The BEST Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes! Andes Mint Flavor – Amazing!

These are truly the BEST Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes, Andes Mint Flavor, and they are Amazing! I adapted my original plain chocolate sourdough cupcake recipe to make this moist and delicious version! You can find that original sourdough cupcake recipe HERE.

Why Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes Flavor?

My family and I were talking about green flavor ideas for Saint Patrick’s Day, and these little nostalgic mint chocolates came to mind. How could a little mint that is so classily simple, and still be so good? Mint chocolate is a flavor that everyone in my family LOVES! And, this cupcake did not disappoint! In fact, it seems to be the most requested flavor, so far!

How Do You Make Sourdough Cupcakes So Moist?

To make my sourdough cupcakes so moist, I use a secret ingredient, and that ingredient is Fresh brewed tea (that cools slightly.) The tannins (antioxidants) in the fresh brewed tea seem to do something to the sourdough & fresh milled flour that water doesn’t seem to do. So, that is the first step to my moist cupcakes. Secondly, I mix up the fresh milled flour, tea, oil, and sourdough discard the night before I plan to make the cupcakes. This allows the sourdough to get to work breaking down the whole wheat flour.

What Are Tannins in Tea?

Tannins are the natural antioxidants found in tea. These polyphenols help the tea plant to protect itself against hungry herbivores, like rabbits, deer, etc. There are many benefits to drinking this powerful drink. Tannins help fight inflammation, can help balance blood sugars, they can ease inflammation, have antibacterial properties, and studies have shown they can also help prevent cancer. Wow! What a powerhouse!

Why Use Tea In Cupcakes?

There are a couple reasons to use Tea in Cupcake recipes. Some include:

• Tea levels up the nutritional value with the tannins.
• Also, Tea deepens the chocolate flavor.
• Tea helps keep the cupcakes moist.
• And, my family just plain loves Tea!

There is so much fan favorite over coffee all the time, but my family doesn’t really drink coffee, and tea seems to be so underrated! When choosing to make a cupcake flavor with tea, I can customize the flavor to so many different options! If I wanted to make peppermint cupcakes, I could use a peppermint tea. Or, if I wanted to make Strawberry cupcakes, I could use strawberry tea. I think you can see what I am getting at.

By the way, I do have a Peppermint Cupcake Recipe HERE

and a Strawberry Cupcake Recipe HERE

Charleston Tea Garden

We took a trip to Charleston in February 2023, and we made a stop at the Charleston Tea Garden. During our trip here, we found out that this is the only tea garden in the US, actually the only one in North America! While we were here, we took the trolley tour, and got to see the beautiful acreage filled with different maturing ages of tea bushes, and the green house where they start all the young tea clippings. We learned so much! You can find more info on the Charleston Tea Garden HERE.

Inside the factory they offer free samples of their tea in many flavors, mine was actually the mint tea, and the rest of my family loved the peach tea! Here, we also walked through a short self guided factory tour were we could see all the machines and equipment to make tea. We learned about green & black tea, and how it is all made from the same plant leaves, just has to do with the length of oxidation. This whole experience made my love for tea even greater! Now, onto the buttercream for these cupcakes.

How To Make Green Frosting Without Food Dyes?

So, I actually had to scour the internet for this one. There were many websites mentioning spinach and algae powders, but I did find a mention of Matcha. I decided making a natural green buttercream frosting with matcha powder seemed to be the least offensive. I couldn’t stomach the thought of spinach or algae in my sweet creamy buttercream, maybe I am being harsh. However, Matcha seemed to also go with the theme of using tea in my cupcake, so why not use Matcha in the buttercream, right?

I decided to start small, and only use about 1 tsp of match powder to start with. In the photos that light pastel green is what we got with this amount of matcha powder. I decided to mix the matcha powder first with 1 TBSP of water before adding it to my butter cream. Because, when I dumped the matcha powder in dry it became more speckly. I wanted a cohesive look that appeared smooth and even. If you are looking for a dark green, you may need much more, or could try one of the other options I mentioned earlier. But, I was going for a light mint green, and was pleasantly pleased that the color came out adorable, and there was no flavor at all of the Matcha.

