Anyways, I found this recipe on Joy the Baker's site and I had to do it. Chamomile tea is the kind that makes me fall asleep, kind of like nature's NyQuil. When I first told my family that I was going to be making chamomile flavored cupcakes, I got these weirded out looks. But they were actually delicious, seriously moist and almost sweet and salty tasting. The icing has a pretty strong honey flavor, so if you don't like honey all that much, I'd tone it down a bit. I made quite a few adaptations from Joy's recipe, mostly because she said to put straight tea leaves into the batter and I didn't like that idea. So I improvised and the result probably isn't as strong a tea flavor and intended but it's still amazing.
Be warned: this recipe only makes about 10 cupcakes. You're going to need to put a lot of effort into getting all the batter out. So, if you want more, just do a double batch. I highly recommend it.
For the Cupcakes:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened [I used salted and it worked fine]
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dried chamomile [I used a tea bag]
1/2 cup milk [I used 1%]
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Glaze:
approximately 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey
about 5 tablespoons heavy cream [I added a little more to change the consistency]
pinch of salt
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper or foil liners and set aside.
To make the cake:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pinch of salt. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is slightly coarse and sandy. This takes about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, microwave milk for 1:30 and steep tea bag for about 4-5 minutes in the warm milk.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together tea flavored milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour half of the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Pour in the remaining milk mixture, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1 minute, until well blended.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared cups. There isn’t a lot of batter so you’ll only fill the cups up half way. You’ll also need to scrape the bowl for remaining batter.
4. Bake the cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan to cool completely before frosting.
To make the glaze:
In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, honey, cream, and salt until smooth. Use a butter knife to generously spread the frosting atop the cooled cupcakes. Decorate however your little heart desires. Cakes will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to three days.
I'm not the best decorator in the world, mostly because I eat the food too fast to put enough time into making it pretty. So, I just added a few pearlized sprinkles. Also, because I am a classy person, I ate these with a cup of tea. Get on my level.
