Sunday, July 1, 2012

Project # 13

"Use tea leaves or tea bags to create something today." 

For project thirteen, I made thirteen cupcakes. My father-in-law, KJ, is obsessed with Earl Grey tea. It's his hot beverage of choice, and he drinks a fair amount of it. He recently ran low, so we went to Walmart today to stash up.


Earl Grey is really just black tea with a touch of bergamot, a yellow citrus fruit similar to an orange. I steeped a few tea bags in some hot milk to infuse the batter with yummy Earl Grey essence. 


While these baked, I worked on the frosting. I followed a different recipe than I normally do. The one that I regularly use calls for eight egg whites, whereas this only called for four. Turns out it's worth cracking the extra eggs--- this one didn't set well, and was runnier than usual. 


This one called for boiling sugar and water, pouring it into a mix of egg whites and cream of tartar, and beating until stiff peaks form. Sadly, there were no stiff peaks---- just limp little bumps. 


Either way, they look pretty tasty, and I can't wait to try one!



The recipe:

Ingredients

* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 cup whole milk
* 4 Earl Grey tea bags

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Heat milk on high in microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until hot and steamy. Do not overheat! Put tea bags in milk to steep and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. 
4. Remove tea bags from milk and measure out 1/2 cup and stir into batter until smooth. Discard remaining milk. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pans to 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch.


And for the frosting, here is my usual recipe (not the one I used in the pictures above):



Ingredients:

  • 8 large egg whites
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extrac

Method:

1. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately. 


2 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, SO DELICIOUS. They have about 300 calories a piece, so I ate a half of one for breakfast with a cup of hot Earl Grey. SO YUMMY!

    ReplyDelete