Ingredients For These Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes Recipe:

Night Before (also pull out 2 cups (4 Sticks) of butter to soften)

• 2&1/3 cups Fresh Milled Flour 280g (I milled soft white wheat for this)
• 1/2 cup Light Olive Oil 110g (You could use coconut oil or avocado oil as well )
• 1/2 cup Sourdough Discard 120g (at any stage, starter or discard)
• 1 cup Warm Black Tea 240g

The Next Day

• 2 eggs 100g
• 2 cups Brown Sugar 240g
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Vanilla (I love to make mine from scratch HERE)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder 65g
• 1 cup whole milk 240g
• 1/2 tsp Mint Extract
• 2 tsp baking soda This should be sprinkled in last

Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups softened butter 454g (4 sticks)
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Mint Extract
• 1/4 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 3-4 cups of Powdered sugar 360g-480g (decide on your desired sweetness level)
• 1-2 tsp Matcha Powder mixed with 1 TBSP water, to color green

Instructions To Make These Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes With Fresh Milled Flour:

Night Before:

1. Pull out 4 sticks of butter (2 cups) to soften overnight on your countertop.
2. Mix the fresh milled flour, sourdough discard, olive oil, and tea in a bowl. Mix until no dry flour is left. (Make sure your tea is room temp, and not too hot.)
3. Then, cover and allow to sit room temperature overnight up to 24 hours.

Next Day

1. Preheat Oven to 350*F
2. In a mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, salt, vanilla, mint extract, eggs, cocoa powder, and whole milk.
3. Add sourdough mixture into the sugar mixture, and mix until all incorporated.
4. Sprinkle in the baking soda and mix well.
5. Line your cupcake tin, and add about 1/4 cup of batter to each well.
6. Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out without batter on it. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to a cooling rack.
7. Allow to cool completely before frosting them.

Make The Green Buttercream Frosting

1. In a separate small bowl, mix 1-2 tsp of Matcha powder & 1 TBSP room temperature water or milk. Set aside.
2. Then, in a mixer, add softened butter, and begin to whisk.
3. Then add vanilla, mint extract, and salt(if using unsalted butter.)
4. Slowly whisk while adding the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
5. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, then turn the speed up to medium. Then, check the frosting for your desired sweetness. It should become nice and fluffy.
6. Then, pour the Matcha mixture into the frosting to color into a nice mint green color.
7. Place in a piping bag (or plastic bag), then pipe on completely cooled cupcakes.
8. Finally, Garnish with a Andes Mint on top.
9. ENJOY!

Can I Freeze Cupcakes?

Yes! These cupcakes freeze really well, if you have any leftover, that is! Just put them on a baking sheet, and then, place them in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once frosting is hard & frozen, you can take them off the baking sheet and place in a freezer safe container. Then, to thaw, just set on the counter at room temperature for about 1-2 hours, they taste just as fresh as they did the day you made them! They will last in the freezer for about 3-4 months.

Interested In Learning More About Milling Your Own Flour?

Checkout my Fresh Milled Flour 101 Post HERE

And, my Fresh Milled Flour 101 YouTube Video HERE

How To Feed Your Sourdough With Fresh Milled Flour?

If you already have an established sourdough starter and love it, never fear, it can easily be switched to fresh milled flour without starting over. I have a whole post dedicated to it HERE.

Make Your Own Sourdough Starter From Scratch With Fresh Milled Flour

If you don’t already have a sourdough starter, but are wanting to make one with 100% fresh milled flour from scratch, I am here for you! I have a video resource that goes over how you can make your very own sourdough starter using only freshly milled flour. I also go over troubleshooting issues to help make this process a little easier for you, and I make a brand new sourdough starter right along side you! You can watch that video HERE.

I also have a written blog post that covers this information, if you would like to print it out and have it handy for when you are just getting started. You can do this, it is not as difficult as some on the internet have made it seem! You can checkout my blog post about it HERE.

Checkout Some Of My Other Recipes

Sourdough Bread With 100% Fresh Milled flour

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sourdough

Sourdough Pumpkin Roll

Fresh Milled Flour Recipe List

Sourdough Recipe List

Shop This Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes Post

Flour Grain Mill

Matcha Powder

Everyday Grain Storage Bins

Ninja Tea Maker

Soft White Wheat

Digital Kitchen Scale

Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes Made With Fresh Milled Flour Video

Andes Mint Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes Printable Recipe

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