Honey Earl Grey Cupcakes for National Tea Day 2017

Like them or love them there seems to be a national day, week, or month for just about everything. The foodie that I am, I love food and drink days. Even if they are foods and drinks that we consume on a daily basis it is always good to celebrate them and try something new.

On Friday 21st April it is National Tea Day so it is only fitting to celebrate this much loved drink by creating a recipe incorporating tea. There are so many different teas, blends, flavours, makes available on the market. If you are a tea drinker you really are spoilt for choice! Aldi stock a good range of teas at a great price. From Mao Feng green tea to Earl Grey, from fruit infusions to the traditional black tea, we have even found special green teas that contain coconut, manuka honey or mint.

This recipe features the Aldi Earl Grey tea. Earl Grey is a lovely blend of black tea with flavours of bergamot. Bergamot that is used in Earl Grey is an oil that comes from the bergamot orange that grows in Italy. It gives you a light citrus cup of tea which goes perfectly with a slice of lemon and no milk. Tea also has many health benefits which make it an even better drink, they are:

• Tea contains antioxidants which help protect our bodies from pollutants
• Herbal teas contain no caffeine
• Black teas contain half the amount of caffeine than coffee
• Herbal teas can help settle your digestive system
• Tea is hydrating

Whenever we think about afternoon tea we immediately think of cake. This cake recipe is the ideal accompaniment to you cup of tea.

This is what I did...

Honey Earl Grey Cupcakes

Ingredients

150g baking spread

100g pure set honey

150g self raising flour

3 eggs

100g mixed dried fruit

25g ground almonds

4 Diplomat Earl Grey teabags 

75mls boiling water
50g soft baking spread
200g icing sugar
Drop of orange extract

Method

1 - Pre heat the oven to 180C

2 - Place the teabags in a cup and pour over the boiling water and leave to stew for 10 minutes

3 - Following the all in one method place the baking spread, honey, self raising flour and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix until you have a smooth mixture

4 - Place the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with the ground almonds, mix together until the fruit is coated

5 - Fold the fruit into the cake mixture

6 - Remove the teabags from the cup of tea, squeezing out as much tea as you can

7 - Pour the tea into the cake mixture and mix thoroughly

8 - Divide the cake mixture into 12 cupcake cases, use a deep set tablespoon as the mixture is not a thick mixture

9 - Place in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for 30 minutes checking after 20 minutes as the addition of the honey can make the cakes brown quicker than when using sugar, if the cakes are brown enough cover with foil and continue to cook until thoroughly baked

10 - Once the cakes are baked remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack

11 - Prepare the frosting by mixing together the spread and icing sugar until you have a smooth frosting, add a drop of orange extract and spoon into a piping bag

12 - Using a star nozzle pipe over the cool buns and serve!

These golden little buns are deliciously moist and the orange extract in the frosting compliments the Earl Grey tea perfectly.

The honey and tea give you a golden cake which will certainly be enjoyed by all, whether they drink tea or not! So why not make some of these this National Tea Day!

If you want to enjoy so other tea bakes check out these some of my other recipes:

• Darjeeling Earl Grey Tea Loaf
• Everyday Brew Tea Loaf
• Japanese Cherry Tea and Almond Cake
• Easter Simnel Tea Loaf
• Blackberry and Elderflower Tea Loaf
• Lemon and Rooibos Madeira Cake
• Rooibos and Orange Marmalade Cake
• Earl Grey Cake
• Settling Ginger Tea Loaf

Enjoy x

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Disclosure: This is a collaborative post