Gui Zhi Tang Cupcakes (GF)

Gui Zhi Tang 桂枝汤, or Cinnamon Twig Decoction, is often called the "mother of all classical formulas". Gui Zhi Tang is a relatively small formula made up of five food grade herbs that come together to form an elegant and effective first line defense against colds - or external wind-cold invasion. It's one of the first formulas that Chinese Medicine students learn and it forms the base of an entire family of herbal formulas that treats a range of symptoms from joint pain to spontaneous sweating to energetic boundary setting.

This recipe however is for a little treat and is not a substitute for taking Gui Zhi Tang as directed by an acupuncturist!

image depicting a Gui Zhi Tang presentation from Ten Key Formula Families by Huang Huang

Gui Zhi Tang 桂枝汤 Cupcakes - makes 12 regular sized cupcakes

gui zhi tang cupcake base (GF)

dry ingredients:

• 1¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free baking flour
• 1½ tsps baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling

wet ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup canola oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 tsp liquid vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 15g hong zao/jujube/dried red date, diced into tiny pieces
• ½ c milk or milk substitute
• 9g bai shao
• 9g gui zhi
• 5g gan cao
• ½ tsp white sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
• ½ tsp Prince of Peace ginger crystals for sprinkling (optional)
• ½ tsp freshly ground cinnamon bark for sprinkling (optional)

salty-sweet cream cheese frosting

• 4oz cream cheese - room temperature
• 4tbsp salted butter - room temperature. if using unsalted butter, add pinch of salt to frosting or as a topping
• 2 tsps honey

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Infuse milk of choice with the raw gui zhi, bai shao, and gan cao. Bring to just boiling and simmer for about 15 minutes and let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before straining herbs from the liquid. It is advised to add about ¾ cup of milk to the pot due to the possibility for evaporation - the leftover can be drunk by itself or used to make a medicinal milk tea.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Place the eggs, sugar, oil, infused milk, vanilla and ginger into a mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
5. Fill the liners about 3/4 full
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a plate or wire rack to finish cooling.
7. While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting - beat the butter with an electric mixer and add the cream cheese until just combined. Add the honey and beat until fully incorporated. I used a plastic sandwich bag with the tip cut off to pipe the frosting on - but choose your favorite frosting technique!

If you're having trouble sourcing Chinese herbs, this recipe is just as delicious sans the infused milk. If you are skipping that step, I would reccomend adding 1-2 tsp of ground cinnamon and upping the amount of grated raw ginger in the batter.