I know that mixing a Japanese flavour like green tea with the animal symbol of China is a little like mixing metaphors but I couldn’t help myself after seeing a panda and bear cupcake in the Claire Crespo Hello Cupcakes book.
This is my entry for two competitions. I decided I would make two flavours of animals, both with a cupcake base of sesame and vanilla but I would make a Panda one filled with green tea creme patiserrie for La Petite Boulangette’s Sugar High Friday Asian sweet invasion challenge and a Bear one filled with vanilla creme patisserie for the Master Baker April Vanilla challenge.
What I sought to do was create something like a Beard Papa puff-slightly crunchy on the outside but filled with a voluptuous creme patisserie custard inner so that when you bit into it, the sensation of oozing custard was replicated. I used a reliably good Delia Smith recipe for creme patisserie custard.
I confess I’ve never eaten tahini by itself before. When we went to buy some, my husband screwed his nose up at it having been fed tahini all of his life by his alternative parents. When I tried it I gasped, it was awful and bitter. I asked him if it was off and offered him a spoonful. He declined the spoonful and only dipped his pinky in. “Yep, that’s right, that’s tahini and that’s why I can’t stand it”. I had to eat some passionfruit butter to get the awful bitter taste out of my mouth.
Given that one of my main flavouring ingredients was bitter, I needed a vanilla cupcake recipe that was sweet and one of the sweetest and best is the Magnolia Bakery’s vanilla cupcake recipe so I set about basing it on that.
I had a lot of highfalutin ideas for decoration involving shards of sesame toffee but once I saw the pictures of the panda, undoubtedly a symbol of China, and thus true to the theme, I was sold. The cupcake wasn’t particularly crunchy on the outside, if I were to do it again I’d add some sugar crystals and/or sesame seeds on the top before baking it. Still, my husband declared this his favourite cupcakes ever. Yes I know, he says this often but it’s the thought that counts.
Vanilla and Sesame Cupcake
Makes 12-14 full sized cupcakes. I made 8 large and 8 mini cupcakes from this batter.
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup/125g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used Queen’s vanilla bean paste)
- 2 teaspoons of tahini
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180c.
2. Line a (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add tahini and beat until just combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Add sesame seeds. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
6. Pour batter into measuring jug and pour into liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
7. Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Cupcake recipe adapted from Magnolia Cupcake bakery
Green tea and vanilla creme patisserie
- 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 oz (25 g) caster sugar
- 7 fl oz (200 ml) whole milk
- ¾ oz (20 g) plain flour
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. To make the pastry cream, break the egg into a medium-sized mixing bowl, then add the egg yolk and sugar. Next, put the milk on to warm over a gentle heat while you whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture becomes thickened and creamy – about 1 minute with an electric hand whisk on the first speed. Then sift in the flour and whisk that in.
2. Now turn the heat up to bring the milk to boiling point and then whisk the milk into the egg mixture. After that return the whole lot to the pan and continue to whisk, this time with a balloon whisk, over a medium heat until the mixture becomes very thick – keep the whisk going all the time because the mixture can catch very easily if you don’t. As soon as a bubble on the surface bursts, remove the sauce from the heat and quickly pour it into a bowl, then stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Divide the pastry into two bowls and add 1/2 teaspoon of green tea powder to one bowl and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste to the other and mix well to incorporate. Cover the pastry cream with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming, and leave it to get completely cold.
Creme patisserie recipe from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection.
To decorate both pandas and bears:
- 1/3 packet of Chocolate fondant
- 1/3 packet White fondant
- Cutters (large and small, I used regular round cutter and also the end of an apple corer for the smaller ears)
- icing sugar or cornflour and vegetable oil to prevent fondant sticking
- Pink decorations for mouth (I used small pink hearts)
1. Make the white fondant pieces first. Rill out fondant dusting surface with cornflour or icing sugar to prevent fondant sticking to surface or rolling pin. Use biscuit cutter roughly the same size as surface of the cupcake to make the “face” of the Panda cupcake. Then make eyes for the pandas and the bears as pictured.
2. Lightly grease a new chopping board and use biscuit cutter roughly the same size as surface of the cupcake to make the “face” of the bear cupcake, ears for the bear and ears for the pandas and also pupils for the eyes of the pandas and bears.
Assembly
1. To assemble, cut out deep cone of cake from the centre using a sharp knife. As I wanted these to be like the custard filled Beard Papa Chouxs I dug quite deeply and almost towards the edge. You may have to “Dig” twice to get it as cavernous as possible. Be careful not to hit the edge. Keep a thin “top” of the cupcake to replace back onto the cupcake.
