Taking a shot at macaron-making was certainly a good experience, but they are definitely more difficult to make with less room for experimentation in terms of ingredients than my go-to cupcakes. As such, when I received an invitation to my friend’s house party I knew it was time to go back to my old stand-by the mini “cocktail cupcake” as those require minimal fuss and the possibilities for experimentation and creative recipe customization are nearly endless. Said house party was being held to celebrate his 2,000th day (5.5 years) living in Japan as well as birthday, so I figured it would be thematically appropriate to make a cupcake inspired by Japanese flavors and went with matcha green tea cupcakes filled with sakura liqueur pastry cream and topped with sakura liqueur butter cream frosting. The result was the beauty of contrast in cupcake form: the less-sweet flavor of the matcha cupcakes paired nicely with the fruity sweetness of the sakura liqueur frosting and pastry cream, not to mention the natural green of the cupcakes made for a beautiful contrast with the vibrant pink icing. These were by far my best-received cupcakes to date, so do yourself a favor and give this feast for your eyes and your stomach a try for yourself★[Continue Reading/続きを読む]