Earl Grey Cupcakes with Honey Mascarpone Buttercream

I used to be a die hard coffee drinker, but over the past few months I've grown to love tea. There's something so comforting about a warm cup of earl grey in the afternoon or chamomile at night. If you're a tea lover, like me, now you can enjoy those beautiful bergamot notes in these earl grey cupcakes!

For more cupcake recipes, try Coconut Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes with Burnt Sugar German Buttercream, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, and Fudgy Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes.

Ingredient Notes

• All-Purpose Flour: You'll need two cups of flour. If you do not have a kitchen scale, be sure to use the scoop and level method when measuring. Even this method, however, will not be as accurate as measuring by weight. 
• Granulated Sugar: You'll need about 1 ¼ cup of sugar.
• Baking Powder: Test the freshness of your baking powder by mixing a small amount with vinegar. 
• Salt: A little salt enhances flavors, so do not skip out on it!
• Unsalted Butter: I like to bring my butter to room temperature by cutting it into cubes, microwaving it for 10 seconds, then placing a warm bowl on top of it (heat a bowl filled with water for 1 minute in the microwave, dump the water out, and turn the bowl over the butter). Room temperature butter should be soft enough that you can leave an indentation in it with your finger. It should not be so warm that edges begin to turn yellow and it appears oily. 
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water. 
• Vanilla Extract: A good-quality vanilla will give the cupcakes depth of flavor.
• Whole Milk: I recommend heating your milk in the microwave, as it can easily burn on the stove. The tea will be steeped in the warm milk for several minutes before adding to the batter. 
• Whole Milk Plain Greek Yogurt: Yogurt adds moisture to this cupcake, and I always recommend full-fat with all dairy products! Full-fat provides more flavor, and will typically have less sugar, too. 
• Earl Grey Tea: My favorite tea brand is Prince & Sons Tea Company!
• Mascarpone: Similar to cream cheese, mascarpone mixes better when it is cold, so no need to bring it to room temperature. 
• Powdered Sugar: Add more or less powdered sugar to achieve the level of sweetness desired. 
• Honey: Use a high-quality honey such as Wedderspoon Manuka honey!

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this earl grey cupcake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the cupcakes. In a small bowl or on the stove top, heat the milk until it just starts to simmer, then steep the tea bags and cover until ready to use. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the cubed butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand. In a separate bowl whisk together the tea infused milk, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each one about ¾ full. Bake cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until the tops spring back when you touch them. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

STEP 2: Make the buttercream. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and mascarpone together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar slowly and mix until fully combined. Add the honey and salt and mix until combined. Transfer buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip (I used Wilton 1M) and pipe onto each cupcake. 

Expert Baking Tips

• If you would like, you can add the contents of two (of the five) earl grey tea bags to batter to have specks of tea leaves throughout the cupcakes. 
• Keep in mind that the honey adds sweetness to the buttercream, so do not add more powdered sugar than is written until after you have added the honey and tasted it. 
• If the buttercream is too soft to pipe, place in the fridge to firm up. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x