Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Matcha Buttercream Frosting

How is the Easter holiday coming up this weekend already?! I feel like I’m still back in February somewhere, and time really is getting the best of me. I’m looking forward to a long weekend filled with great company and, just as importantly, great food.

I have an Easter memory that I’m not so fond of, but every year I think back on it; I doubt I’ll ever forget it and it kind of makes me chuckle.

Growing up, my mum always made Easter a fun event. She’d hide little chocolate eggs all over the house for me to discover throughout the day, and usually when I’d wake up in the morning there would be a trail of tiny chocolate eggs leading from my bedroom to a special surprise somewhere in the house. It was like Christmas morning, but with lots of chocolate.

One Easter morning when I was about 6 or 7, I woke up sick. I’m not talking the sniffles kind of sick, but the hug-the-toilet-bowl-and-prey kind of sick. My mum had already made her Easter egg trail through the house, and even though I was throwing up every 5 minutes, I had to get those chocolate eggs. I’d pick up an egg, then run to the bathroom. Pick up another egg, then run back to the bathroom. The eggs wouldn’t have gone anywhere, since I was the only kid in the house, but still. I needed to finish the job.

If that’s not a testament to how dedicated I am to my chocolate, I don’t know what is.

(Reading that, I realize it’s probably not the best story to share on a food blog. Oops.)

Moral of the story: I love chocolate. I have a dedicated chocolate area in my kitchen; one of my close friends has been known to come over just to raid the chocolate shelf. If you’re reading this, Ms. L, you know who you are.

These chocolate cupcakes are incredibly moist and fluffy and are filled with chocolate chips (hence the double chocolate name). They’re sinfully chocolatey, and absolutely divine when topped with a rich matcha buttercream frosting.

Chocolate and matcha are sexy together.

Matcha is no stranger to me, and I love baking with it. See here and here (that last one isn’t technically baking, but still yummy).

I was a bit skeptical about pairing a matcha frosting with dark cupcakes since I thought the chocolate might overpower the matcha (I usually pair it with white chocolate because it’s flavour is a bit more subtle) but I was pleasantly blown away by the flavour pairing. Note to self: matcha and dark chocolate might be even better together. Indugent. Decadent. Freaking tasty.

When you bite into these cupcakes you’ll notice the dark notes of chocolate, crunchy chocolate chips, and a soft and buttery frosting that has the classic, deep tea-like flavour of matcha.

Plus, when these are sitting on the counter, they’re gorgeous. Like i said, chocolate and matcha are sexy together. The frosting is a lovely pastel shade of green, perfect for Easter. See, my earlier Easter story had a point!

Chocolate, Easter, pastels, it all makes sense.

If you’re looking to start a springtime diet, I’d probably click away. I’m not claiming these to be healthy. What fun is a healthy cupcake?

The cupcakes themselves are made without butter; they use coconut oil which keeps them extra moist. The frosting, though… the frosting is definitely made with butter, because buttercream frosting without butter is like the moon without the stars: a sad sight indeed.

One tip: when you store these cupcakes (if you have any left over!) store them in an airtight container at room temperature. I found that when kept in the fridge and eaten cold, the matcha was harder to actually taste than if they were room temperature. Weird! If you do keep them in the fridge, let them sit on the counter for a bit to warm up before eating.

Here’s to a wicked easter filled with sinfully good double chocolate cupcakes with matcha buttercream frosting!