Lemon Earl Grey Cupcakes

I’m running a test kitchen for cupcakes these couple days / weeks to test out different cupcake flavor combinations using the White Vanilla Cake recipe in my previous post. The main reason I’m doing this “test cupcakes” is for a dear friend who’s getting married. I’ve offered to make her wedding cupcakes for her wedding and I want to present her with unique flavored cupcakes, if I can successfully get it done - right. =) My first batch of test cupcakes were Lemon Earl Grey Cupcakes….I made half batch of cupcakes based the White Vanilla Cake recipe but added 1 tea bag of earl grey leaves and zest from 1 large lemon (about 1 tsp). When you bite into the the cupcakes, a burst of lemony flavor greet you, followed by a subtle taste of Earl Grey! I felt that the lemon zest might be a tad overpowering, and I would love to taste more Earl Grey in the cupcakes! For the next test, I might steep a few tablespoon of Earl Grey and at the same time, perhaps reduce the lemon zest to about 1/2 teaspoon! Oh yeah, I also need to decorate these little babies for the bride to be to comment on..=P..Will post pictures on decorated cupcakes once I get them done!

Nevertheless, I am sharing the recipe for the Lemon Earl Grey cupcakes I made yesterday but will definitely update it when I make my minor changes to it! =). If you do not have Earl Grey tea at home, just drop it and you’ll have Lemon Cupcakes!!=P

LEMON EARL GREY CUPCAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Butter (Softened at room temperature)
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour (Sifted)
• 3/4 + 1/8 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1 Tsp Lemon Zest (Zest from 1 large lemon)
• 1 Earl Grey Tea Bag ( I used Twinnings Earl Grey Tea)

Method:

Preheat oven at 350F. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Then add vanilla extract and lemon zest into mixture. Combine flour, baking powder and empty a bag of Earl Grey tea leaves into mixture and stir well. Finally mix in milk and combine batter. Pour batter into baking pan (lined with parchment paper) or cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers. For cupcakes, pour batter till about 3/4 cup full. Bake @ 350F for 20-25 minutes till testing skewer comes out clean or cupcakes are slightly brown! This would give you about 6 cupcakes (standard size).

June’s Notes: If you are using individual baking cups (soufflé cups-shown below) to bake the cupcakes instead of baking it in a lined (with regular cupcake liners) cupcake pan; remember to fill it about 1/2 cup full.