Ok I was going to keep on with the treats that our visitors may like, but this is just way too nifty and tasty sounding to skip past and I only JUST found it!
It’s a lot of work though and HAS to be served right away. But so worth it! Its such an unusual mix of things for a cupcake!
Be sure to wash it down with some Bubble tea!
You will need!
Ingredients
- Tea Infusion Prep:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 bags black tea
- Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup tea infused milk, room temp
- 3 large egg whites, room temp
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup tea infused butter, room temp, softened
- 3/4 cup (154 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup (195 g) cake flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Brown Sugar Boba:
- 1 cup dried tapioca balls
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 5 cups water
- Milk Tea Buttercream:
- 1/2 cup tea infused butter **see note
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
- 3 Tablespoon tea infused milk
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Whisk
- saucepan or your cauldron
- Muffin/cupcake tin
- Tin liners
- toothpicks
- wire cooling rack
- small round cookie cutter or similar shaped and sized item. MUST be smaller then the cupcake
- spatula
Instructions
Tea Infusion Prep:
- BUTTER: In a heavy bottom sauce pot, melt butter over low heat. Once completely melted, add 4 black tea bags. Remove from heat. Cover pot and let tea steep for 30 minutes.
- Return pot to low heat. Re-melt butter. Once butter is melted, remove from heat, cover pot, and let tea steep for another 30 minutes.
- Return the pot to low heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Strain out tea bags and squeeze out as much liquids as possible. Discard used tea bags. Pour tea infused butter into a heat safe container. Cover and let chill in the fridge until solid, preferable overnight.
- MILK: In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring milk to a simmer. Add 4 black tea bags. Stir and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover pot and let tea steep for 30 minutes.
- Strain out tea bags and squeeze out as much liquids as possible. Discard used tea bags. Pour tea milk into a heat safe container. Cover and let chill in the fridge until cold, preferably overnight.
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line standard size muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup tea infused milk, egg whites, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl , cream together ½ cup (113g ) tea infused butter and ¾ cup sugar until smooth. Add liquid milk-egg mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined. Mixture may look curdled at first. Continue to mix until combined. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. To do this either use the stirring spell or a muggle mixer, or by hand! Your choice!
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the mixing bowl in two additions, mixing on low speed. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Evenly distribute cupcake batter among the prepared muffin tin, filling each paper liner about ⅔ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Rotate muffin tin midway through baking for even cooking. Allow cupcakes to cool in tin for 10 minutes before unmoulding. Allowing cupcakes to completely cool on the wire rack. Cupcakes may be frosted once cooled to room temperature.
Brown Sugar Boba:
- Fill a heavy bottomed saucepan with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add in 1 cup dried tapioca pearls. Stir to combine and distribute pearls. Allow mixture to continue boiling for about 35-40 minutes, until the pearls look gelatinous.
- Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for another 15 minutes until pearls are soft and chewy. Add brown sugar and continue to simmer until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow it to slightly cool. As the mixture cools, the syrup will thicken. Keep warm until ready to use.
Milk Tea Buttercream:
- Measure out remaining tea infused butter. You should have about 2 oz/57 g (¼ cup) left. Add enough softened unsalted butter until you have 4 oz/113 g (½ cup) of butter total.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar in three additions. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add vanilla, pinch of salt, and 3 Tablespoons of remaining tea infused milk. Mix on medium speed until smooth. If buttercream is too thick add another 1 tablespoon of tea infused milk. Use immediately, or keep covered until ready to use.
Assembly:
- Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small round cookie cutter (or apple corer, melon baller or fat end of piping tip) to punch out a shallow cavity on top of each cupcake. Eat the leftover bits.
- Spoon about 2 teaspoons of strained warm brown sugar boba into each cavity. (Don’t add too much liquid because it will make the cupcakes too sweet as well as soggy.)
- Use a spoon to cover the cavity with milk tea buttercream. Use a mini offset spatula (or the back of a spoon) to spread the buttercream. Create a little crater in the centre of the frosting, allowing the edges of the cupcake to have higher sides than the centre of the cupcake. This will serve as a barrier.
- Spoon about a small amount of strained warm brown sugar boba over frosting. Enjoy immediately!!
Recipe Notes
Cupcakes can be baked two days in advance.
Do not assemble cupcakes until ready to serve!
Do not put the cupcakes in the fridge after making. The Boba gets gross.
Ingredient Notes:
4 black tea bags is equivalent to 2 ½ teaspoon loose leaf black tea.
Choose from a variety of black teas: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Masala Chai, Assam, Ceylon Black Tea, etc. I don’t suggest
using jasmine tea or green tea for this recipe.
Tea Infused Butter: after melting and steeping, the initial 1 cup (8 oz) of butter will reduce to about 3/4 cup (6 oz). You will need to add additional unsalted butter to make the buttercream.
