Here in Nova Scotia we love our London Fog Lattes. If you have not heard of a London Fog it’s steeped Earl Grey tea, vanilla syrup and tons of luscious foam. I like mine with soy milk and have a short cheaters recipe on my blog here. For the people who prefer cupcakes over lattes I’ve turned my most favorite tea latte into one of the most sophisticated flavoured cupcake yet. The cake is moist but not too dense. The flavour of the cake is a subtle black tea with a hints of bergamot and tastes like warm spices are added, however it’s ‘spiced’ with real vanilla bean in the batter and the frosting. The cupcake is pilled high with a think vanilla bean butter cream and its perfect for sharing with a friend or equally complementary to a hot beverage. Makes 12 cupcakes.
London Fog Cupcakes
make tea infusion
- 3 heaped teaspoons of earl grey tea wrapped in cheese cloth or 3-4 earl grey tea bags
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2/3 cup of plain almond milk
cupcake batter
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk tea infusion
icing
- 2/3 cup of butter, softened
- contents of one vanilla bean scrapped out
- 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
- 4-5 cups of icing sugar, more if needed
- 1-2 tbs of milk
- pinch of salt
Method
Take your butter out of the fridge to bring to room temperature for the icing.
Make a tea infusion.
If you are using loose tea you will need to measure it out until a square of cheesecloth (about 4″x6″ in size) that is made up of at least 2 layers and tie with an unbleached cooking thread.
In a saucepan or in a microwaveable dish add milk, vanilla bean and tea. Heat until it just comes to a boil, cover the mixture and let steep for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate medium sized bowl, beat egg and sugar together until well combined. Whisk in oil first, then whisk in cooled milk-tea infusion slowly until you have a homogeneous mixture.
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and fill liners with the batter about 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for about 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and the tester comes out clean.
Once removed from the oven let the cupcakes cool in the pan an additional 1-2 minutes before removing them. Cool on a wire rack.
Make the icing. In a medium sized bowl, whip up room temperature butter. Scrape out a vanilla bean and add to butter along with milk, vanilla extract and half of the sugar. Fold sugar into butter with a spatula, slowly add in the remaining butter with a hand mixer if necessary. Icing should be thick and can be piped,however I wanted it to look more like a dollop of whipped cream so I spooned it on, then messed it up with a knife.
V-Spot 