London Fog Cupcakes Recipe (Small Batch)

Single London Fog Earl Grey Tea Cupcake sat on a serving plate.

5 from 6 votes

London Fog Cupcakes Recipe (Small Batch)

Delicately flavoured earl grey cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting make these London Fog Cupcakes utterly desirable.

THIS SMALL-BATCH RECIPE CAN BE DOUBLED IN SIZE TO MAKE A REGULAR SERVING SIZE OF 12 CUPCAKES

Prep Time15

Cook Time18

Total Time33

Course: Cupcakes

Cuisine: British

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Emma Duckworth

Equipment

Ingredients

Earl grey cupcakes

4 g ground earl grey tea leaves (about 2 tea bags)
120 ml whole milk
60 g unsalted butter room temperature
100 g granulated sugar
1 medium egg room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
120 g plain flour (all-purpose)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine salt

Lemon cream cheese frosting

30 g unsalted butter room temperature
60 g Philadelphia cream cheese room temperature
1 lemon zested and juiced
180 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar) sifted

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Earl grey cupcakes

Place the contents of one teabag and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and gently bring to a simmer. Place lid on the saucepan, remove the pan from heat and set aside for the tea to ‘brew’.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Prepare the cupcake pan by placing the cupcake paper cases into the pan moulds.
In the bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; this takes about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat for a further two minutes. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl. Fold in these dry ingredients along with the remaining earl grey tea leaves. Pour milk into the mixture and stir until combined.
Pour mixture into cupcake cases until ⅔ full. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

Lemon cream cheese frosting

Make the frosting. In a medium bowl, add the butter, cream cheese, lemon zest and powdered icing sugar. Using a hand-held electric beater, cream the frosting for 3 minutes until light and airy. Add in one tablespoon of lemon juice at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition, until the desired consistency is reached. If the icing is too thick, then add more lemon juice and mix thoroughly. If the icing is too runny, then thicken it up with ¼ cup of powdered icing sugar at a time.
Decorate. Once the cupcakes are at room temperature, spoon or pipe the cream cheese frosting over each cupcake and sprinkle with more lemon zest and decorate with a dried lemon slice.

Notes

Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.

To store: Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days but they will dry out.

To freeze: Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and decorate according to your recipe.

TIP 1: Use room temperature butter and egg. You won't get the same aeration in the butter when creaming it if you use cold butter. Also using a room temperature egg means that the proteins in the egg can be broken down more easily and air incorporated into the batter. Having these two simple ingredients at the correct temperature can help create a tender, light sponge.

TIP 2: Steep the milk overnight. The earl grey taste is subtle and flora. If you want to create even more flavour, then follow the instructions to warm the milk gently and steep the teabag in it. Rather than removing the tea bag, leave it inside and place the milk in the fridge overnight. The next day, remove the milk (with the tea bag in it), from the fridge, bring it to room temperature before using and then remove the teabag. You'll have a really strong infused milk that will pack a punch in taste.

TIP 3: Add the lemon juice into the frosting gradually. This is only a small quantity of frosting so add any liquid (here it will be the lemon juice), a bit at a time so that you don't add too much and create a soupy mess!

Nutrition