I'm Taking A Blogging Break & Black Tea Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream

As-Salam Alaikum / Greetings Dear Reader,

Honesty is always the best policy, my home baking journey doesn't always run smoothly and I still manage to blog about it because that's just me 'keeping it real' I learn something new almost each time I bake that's what keeps me motivated and passionate about this hobby but with arrival of a new born within a matter of weeks I am going to be taking a back seat in blogging for a while.

I will still be updating my instagram while I'm gone so keep a look out.

As of yesterday, I became aware there was such a thing as a UK Cup size in baking and guess what? I've been using UK Cups when trying out US recipes all this time.

US Cup = 236.5ml

UK Cup = 250ml

The UK Cup is slightly bigger than US Cup.

Apologises to all who have tried any of the few Cup measured recipes I've featured here if they haven't worked out as you hoped.

I try to avoid using Cup recipes because I've always been told weighing is a bakers way to achieve the best results and I still stand by that, although some recipes are too irresistible like this Black Tea Cake With Honey Buttercream a Tea lovers dream which quite easily could have been a nightmare for me, alhamdulillah it wasn't even I used the wrong Cup size!

I should have trusted Kristin's US Cup to metric conversions and gone with my measuring jug and weighing scales but I incorrectly thought she must be wrong because to me a Cup = 250ml after all I'd read it on my shiny Cups and to read her first ingredient Milk 1 Cup = 235ml I just dismissed it and went with my Cups.

As you can see from the photos, using UK Cups didn't affect this recipe too much masha'Allah.

My cupcakes were alot lighter in colour than Kristin's cake. Afterwards I realised this is due to using more milk than the original recipe and not more tea because as far as I know and please tell me if I'm wrong, a UK&US tablespoon are the same?!

Black Tea in the cupcakes and salt in the buttercream balances out the honey plus icing sugar sweetness in the frosting so they aren't overly sweet and the milk brewed tea flavour is definitely still there.

You can use any Black Tea you prefer but I went with this high quality Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Black Tea, that is said to have an aroma reminiscent of citrus, maybe next time I make these I will try to enhance that quality by adding some zest of lemon/orange.

Another thing I'm pondering over since my recent measurement lesson is the size of a Cupcake, as Kristin says her recipe makes 18 US cupcakes, my larger scale recipe made just 14, not that I'm complaining but still I'm thinking are UK cupcake cases bigger? after all I was under the assumption as many are that the US are the super sizes! Looks like us Brits are quickly catching up.

So go on if I've not managed to make you run for the hills and your a Black Tea admirer put these cupcakes or the original cake high up on your things to bake list.

BLACK TEA CUPCAKES WITH HONEY BUTTERCREAM

Recipe Adapted from Pastry Affair

Makes 14

Measurements taken using UK Cups

Ingredients

Black Tea Cake                    

1 Cup milk                                            

3 tablespoons black tea (for me that meant contents of 6 Ceylon tea bags but it depends on size of teabags your using)                                            

1/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 Cup caster or granulated sugar  (i used vanilla sugar)                                                

2 large eggs                                     

1/4 Cup vegetable oil                   

1 teaspoon vanilla  (use if not using vanilla sugar)                                  

1 3/4 Cups + 2 teaspoons self raising flour

Honey Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature                            

3 tablespoons honey  (i used set honey)                                       

2 cups powdered sugar            

2 tablespoons milk/water (may not be necessary if you use runny honey)

Pinch of salt

Method   

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C / 160 degrees C (Fan) Place cases in cupcake pan.

Warm the milk until near boiling on the stove or in the microwave. Cut open the tea bags and add the tea directly into the milk. Allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vegetable oil and vanilla. Gradually add in the self raising flour. Stir in the tea brewed milk, mixing until batter is uniform and smooth.

Transfer batter to cupcake cases, bake for 15-20minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before frosting or serving.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and honey until smooth.

Add the icing sugar and salt and continue mixing until the frosting comes together. If the frosting is too runny, add more icing sugar until it reaches the right consistency. Likewise, if the frosting is too stiff, add more milk/water to thin it out. If the frosting is too sweet, add a pinch more salt until the desired sweetness is achieved.

Spread or pipe (i used a 9mm open star tip) the honey buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes and serve.