Russian Tea Cupcakes

I have been making all of these cupcakes but so far have not posted pictures or recipes for any of them! Well that's about to change...now. I give you Russian Tea Cupcakes. Russian Tea is a super yummy (word of wisdom approved!) spiced and citrusy "hot drink" mix that Jay's family introduced me to. I thought it sounded like a perfect flavor for a cupcake! Unfortunately, I don't have the exact recipe that was used to make the batch of it I had on hand when I made these cupcakes. However, many russian tea recipes can be found on the internet. Just pick the one that sounds the tastiest to you (and just leave out the instant tea called for in many of them).



It is a good thing I gave most of these away, because I could have eaten them all. The fact that I made them tiny, one-bite-size did not help either! It's kind of like when you buy a bag of bite size snickers, milky ways, etc. etc. and feel justified in eating 20 of them in one sitting because they are so little... or is that just me that does that? :o) Anway, on to the recipe!





1 ½ C cake flour

½ C sugar

½ C Russian tea

½ tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

2 large eggs

½ C milk

½ tsp vanilla




In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.



In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, and russian tea together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated each time. Mix in the vanilla.



Alternate adding the flour in 3 parts, and the milk in 2 parts to the butter and sugar mixture (start and end with the flour.) Mix on medium speed just until incorporated each time.



Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on wire rack before icing. Makes 24 cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes.




Cream Cheese Frosting




1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

3-4 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla




In medium size bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Mix in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until fluffy with each addition. Start with 3 cups of powdered sugar, if frosting is too soft, continue to add up to 1 more cup of powdered sugar until the frosting reaches desired consistency.



When I made these I also drizzled each one with melted dark choclate before piping on the frosting. They are tasty both ways!