Raspberry Tea Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

I’m a diehard coffee drinker, but I also appreciate a good cup of tea every now and then. One of my favorite flavors has always been raspberry, so I decided to adapt it into cupcake form for a friend’s farewell party last Friday. Black tea steeped in warm milk and fresh raspberries mixed into the batter created a moist and light cake that paired perfectly with the airy sweet buttercream frosting. I originally intended to create a summery cupcake, but this combination can be enjoyed year-round!

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Cake recipe slightly adapted from Bakedom

(makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

½ cup hot milk

3 black tea bags *see note below

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tsp ground black tea leaves *when finished with tea bags noted above you can cut them open and use ground tea leaves

½ cup fresh raspberries, mashed with a fork

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:

1 ½ cups fresh raspberries

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ tsp vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

Fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a heatproof bowl or glass measuring cup, steep tea bags in milk. Allow milk to come down to room temperature, squeeze excess liquid from tea bags and set both the tea bags and milk aside.

(1.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat in butter until evenly mixed and crumbly. (2.) Whisk eggs and vanilla extract into milk and tea mixture. (3.) With the mixer running, slowly add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until completely incorporated. (4.) Fold in tea leaves and mashed raspberries until just mixed.

(5.) Distribute batter evenly into cupcake liners and place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

(6.) Let cupcakes cool within the pan for about 5 minutes. Pop cupcakes out and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.

While waiting on the cupcakes to cook and cool, prep your frosting.

(7.) In a blender or food processor, puree raspberries for 20-30 seconds. (8.) Pour through a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Use a rubber spatula to press down on the pureed raspberries and get as much liquid out as possible. Discard pulp and seeds. (9.) Stir together raspberry puree, butter, and vanilla extract. (10.) Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the sides as needed, until completely mixed and smooth. If frosting seems runny at all, just place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to harden up the butter a bit.

(11.) Transfer frosting to pastry bag or zip-lock bag with the corner tip cut off. Frost cupcakes, garnish, and serve.

You can also make these the night before, just allow cupcakes to come back to room temperature, and garnish right before serving.

Enjoy!