Earl Grey Cupcakes with Honey Mascarpone Buttercream

These earl grey cupcakes with honey mascarpone buttercream are the perfect afternoon treat! They have a delicate, moist base flavored with earl grey tea, and are topped off with a sweet, creamy buttercream that is too good to pass up. 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!

Ingredients you'll need to make these cupcakes:

• 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!

Ingredients you'll need to make the buttercream:

• Unsalted Butter: See the previous section for a description of what proper room temperature butter looks and feels like.
• 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!
• Vanilla Extract: Optional, but adds great flavor. 

A few tips to make these earl grey cupcakes:

• 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. 

Happy baking! x

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Honey Mascarpone Buttercream

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Sloane
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x

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Description

These earl grey cupcakes with honey mascarpone buttercream are the perfect afternoon treat! They have a delicate, moist base flavored with earl grey tea, and are topped off with a sweet, creamy buttercream that is too good to pass up.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cupcakes:

• 240g all-purpose flour
• 250g granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 170g unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) (room temp) (cubed)
• 170g whole milk 
• 5 earl grey tea bags
• 56g whole milk plain greek yogurt (room temp)
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Buttercream:

• 113g unsalted butter (1 stick) (room temp)
• 4 oz mascarpone (cold)
• 340g powdered sugar
• 84g Wedderspoon Manuka honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

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Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake tin with parchment cups.
2. 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. I suggest heating it in the microwave for a minute or so, as milk can easily burn on the stove.
3. 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. 
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the tea infused milk, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. 
5. Pour batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each one about ¾ full. 
6. Bake cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until the tops spring back when you touch them. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the Buttercream:

1. 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. 
2. Transfer buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip (I used Wilton 1M) and pipe onto each cupcake. 

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