Now, I can't take credit for the idea or the recipe. It all started because I'm looking for a cake recipe. One of stupendously delicious magnitude. so... Naturally, I ended up in the cupcake section of somebody's blog. I'm so distractable. I'm not even really a tea drinker. I drink a ton of coffee, but do occasionally drink tea, even though I have an entire cabinet filled with teas of every variety. My favorite, though, has always been Earl Grey. I love how it smells, and these cupcakes do not disappoint.
So anyway, whenever I have a recipe idea, I consider it some kind of divine miracle if I already have every ingredient. If you've been in my kitchen, you know that, at times, we get very bare bones around here. So here ya go:
EARL GREY CUPCAKES
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 T earl grey ( I highly suggest using more..mix it all together and just sprinkle in more as you see fit)
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add each egg individually, thoroughly mixing between each one. In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients including tea. Add half of dry ingredients to butter mixture--mix, then add milk and rest of ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are combined. Line a muffin pan with papers and fill 2/3rds full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool entirely before icing.
LEMON ZEST ICING
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
zest from 1 lemon
2 T fresh lemon juice
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add zest and juice, mix.