Are you getting married and want something a little different than a traditional wedding cake? How about stacked cupcakes? Cupcakes can make a wonderful and delicious addition to your wedding. Why not have a whole range of flavors: Simple vanilla/yellow/white cake, but frosted with Nutella , Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese, Black Forest, Oreo cupcakes, Mocha Caramel, Black Sesame cupcakes, Ginger cupcakes with lime icing or Lemon cupcakes with lemon icing and filled with blackberry buttercream.  These cupcakes will make a statement with your guests and they will have fun figuring out the varieties. Perhaps you want to package one or two of the varieties for guests to take home, I would recommend the Black Sesame or the Vanilla with Nutella frosting- you do not want to pack up anything that will require refrigeration. If you are packaging as a take away then dust with powdered sugar if it is for the cupcake stack then you can use the frosting recipe listed below. Remember to keep the cupcake stack refrigerated and bring it out just before serving. This will ensure that the cupcakes are keep cold and are considered food safe for your guests to consume.

Black Sesame Cupcakes with Matcha- Cream Cheese Frosting.

1 1/2 sticks (170 g) salted butter
1 1/2 cups (340 g) sugar
3 tablespoons black sesame paste
1/4 cup (35 g) black sesame seeds
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups (310 g) flour, sifted
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring or tossing them constantly, until they are fragrant, about two minutes. (If you buy already-toasted sesame seeds, iri-goma, you can skip the previous step.) Crush the seeds with a suribachi or spice grinder until they are the texture of damp sand and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the sesame paste and seeds, eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients, then the milk, and beat for a couple minutes.

Fill cupcake tin and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Matcha-Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough for about 24 cupcakes

1 8-oz (200 g) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick (55 g) butter, softened
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 cup (125 g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons matcha

Beat together the cream cheese, butter and whipping cream until creamy. Add the sugar and matcha and beat until glossy and smooth. This recipe is from Delicious Coma out of Los Angeles.