2. Fill with custard and replace with cupcake top. Then add ears, faces and eyes onto the pandas and bears. For Bears see story here
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17 Comments | Add your own
They look great. I spent a ridiculous amount of money yesterday at a cake decorating shop to stock up for upcoming cupcake-baking occasions.
Quick question – Did you use pre-coloured black for the eyes? I always have trouble with this (and red) bleeding into any white or paler colours. It’s very irritating, how did you get around it?
I like panda’s, they sound delicious as well, nice and creamy on the inside.
Let me just clarify, I meant the cupcakes sound delicious
Hi Sydney Gal-Thanks! Oooh which store? Yes I can spend far too much at those stores, it’s a little scary!
The best way to get dark or black fondant is to buy the chocolate fondant. I bought mine at Coles, right next to the white fondant. I haven’t actually come across the colours bleeding-yet. Does it help if the red fondant dries out before adhering it to the white?
Hi Cappucino-Haha I know what you mean!
So Cute!! The pandas’ big eyes are so adorable. I would love to try the sesame/vanilla combo!
I went to Iced Affair at Camperdown. I haven’t used the chocolate fondant – does it taste chocolate-y? I’m not sure about letting it dry out, what I was told on my course (which of course made me an instant expert!) was that you buy the red and black because it’s hard to make those colours with sufficient depth of colour – but I do find it bleeds into lighter colours, especially if there’s any moistness. Quite frustrating.
I’m making 60 cupcakes in a couple of weeks for my graduation party – any decorating tips will be most welcome!
Hi Dizzee Cake-Why thankyou!
It’s quite an unusual but actually quite harmonious combination. Definitely not something that you try very often 
Hi SydneyGal-It’s a bit chocolatey, it mostly tastes of sugary fondant more than anything else.
I agree with buying the red, it’s very hard to get it red enough but still at a good consistency. I think the chocolate would be quite good for the black fondant. But as I said I haven’t experienced the fondant bleeding yet. How about a dusting with icing sugar between the fondants?
these look so cute! great idea to alternate the fillings and decorations for the different food events! they’re almost too cute to eat!
Hi airy fairy-Thankyou!
I was all baked out after this as I spent all of Saturday doing this so I figured I should get two events out of this 
Those are so cute! I wish I had those kind of non-clumsy baking skillz. I would just muck it all up. I would be good at eating them though…
You’re a genius Lorraine.. and so industrious entering all of these baking challenges!!
I’m not as put-off by tahini.. I need it for a Hommus recipe from Dr Sandra Cabot’s Body Shaping Diet (the hommus recipe in her Liver Cleansing diet book isn’t as good).
I’ve sometimes used half a teaspoon of tahini in salad dressings and it adds the sesame flavour without bitterness. And I think I’ve added it to fish cake or fish/noodle ball recipes too.. as an alternative to sesame oil and it’s been good.
I hope you win your challenges.. you would tell us wouldn’t you? Have you won before and what are the prizes that you’ve won.. assuming you’ve won?
Well done, again, brilliant cupcakes
Hi Rachael-Honestly it doesn’t require much dexterity, just the right tools. I’m frightfully clumsy myself and shy away from delicate tasks
Hi Maria-I’ve become an event addict I think!
I wonder if my tahini is off? I’ll ask my tahini loving family in law to try some this weekend. My husband hates it so his try of it was so miniscule that I wondered if he got a good taste. I usually love sesame flavoured anything so it’s odd. Hmmm interesting that you’ve used it successfully as a substitute for sesame oil!
So far I’ve entered 4 challenges and no wins yet
The competition is rather stiff though and believe me, I’d be rather happy if I won and would definitely post about it!
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[...] Panda Vanilla, Sesame & Green Tea cupcakes [...]
[...] Cupcakes are so trendy these days, you know I was bound to feature some soon. These adorable panda cupcakes are sesame, green tea and vanilla flavored – a bit odd, but definitely unique enough to warrant a try. The recipe and decorating instructions can be found at Not Quite Nigella. [...]
[...] in the other blogs’ recipes! One of my favorites is Not Quite Nigella’s adorable Panda Sesame, Vanilla & Green Tea Cupcakes. So cute. I also really liked the killer looking tapioca milkshakes from Addicted Sweet Tooth. I am [...]
[...] Son del blog Not Quite Nigella, en su post Panda Vanilla, Sesame and Green Tea Cupcakes. [...]
[...] Hey There, Cupcake! from which I’ve used many of her decorating suggestions for example, the panda and bear [...]
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