Earl Grey Cupcakes (Gluten Free!)

Am I going a little gluten free crazy lately or what!? I am finally getting the hang of it and I really owe it all to America's Test Kitchen Gluten Free cookbook! On Friday afternoon, my friend Jess and I went on a baking frenzy! We made these fabulous cupcakes and some heart shaped hand pies (Hello Valentine season! I'll share those on Thursday!). Jess brought this recipe because she's been seeing earl grey treats every where! I have to admit - I've never heard of baking with earl grey tea! I so do not have my finger on trendy baking, but these were so fun to try!

Jess found a cake recipe - we easily turned them into cupcakes! No fuss there! We just baked the dough in a cupcake tin. If you prefer to make these as two 6 inch cakes, you can do that instead! As usual, I'll walk you through the step by step process and I will share how we made these gluten free! I was going to say it was easy as pie, but maybe I should say it was a piece of cake! Ha! Why are there so many baking terms that refer to something being easy?

In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

* If you are making these cupcakes gluten free, replace the all purpose flour with gluten free flour (I use America's Test Kitchen Gluten Free flour blend) and add in 1 teaspoon of xanthum gum.

Then in a glass measuring cup, heat 3/4 cup of milk - it should be steaming. Once the milk is hot, steep two earl grey tea bags for 3-4 minutes in the milk. Take the tea bags out of the milk and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the milk.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of softened butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar - mix until light and fluffy. Add in 2 eggs, one at a time and mix well after each addition.

Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the hot milk to the medium mixing bowl - start with the flour and mix well then add the milk and mix well. I recommend alternating between adding the flour mixture and hot milk in three shifts, mixing well between each addition.

When the batter is combined, let it rest for 15 minutes. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners or cooking spray. Then, evenly distribute the dough among the 12 muffin cups. Each muffin cup should be about 3/4 of the way full.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cupcakes for 22-25 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. When you remove the cupcakes from the oven, test them with a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through. When the cupcake is cooked, the toothpick should come out clean.

After their bake time, let the cupcakes sit in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. The cupcakes need to cool completely before you frost them - you can put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

I used a half recipe of my go-to buttercream frosting to ice these cupcakes. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of butter with 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1-2 Tablespoons of milk with an electric mixer. Then gradually mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar - I typically add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time.

I used a plain butter knife to frost the cupcakes, but if you are feeling fancy you can totally pipe the icing on :)

EARL GREY CUPCAKES (+GF OPTION)
yield: 12 cupcakes

ingredients
for the cupcakes...
1 3/4 cups flour (all-purpose flour or Gluten Free flour)
1 teaspoon xanthum gum (omit if you are not making these gluten free)
1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk heated to steaming
2 earl grey tea bags
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs

for the buttercream frosting...
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

directions
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour (all-purpose of gf), xanthum gum (if you are making these gf), baking powder and salt. Set this bowl aside.
2. In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk until it is steaming. Steep the 2 earl grey tea bags in the milk for 3-4 minutes. Remove the tea bags and mix in the vanilla.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time - mixing well between each addition.
4. Then, alternate between adding the flour and the heated milk to the medium mixing bowl. Add each in shifts of three and mix well between each addition.
5. Once the batter is combined, let it sit for 15 minutes.
6. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners or cooking spray and fill each cup to be 3/4 of the way full.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes. When the cupcakes are full cooked, they should be golden brown and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.
8. Let the cupcakes sit in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
9. In a separate medium mixing bowl, mix the frosting together - using an electric mixer, combine the softened butter, vanilla and milk. Grdually add in the powdered sugar and mix until light.
10. Spread or pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Let me know if you have questions!