Wednesday 7 November 2012

Jasmine Green Tea Cupcakes


When Caroline announced that this month's AlphaBakes letter is 'J', I struggled to think of J related bakes apart from jam. I thought last month's 'N' was quite challenging (check out the amazing entries here) but I think J is even harder than N! Caroline has already posted homemade Jaffa cakes using the same recipe I bookmarked so I thought I'd try something different and came up with Jasmine green Tea cupcakes.  I used the hummingbird bakery earl grey cupcakes recipe but substituted earl grey for jasmine green tea. I also added 1 teabag of leaves to the batter for extra flavour.  The result was subtle but delicious. You can't really taste the tea at first especially if you eat it with the frosting but if you let the cake sit for a while in your mouth then you can definitely taste the tea. 

I made these cupcakes for my last day at work (yes I know I recently left my old job and started this one but this job was only for 1 month. I have a new permanent job next year - more details to follow). I wanted to make them special so I decided to try out different piping techniques. I baked 75 cupcakes that evening - 1 batch of jasmine green tea, 1 batch of lemon cupcakes, 1 batch of chocolate cupcakes and my Polka Dot Pudsey Cupcakes. It took me hours and hours to bake and decorate but it was worth it :) I really wanted to try piping a chrysanthemum but discovered I didn't have the correct piping tips (guess what's going on my Christmas wish list?) so you may see them here in the future. 

As mentioned, I'm entering these to AlphaBakes hosted this month by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co hosted by myself on alternate months. The theme is J for Jasmine Green Tea. 





I'm also entering these to Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked.  They are celebrating their first birthday so the theme is cake. I think these flower cupcakes would be perfect for a birthday celebration! 





 


 Mix the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in an electric mixer until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

 add tea leaves to the batter 

 I love the little specks of tea leaves 

 ready to be frosted 

 I'm not sure what flower this is but I experimented with a petal piping tip 

 The completed collection - I think they look good together :) 

Jasmine Green Tea Cupcakes
Makes 14 cupcakes

4 Jasmine Green Tea teabags
3 tablespoons just-boiled water
80g butter, softened
280g caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ tsp salt
200ml milk
2 large eggs
  • Brew a strong cup of tea by placing 3 teabags in 3 tablespoons of just boiled water for at least 30 minutes. 
  • Preheat the oven to 190C.
  • Mix the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in an electric mixer until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 
  • Whisk the eggs and milk together then add in the brewed tea, squeezing every last drop from the teabags. 
  • Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients slowly and continue mixing until smooth. 
  • Cut open 1 teabag and add leaves to the batter (optional).
  • Don't worry if the batter looks liquid - it will still turn into beautiful cakes! 
  • Fill cupcake cases 2/3 full.
  • Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

I made swiss meringue buttercream again for the frosting (recipe at bottom of link) - I made 2 recipes of this and 1 recipe of vanilla buttercream to frost all 75 cupcakes. 

28 comments:

  1. 75 cupcakes? Goodness me! Your piping skills are really good and I love the idea of jasmine tea for J, I would never have thought of that!

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    1. I thought I'd push the boat out for my last day - even took 1/2 day annual leave to get all the baking done! I'm pleased I thought of Jasmine for J - last minute inspired idea :)

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  2. I love your cupcakes look fantastic:))

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  3. such pretty icing... you have impressed me!... and lovely to have that underlying hint of Jasmine, which I adore... I drink a cup of Jasmine Green tea every morning, maybe I could replace this with one of your cupcakes every day...?

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    1. Thanks Dom! I'll send one over every morning ;-)

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  4. I am having a really hard time thinking of a "J" recipe, too. This is a great idea!

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  5. Great idea on the jasmine - I bet it gave a gorgeous fragrance to the cakes. I love your icing - that is so pretty and delicate!

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    1. The smell and taste was amazing! Definitely making them again :)

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  6. Very clever, i am sure most people would opt for jam in the J challenge. I love using tea in baking, it just seems to elevate the senses ever so slightly!

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    1. I totally agree - I want to try it with Paris tea which is now my favourite tea. It has vanilla and caramel notes so I'm sure it would work very well in a cake!

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  7. These are amazing! I love Jasmine green tea!! I find it quite a subtle flavour and have used powdered green tea or matcha which has an extra oomph which is in so many Japanese foods but it can be a bit expensive! I love your piping. so so pretty! Congratulations on your new job also!

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    1. I was really pleased that you can actually taste the jasmine green tea in the cakes. I love baking with matcha but as you say it's expensive!

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  8. Swiss buttercream again - yum! So glossy and piped beautifully!

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  9. Nice use of jasmine and a very inventive 'J'. I love that piping.

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  10. Jasmine is a gorgeous choice. I'm trying to think of J foods and apart from jelly, I'm coming up quite blank!

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    1. Thanks - I love jasmine tea! J is definitely a difficult letter!

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  11. Wow! You've done a great job with these lovely cupcakes! Love the piping , so pretty & sweet! Great entry for AlphaBkaes! I've yet to come up with something 'J'. Hopefully I have time to bake !

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    1. Thanks Kit! I'm sure you will come up with something spectacular as always :)

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  12. A perfect entry for our first birthday tea time treats, thanks so much for entering them Ros. Such pretty cakes and the use of green tea is a great idea. Karen

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    1. Thanks Karen! I have more cake for tea time treats :)

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  13. OMG thse look SO pretty can you PLEASE teach me how to pipe those lovely roses?!?! They're too pretty to eat!

    GOSH i need to start planing Alphabakes too!

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    1. The roses are really easy to pipe - maybe we can do some baking in Melbourne! Ha ha :)

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  14. They all look great - I love playing with buttercream, it's such good fun!

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    1. I want to learn all sorts of buttercream piping! I bought a few nozzles recently - cant wait to try them out!

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  15. I love cakes made with tea! I can imagine the fragrance of green tea in these beautiful cupcakes.

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    1. The tea flavour was quite subtle but delicious.

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