Ok this heatwave is not fun. Like not in the slightest. I have things to do, but there’s something about 100 degree days that makes it impossible to get anything done. I feel like I just need to lock myself inside and hibernate until the temperatures go down.
I had to photograph a frozen treat recipe yesterday and it did not go well for me. I was trying to move quickly but they were still melting away. To sum it up, it was a very messy and sticky morning, which was then followed by a different messy and sticky failure of a recipe test. Not to be a bummer, but yesterday was not a huge win for ballerina baker. But that’s ok because failure is a part of life.
And in any case, melty or not, I did successfully finish that recipe yesterday. I’m basically back on track now, but my publishing schedule has gotten pretty jumbled up. I’m a person who likes schedules but I have to remind myself that it’s not the end of the world if my recipes don’t exactly follow the schedule, as long as I get them all published.
As for this recipe, it has been the shining light of the month to be honest. It’s basically the only one that didn’t need excessive rounds of testing, it pretty much worked out right the first time around. Plus, it isn’t particularly prone to melting so that’s always a plus.
Describe these Cupcakes to me
Taste: The cake itself has a delicate and subtle earl grey flavor, with a bit of nuttiness from the poppyseed. The apricot in the center adds some brightness while the strawberry frosting on top adds a sweetness.
Texture: The cupcakes are fluffy and soft, while the apricot in the center keeps them moist. The strawberry frosting on top adds a creaminess that ties the whole thing together perfectly.
Ease: These cupcakes are a step up from a classic vanilla, but the few extra steps aren’t technically challenging or taxing. The milk for the cupcakes must be steeped with the tea bags first, and then from then on the batter is pretty straightforward. As for the filling, it doesn’t require any fancy piping or prep, its just a small extra step. The frosting is very simple as well, and the actual decoration style can be as simple or as fancy as you please!
The Cupcakes
These cupcakes are flavored with earl grey tea and poppyseeds. This gives them a subtle earthy citrus flavor from the tea, and a slight nuttiness from the poppyseeds. This compliments the filling and frosting in a way that carefully ties the whole recipe together. The cupcakes get their earl grey flavor by infusing the milk with a couple of tea bags before using in the batter, which adds an extra step, but a small and simple one.
The Filling
I frequently, in fact almost always, fill my cupcakes with something. I debated between marmalade and apricot jam for these for a while, but landed on apricot. I felt that apricot complimented the earl grey best without overwhelming the strawberry frosting. Marmalade has a punchier flavor, so it would’ve drowned out everything else. The process for filling these is quite simple, we simply cut the center out, fill it, and then place the cake cut out back on top to cover it up.
The Frosting
Now, in any other situation, strawberry would not be my choice. Strawberry ice cream? No thank you. Strawberry donut? I’ll pass. But this strawberry frosting is so good that it’s actually one of my favorites to work with. I use freeze dried strawberries, all smushed into a powder, to give the frosting a delicious natural flavor. In contrast to some recipes that use an extract, this is a completely natural source of strawberry flavor, and way less sweet than recipes that use strawberry jam. Plus, it holds its shape well and is easy to work with.
Earl Grey Poppyseed Cupcakes with Apricot Jam and Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, add the tea bags and let them sit in the simmering cream, stirring frequently for five minutes. Then, turn off the burner but keep the saucepan on the warm burner, cover the milk partly with the lid, and let the milk sit for 20 minutes. Finally, remove the tea bags and discard them, and set aside the milk to let it cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 12 count muffin tin with liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium high speed until fluffy and combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until almost combined. Add in the lemon juice and, with the mixer running on low speed, stream in the cooled earl grey-infused milk, and mix until just combined.
- Pour/scoop the bater evenly into the previously prepared muffin tin, filling each slightly bellow the top. Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the cupcakes bounce back when lightly poked. Let the cupcakes cool completely in the pan set on a wire cooling wrack.
- Once completely cooled, the cupcakes can be filled. Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a pocket a little over 1 inch deep. The piece you remove will be cone shaped, so cut off the pointed end but keep the round "hat". Spoon a teaspoon of the apricot jam into the hole to fill to the top, and top with the round part you cut out to seal the hole. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
- Add the freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and process until until the strawberries turn to a powder. Try to make sure there are no chunks of strawberry, if these are left, then they might get stuck in the piping tip later. Set the strawberry powder aside for now.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and shortening together over medium high speed until creamy, smooth, and slightly lightened in color. Add in the strawberry powder, confectioners sugar, vanilla, milk, and a pinch of salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds before turning up to high speed and whipping for 1-2 minutes. The frosting should be creamy.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with whatever tip you want, I used Wilton 1M for a swirl design, and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes. If desired, top with sprinkles or strawberries. Enjoy!
- Leftover cupcakes last up to 3 days sealed in the refrigerator.