Matcha Cupcakes with Azuki Cream Frosting

If there are two flavors that are destined to be together, it’s matcha and azuki.  If you are familiar with traditional Japanese desserts, you’ll see this combination over and over.  But these matcha cupcakes with azuki whipped cream frosting are the delicious examples of this perfect combination that you can easily make at home!

While matcha (Japanese green tea flavor) has become a popular flavor for desserts and beverages around the world, azuki flavor is still lesser known. 

What is azuki?

Azuki (sometimes also spelled “adzuki”) is a small red bean or red mung bean that is cultivated in East Asia.  Azuki is traditionally used to create sweetened red bean paste, also known as “anko” or simply “an” in Japanese. 

In countries outside of Japan, this sweet red bean paste might be called azuki red bean paste or just azuki.

Two types of azuki red bean paste

The sweet red bean paste comes in two forms:  Tsubu-an and Koshi-an.   

• Tsubu-an is chunkier with some whole beans in it.  This type of azuki paste will give the dessert more texture and a little more sweetness compared to Koshi-an. 
• Koshi-an is a smooth, creamy paste. 

You’ll often see tsubu-an served over green tea ice cream at Japanese restaurants which can add a bit of texture to the creamy ice cream. 

By itself, the red bean paste can be overly sweet.  But when combined with the bitterness of matcha, azuki flavor creates the balanced flavor that is simply elegant, almost Zen-like.  Which is why these two flavors are often combined in Japanese desserts. 

Beans in desserts?

Because I grew up eating sweetened beans in desserts, I cannot eat savory beans.  I know it’s so weird…  But beans in chili, burritos, pork and beans, all turn me off because I feel like they should be sweet.

So, the reverse could be true for many people whose consumption of beans have always been in savory dishes.  The texture of sweetened red bean paste might be something that’ll take getting used to. 

But if you want to ease your way into trying azuki, the frosting of these cupcakes is a great way to get a sense of what it tastes like without the overwhelming sweetness or the dense texture of typical red bean paste. 

Of course, if you already know you love azuki, you’ll enjoy the light and fluffy texture of the azuki frosting combined with the rich, slightly bitter matcha cupcake.

It’s a sophisticated flavored cupcake that is truly one of a kind!

Azuki frosting for cupcakes

I used the tsubu-an type to make this delightfully fluffy and light cream frosting. But just a couple of things to note before you get started:

• Tsubu-an red bean paste is sometimes sold as Ogura-an or Yude-azuki. Picture of the product shown on the packaging should help determine show whether it’s chunky (tsubu-an) or smooth (koshi-an).
• If you are using a piping tip with a small opening, you will want to run the red bean paste briefly through a blender or food processor to break up the larger pieces of beans. Otherwise, they will occasionally clog up the piping. Or have a toothpick handy to clear the opening by removing the bean bits that obstruct the opening.

Related article: Can’t get enough of matcha? Check out this recipe for matcha scones with dark chocolate chips!

Matcha cupcakes with azuki frosting recipe

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