had what I needed.

These were from the green tea cupcakes that I made for my husband's birthday. I simply added some green tea powder which I bought in Tokyo (this can be found in Japanese/Asian grocery stores here) to a regular vanilla buttercake recipe.

I made these for a group of friends from High School who are all now pregnant/with babies. To my horror, the morning of the afternoon tea, I googled green tea and saw that pregnant women aren't supposed to have a lot of green tea. I brought them not wanting to arrive empty handed and the mums to be weren't too worried as we did the calculations and figured that there was less green tea per cupcake than in a cup of green tea!

Green tea cupcakes with mascarpone frosting

Green tea Buttercake

• 90g butter softened

• 1/2 t vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup (150g) Self Raising flour

• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon green tea powder (depending on how strong you like it, taste)

• 2 tbs milk

Step 1 - Preheat oven to moderate 180degrees/160 fan forced. Line 6 hole texas or 12 hole standard muffin pan with paper cases

Step 2 - beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, flour and milk in small bowl with electric mixer on low until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium, beat until mixture has changed to a paler colour.

Step 3 - Divide mixture among cases, smooth surface

Step 4 - Bake large cakes about 25 minutes, small cakes about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

Mascarpone frosting

• 60g butter softened

• 160g mascarpone

• 3 cups (480g) icing sugar

Beat butter and mascarpone in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, gradually beat in sifted icing sugar.

Decorate with fondant butterflies.