London Fog Cupcakes
The classic London Fog drink in cupcake form! Deliciously moist Earl Grey tea-infused cupcakes with silky smooth Earl Grey buttercream.
Servings 14 cupcakes
Ingredients
Earl Grey Milk
- 3/4 Cups (180ml) whole milk
- 2 tsp Earl Grey tea loose leaf or one tea bag
London Fog Cupcakes
- 1 1/3 Cups (140g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Earl Grey tea, finely ground or cut open a tea bag
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp (30g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) Earl Grey milk, room temperature (recipe above)
Earl Grey Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp (30ml) Earl Grey Milk, room temperature (recipe above)
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Garnish (optional)
- 3 Tbsp dried culinary lavender
Instructions
Make the Earl Grey Milk
- Add the milk and Earl Grey tea into a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat off and steep for 10 minutes. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the tea leaves from the milk and be sure to press all the liquid out from the leaves.
- After straining, reserve 2 Tbsp (30ml) of the Earl Grey milk for the buttercream recipe. After this, you should be left with 1/2 Cup (120ml) of Earl Grey milk for the cupcake recipe. If you end up with less, top it up with more whole milk to measure out 1/2 Cup (120ml) exactly. If you end up with more, discard the extra Earl Grey milk and measure out exactly 1/2 Cup. Let the Earl Grey milk cool to room temperature before using it in the recipes.
Make the London Fog Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177ºF). Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Add the cake flour, baking powder, finely ground Earl Grey tea (you can also measure out the contents of a tea bag for this), and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at high speed for about 2 minutes, until it is creamy. Add the sugar and mix the ingredients at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle at the halfway point. Decrease the mixer’s speed to low and add the egg and egg white, mixing until they are just combined and scraping the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the sour cream and vanilla, increase the mixer’s speed to high and beat the ingredients for 1 minute.
- With the mixer in the off position, add in the dry ingredients all at once. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until just combined, then add the (room temperature!) Earl Grey milk mixture in a slow steady steam and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake pan and fill the liners no more than 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack until they're room temperature.
Make the Earl Grey Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (a hand mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add the Earl Grey milk, vanilla, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Assembly
- Once the London Fog cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the Earl Grey buttercream. To create the look pictured, add the Earl Grey buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake before sprinkling on a little culinary lavender.
Notes
*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. If measuring with a kitchen scale, you’ll want to measure out 180g of homemade cake flour (since all-purpose weighs more than store bought cake flour).
Make Ahead Tips:
- The Earl Grey milk can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead. Bring it back to room temperature when you're ready to use it in the cake and buttercream recipes.
- The London Fog cupcakes can be baked ahead and stored at room temperature, covered, for up to two days. I like to cool the cupcakes on a wire rack, then store them back in the cupcake pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Alternatively you can store the cupcakes in the freezer for up to two months.
- The Earl Grey buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix in your stand mixer to bring it back to smooth buttercream consistency.