Dear World,
I am happy to announce that I have met my match. My one and only. My true loves of all. I regret to inform everyone that there is a little less love for everyone else because any extra love is going directly to these.
I know what you’re thinking. To you, they probably don’t look like much. Well… there’s so much more. See… in those are these:
Last year, I heard a lot of buzz about a new spirit on the market called Root. The local shop, Art in the Age, wrote up a lovely page dedicated to this beverage here. Basically, Root is the recipe, prior to the Prohibition, for root beer. After my first taste, strong overtones of vanilla bean, subtle root beer flavor, I knew I would be a fun ingredient for baking. Adding a light touch of alcohol is a great way to add depth and bring out certain flavors. Don’t go out and drink a whole bottle of this while eating cupcakes and write back, “Thanks for the alcohol poisoning.” Moderation, people, moderation.
Now the second element to this recipe, is tea. One of my bi-weekly errands is to local tea stores, I could wander over the lists of loose tea for hours and Philadelphia has some love for tea. I say some, because, sadly, my favorite tea bar, Remedy, shut its doors less than a year ago though you can find a majority of their tea is online.
As I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, searching for a chai that would go with these cupcakes, I discovered many things. Strong green tea from the Asian Market (mine), detox tea (mine), female cleansing tea (which I actually think one of the boys purchased on accident), sinus draining tea (Elizabeth), regular black tea for hot toddys (Jay), but mostly the four of us have a serious tea addiction. Seriously.
After moving onto the other cabinet shelf, I found the perfect match:
This Vanilla Fig Black Tea is available here. So, my dear readers, I’m done with all of your other cupcakes. Your fancy mcschmancy decorated ones with their fondant and their sparkles. These cupcakes might not shoot rainbows from their nether regions, but taste wise– they are, as my friend described, “delightfully complex.”
Relationship wise, until marrying these cupcakes is legal, I’m single as ever. Let’s fight for cupcake marriage.
Oh and additional bonus– these take one WHOLE stick of butter. For frosting AND cake.
Vanilla Fig Tea Cupcakes with Root Frosting
(adapted from Joy the Baker | Joy puts this in very good words, so I didn’t change the words much!)
1 cup all-purpose flour
a scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk (minus 2T)
8 oz of black tea (vanilla flavored is best for this recipe)
2-3 T of Root (optional)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan, heat milk to almost boiling. Steep tea according to instructions. Set aside to cool. Add Root.
Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and butter into the bowl and blend on slow speed with a mixer (or by hand.) until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half of the tea/milk/Root mix and beat until the liquid is just incorporated.
Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape sides of the bowls well and mix until the batter is smooth for only a few minutes– do not overmix.
Line a muffin pan with twelve cups and fill all until a little less than 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
(frost 12 cupcakes, double for a 9 inch cake.)
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 T of milk
1/2 T of Root (adjust to taste)
a sprinkle of cinnamon
Beat powdered sugar and butter together until well mixed on medium low. Once well mixed, turn the speed to low and add milk and Root steadily and slowly. Once all incorporated, crank up the speed to high for about five minutes. Beating the frosting longer will make it lighter and fluffier.
Frost cupcakes and sprinkle some cinnamon on top!