Green tea cupcakes

My mother has sent me candied beans called Amanatto.

Candied beans? you may be wondering. Yes, Amanattō is a Japanese traditional confectionery that is made of azuki or other beans, covered with refined sugar after simmering with sugar syrup and drying.

And they are yummy!

Since they are quite sweet, we don’t eat them too much at a time. Just a few beans with green tea is nice.

You could also use them for cooking and baking. You can find amanatto at Japanese food shops.
Here is our family’s favorite recipe.

Steamed green tea cupcake

Ingredients
120g flour
50g sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
130 ml skimmed milk
1 tbsp green tea powder
50-60g amanatto

Mix all ingredients and place the dough in muffin cups.
Steam in bamboo steamer or electric steamer, high heat for first 3 min, reduce to medium and steam further 12 min.

Done!

You can make these with raisins or chocolate chips, but please do try amanatto if you ever come across them.
You can make gluten-free or vegan cupcakes with this basic recipe. There is no oil added to the dough, so it is very low in fat.