Earl Grey Cupcakes

Wow! These are amazingly delicious cupcakes. They have the faint taste of Earl Grey tea, and are not too sweet. If you're not familiar with Earl Grey, the tea is flavored with bergamot, a sour orange grown mainly in Asia. I've included a picture of the tea I used. It's lovely tea and has added pomegranate for some extra nutrition. I imagine you could use any tea for this recipe, green tea would be nice with macha flavored frosting.

The original recipe for these cupcakes is from "Cupcakes Galore" by Gail Wagman. In the book, the cupcakes are topped with a chocolate frosting. I wanted a lighter frosting that wouldn't mask the taste of the cupcakes. I mixed powdered sugar and heavy cream together into a thick paste. You can flavor this frosting with just about anything. I've used orange juice, orange oil, rum, brewed tea, almond oil , and vanilla as flavorings.

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

2/3 cup whole milk

2 Eark Grey tea bags

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 tablespoons candied orange rind, chopped into little pieces (optional)

In a small pan, heat milk with tea. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat and let steep until milk is cool to the touch.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Cream the buter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in dry ingredients and liquid. Fold in candied orange rind, if desired.

Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool. Frost or dust with powdered sugar.