Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Earl Grey Buttercream Frosting

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Earl Grey Buttercream
Makes about 15

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 bags of earl grey tea, just the leaves (tea bag tea leaves are finer, so stick to bags)


For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsn. lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons of earl grey tea leaves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill a cupcake pan with liners. Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are incorporated thoroughly. In a bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, including the tea leaves. Next, add half of the dry mixture. Add the milk then the remaining flour, stir until combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking. Let cool completely before frosting.


For the frosting, cream the butter until nice and smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Next, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and tea, making sure it is well incorporated. Frost and enjoy.

*I had read that these cupcakes have a tendency to sink in the middle. So I actually doubled the baking powder amount to 4 tsp - to no avail. They still sunk in the middle, and had a slightly extra tart flavoring - probably from too much BP. If you have any ideas about the sinking, please share! :)