Jasmine Tea Cupcakes

Boy am I proud of what I'm bringing to the table today! Honestly, these jasmine tea cupcakes are probably, if not most likely the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made. I'm by no means a great froster/cake decorator, but these turned out way better than I thought they would!

I never thought I'd pull myself to make tea cupcakes. First of all, I'm not a big tea drinker. I enjoy myself some iced tea, but not straight up "tea" tea. And....after reading through the recipe which told me that I had to steep the tea bags twice, I really didn't know if I should do it. I do have a lot of extra time, but.....no one really wants to waste 60 minutes for a tea bag.

However, after some consideration, I checked our cupboards and found 25 jasmine tea bags. I knew it had to be a sign from heaven telling me to make these. I must say, that sign must've come from an angel or God Himself, because my goodness was it a great one!

These cupcakes were dressed in a simple jasmine tea buttercream. While it definitely is heavenly to look at, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the cream because there was definitely a lack of that bold jasmine tea flavor no matter how many times I squeeze the steeped teabag into the mixing bowl. Otherwise, it definitely made the cupcakes look stunning!

For the piping itself. I used a Wilton 1M tip and made little swirls. I've always had horrible piping skills, so this was definitely a successful experiment! I was a little afraid to try it at first because it never really worked out for me, but I guess I got lucky this time!

There is no recipe this time because it was from a cookbook and I think it still needs some tweaking, but when I get it ready I'll let you guys know!

Happy baking!

Chocolate Sprinkles Cupcakes

Now, I think I did mention in my lemon cupcakes post that I am OBSESSED with sprinkles. These little chocolate cupcakes that I made are yet another example of my sprinkles obsession. These cupcakes were SO cute, and they were a HUGE hit! I actually found a recipe and had to TRIPLE because my friend asked for 27 cupcakes, so I knew I had to deliver!! They were so, so easy to make, and it does help that the quantities can be easily tripled with simple math :)

 Definitely could've brushed up on the decorations, but hey, I had to make 36, what do you expect? :)

 Don't you just want to dig in for one???

I searched up a frosting recipe especially for these cupcakes, and that frosting recipe has now become a favorite. Since I made these cupcakes last month, I've already used the buttercream recipe thrice! That one's definitely a keeper! I'm not revealing the KILLER vanilla buttercream recipe just yet, but I will share the cupcakes recipe with you guys!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Active time: approx. 20 mins

Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

-4 tbsp unsalted butter (no need to soften)

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-1/2 cup water

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

-3/4 tsp baking soda

-a pinch of salt

-1 egg

-1/4 cup milk

-1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with liners.

2. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the vegetable oil and water over low heat.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or just a large bowl if you don't have a stand mixer), sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter-oil-water mixture, and mix on low speed until smooth. 

4. Add the egg, and beat until mixed up nicely. Then, add the milk and vanilla and beat until smooth, stopping the mixer halfway to scrape the sides and bottom. 

5. Fill the cases about 3/4 full with batter.

6. Bake in the center of the oven for about 25 minutes, until they spring back when touched and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate. 

Happy baking!