birthday cupcakes: earl grey tea (aka london fog) cupcakes

My sister's birthday was back in September and she chose Earl Grey as her birthday cupcake flavour and I was pretty excited to get baking. I already had a great Earl Grey buttercream recipe (why is everyone surprised by that?) so I figured it would be pretty simple to create a cupcake recipe around this.

These turned out pretty awesome - the subtle flavour of Earl Grey got stronger after sitting for a day, so when Suzy picked them up, they were pretty good. The best thing is that she really enjoyed them - at a rate of one cupcake a day.  :)

I also loved the cute cupcake papers I found for these Earl Grey cupcakes - they were a pretty blue with pink flowers - perfect for a tea party!

I also like to refer to these as London Fog cupcakes. One of my favourite drinks is the London Fog - a drink created in Vancouver, Canada that incorporates Earl Grey tea, vanilla and milk - very much like these cupcakes!

earl grey tea cupcakes (aka London fog cupcakes)
source: adapted from The Cupcake Project's Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake
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ingredients:

cupcakes:
2 Earl Grey teabags (or 1 tablespoon of loose leaf Earl Grey tea)
2/3 cup whole milk
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

frosting:
1 Earl Grey teabag (or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf Earl Grey tea)
up to 4 tablespoons milk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

directions:

cupcakes:

Prep: About 30 minutes before you start baking the cupcakes, place the Earl Grey tea (teabags or loose leaf tea) into the milk to steep. Set aside. (If it's a warm day, you might want to store the steeping milk in the refrigerator).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line two standard cupcake trays with 16 liners. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the sugar to the flour mixture and continue mixing.
5. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
7. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
8. Remove the tea bags from the milk (or strain the loose leaf tea leaves out of the milk) and discard the tea bags/leaves.
9. Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. (The batter will be quite liquid)
10. Fill cupcake liners just over half full.
11. Bake for 14 minutes on the middle rack until test for doneness. If they are not done, test again in two minutes - if the cupcakes are done, a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. 
12. Once the cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and place back on cooling rack to cool completely.

frosting:

Prep: About 30 minutes before you start baking the frosting (you can do this at the same time you steep the milk for the cupcakes), place the Earl Grey tea (teabag or loose leaf tea) into the milk to steep. Set aside. (If it's a warm day, you might want to store the steeping milk in the refrigerator).

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter for a few minutes with the paddle attachment on medium speed. 
2. Remove the tea bags from the milk (or strain the loose leaf tea leaves out of the milk) and discard the tea bags/leaves. Set the milk aside.
3. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed. Once the sugar has been incorporated with the butter, increase the mixer speed to medium and add salt, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat for 3 minutes. 
4. If you want your frosting stiffer, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you want.

Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost them using your favourite frosting tip.

yields: 16 cupcakes