Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Honey Frosting

I made these for my awesome friend Lara's birthday, as she LOOOVES Earl Grey tea.  I basically shopped around recipes and voila, custom creation.  Same for the frosting.  With both I will actually be reworking using a chiffon cake recipe (testing it next with a spice chai cupcake!).  The combination was tasty, and everyone liked them, but being me, it wasn't exactly what I was going for, and not as fluffy as I wanted.  So watch for the new version coming soon.   This works as a good test drive also since Mike and I are wanting to do multiple cupcake flavors for the wedding.  Nice way to work it out waaay in advance!


Earl Grey Cupcakes


Makes about 12 regular sized cupcakes


Ingredients 

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, at room temperature

4 Earl Grey teabags* Honestly, I would double this!  

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

2 large eggs, free-range or organic

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add the teabags. Cover and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes, then discard the teabags.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the almond extract, if using, and the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Sift the two flours together into a separate bowl. Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the infused milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added. * Sift 3x!!

Carefully spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes - it should come out clean. 

Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool, you could frost the cupcakes.

Lemon Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

4 ounces or 1/2 package of Philly cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

2-3 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons thick honey

1/2 large lemon, juiced

zest of 1 lemon

Directions

Bring butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.
Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the honey. Beat until combined.

Add the juice of lemon and zest.

Add more sugar and honey until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Note: The honey I used was very thick, meaning it was not pourable unless I warmed it in a water bath first. This works great for the frosting as it keeps it thick. Note that if you use pourable honey the texture of both recipes may change slightly!