Saturday, January 22, 2011

Tea Cakes Complete with Tea!

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This recipe is one I've wanted to try for a long time but wasn't quite sure how the non-traditional "tea" frosting would turn out and taste with the chocolate cakes. Plus I've never worked with chocolate or egg whites in a double boiler before.

The recipe was actually much easier than I thought it would be and the flavors with the Earl Grey infused frosting are delicate and well balanced.

I made a 1/2 batch just to try out the new recipe and it made 9 cupcakes. This is the recipe for the 1/2 batch so just double it to make a full batch of 18 cupcakes.

Tea Cakes with Earl Grey Frosting

Ingredients (for the cakes)
- 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup cake flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients (for the frosting)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 bag of Earl Grey tea
- Pinch of salt

Instructions

1.
Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 and line 9 muffin tin openings with paper cupcake liners. Melt the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl (I used glass) set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture over the heat until smooth.










*Note: Be sure not to let the bottom of the bowl actually touch the water in the pot.










2. Remove the bowl, but keep the water simmering in the saucepan - you'll need it for the frosting. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, flour and salt together and mix it into the melted chocolate and butter. Add the eggs (one at a time) and whisk in the vanilla until smooth.



















3. Divide the batter among the prepared cups, filling each 3/4 of the way. Bake until the cakes spring back when touched - about 18-20 minutes. Remove them from the pan and cool completely before frosting.










4. Make the frosting: whisk the sugar, egg whites, lemon juice and salt in a heatproof bowl, then empty the contents of the Earl Grey teabag into the mixture. Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 2 minutes).



















5. Transfer the contents of the bowl into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high with the whisk attachment until the mixture holds stiff peaks (about 5 minutes). Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a mechanical pastry bag and pipe it onto the cupcakes.






















YUM!!!

4 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to try messing around with tea flavors. A flavored frosting sounds like an amazing thing to try. I love your frosting tool.

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  2. We got the tool as a wedding gift from William Sonoma - it is amazing...it comes with a ton of tips and cleans so much easier than piping bags, plus you're not wasting disposable ones either - I love it!

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  3. I challenge you to make this recipe with Steeped Tea's Earl Grey!!!

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    Replies
    1. I would love to, but I'm hoarding my Steeped Earl Grey! ;)

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