Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Earl Grey Buttercream.

When I first saw this recipe I thought “earl grey....cupcakes?! how can this be!”. I soon calmed down and resolved to make them very soon.



I’ve always been a tea drinker. I can’t for the life of me see what the allure of coffee is. But tea...with is simplicity and deliciousness, it’s always drawn me in. I rarely drink earl grey, it’s a little too floral for me, irish breakfast is more my style. But it was so good in these cupcakes.



The flavor isn’t really what you expect when you bite into a cupcake. At first, you don’t really taste it, you just smell it. And it smells wonderful. But then after a few bites, you really start getting the flavor. It’s fabulous. And the lemon earl grey buttercream is SO GOOD! I could just eat it with a spoon. I will definitely be making these again.



look at me trying to distract you from my awful icing skills with crazy patterns!


Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Earl Grey Buttercream
Makes about 15

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 bags of earl grey tea, just the leaves


For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsn. lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons of earl grey tea leaves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill a cupcake pan with liners. Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are incorporated thoroughly. In a bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, including the tea leaves. Next, add half of the dry mixture. Add the milk then the remaining flour, stir until combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking. Let cool completely before frosting.


For the frosting, cream the butter until nice and smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Next, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and tea, making sure it is well incorporated. Frost and enjoy.

Some notes: Mine completely sunk in the middle. But that’s why God made icing, right? Right. Also, mine were done in about 12 minutes, but it may be different for you. You don't do anything with the tea bags but rip them open and pour the leaves in when it says to.