Cupcake Test: Earl Grey and Chrysanthemum Peach

In preparation for my cupcake art exhibit at RAW Mixology, I tested out some new recipes last night - Earl Grey Cupcakes and Chrysanthemum Peach cupcakes. I've been really interested in infusing tea in my cupcakes, so these two recipes experiment with that idea.

By the way, if you're in the San Jose area and free on the evening of Thursday the 26th, check out the Mixology show by buying a ticket here. I benefit and you get a free cupcake, as well as access to tons of sweet visual art exhibits, 2 bands, and a fashion show! 

Now, on to the recipes!

I've read several different methods about how to use tea in cakes, and most folks agree that you get the best flavor by brewing the tea in the butter you plan to use. So that's what I did for the Earl Grey Cupcakes. While I was doing it, I was unsure. I mixture smelled tasty, but it smelled more like butter than it did like tea, and when I tasted the batter, I felt the same. Even after I cooked the cupcakes, I wasn't sure it was the flavor I wanted - but I left them to rest and tried them again today, and now I am convinced that they are delicious and definitely Earl Grey tasting and not butter tasting. The trick, I suppose is to not taste the batter before cooking (!), as it will ruin your impression. I've also heard that keeping the butter hot but not boiling (and definitely don't let it brown) is helpful, so I'll be more careful about that during the next batch.

Earl Grey Cupcake Recipe (makes 1 dozen)

To infuse the butter:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 

6 bags of Earl Grey tea 

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Cut open the tea bags and pour the tea leaves into the just-melted butter. Keep the heat low and butter simmering for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove from heat and let cool. When it isn't so hot that it will burn you, strain the leaves out. I found that my Earl Grey was so finely ground that I needed to use a coffee filter, though a mesh trainer might work for you. I did have to squish and squeeze the filter to get as much butter as I wanted out, so watch out for that (that's why you want to let it cool).

My tea-straining system

Meanwhile, whip in a mixer:

2 egg yolks (save the whites)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup brown sugar

Add:
1/2 cup milk

And sift in a separate bowl:

1 1/2 cup cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the tea-infused butter to the egg-and-sugar mixture until everything is just combined. 

Beat
2 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar

until the mixture is foamy and starts to form very soft peaks. Carefully fold it in to the batter, until just incorporated. This will give them a nice lightness that's perfect for tea flavors. 

 Pour the batter into your cupcake tin and bake for about 15 minutes on 350 degrees.

I'll be frosting all of these test cupcakes tomorrow or Thursday, and I imagine a lemon honey frosting will be perfect for these little guys. Pictures to follow!

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I used the second favorite tea-infusing technique for the Chrysanthemum Peach Cupcakes and I think it worked perfectly! This technique has you brew the tea in warm milk, which may or may not be used in your recipe of choice. It's said to produce a more mild tea flavor, which works perfectly for these cupcakes, as chrysanthemum is a mild tea. Rest assured, though, you can definitely taste and appreciate it in every bite of these cupcakes.

Chrysanthemum Peach Cupcake Recipe 

(makes 9 cupcakes - I made such a little batch as a test)

To start out, you want to prepare your peaches. I used Saturn Peaches because 1) they are awesome looking and 2) they happened to be ripe, but you can use whatever variety you prefer. 

Wash and cut three peaches into 1/2 inch pieces and roast them in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes (I placed mine on parchment paper, so they didn't stick). 

As they cook you can infuse your milk.

Heat in a saucepan:

1/4 cup coconut milk*

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tbsp chrysanthemum tea leaves

Be careful the milk stays warm but not scalding and stir frequently for 15 minutes. After that, let is sit and cool for a bit, then strain the leaves out with a mesh strainer.

*A word on the milk: I like coconut milk a lot, and it's what was in my fridge. You can certainly do this with regular milk, but I would suggest not using whole milk, as it is more creamy and milky tasting - you want the tea to be able to shine through)

As that cools, begin to prepare your batter.

Cream in a mixer:

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

1 egg

Sift in a separate bowl:

3/4 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the strained milk to the batter and mix until everything is just incorporated. 

*At this point, I tasted the batter and was unsure if the tea flavor was coming through enough, so I filled some of the cupcake liners with the batter, then added a bit of the tea leaves to the rest of the batter and filled the remaining liners with that. The resulting cupcakes tasted slightly more chrysanthemum-y after I added a bit of the leaves, and since the leaves were so thoroughly wet and saturated with milk, you didn't notice them in the cupcakes. So if you want to mix in about half the leaves into the batter before cooking, go for it. I should say, though, that either way, the cupcakes have a distinctly chrysanthemum taste.

Finally, fold in the roasted peach pieces and pour the batter into the cupcake tin, cooking for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The finished cakes! (Chrysanthemum Peach in foreground, Early Grey in background)

Stay tuned for my next experiment: Rose Cherry cupcakes!

And, of course, the thrilling frosting finale!