Oral Pleasure
Tea.
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
A coworker of mine mentioned that these were her favourite cupcakes from a local bakery. I’ve been meaning to get there to try them, but since I haven’t been able to squeeze the trip into my schedule, I decided to just make my own! This is everything you need to know about how I made them:
The Cupcakes:
http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2008/04/earl-grey-cupcakes-with-lemon.html
1 cup (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 bags or 2 tablespoons earl grey tea
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, fill 2 cupcake pans with paper liners or grease well. In a bowl (or with a stand mixer), beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and cream the butter with the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each egg very well so that it is thoroughly combined before adding the next egg. Beat in half of the flour along with the tea. Then add the milk and the remaining flour, stirring until just combined.
2. Fill the cupcake pans 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through to ensure even baking. Cool thoroughly before frosting.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (1/2 lb, 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 lb (4 cups) powdered sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons limoncello or lemon juice
1. Cream the butter until smooth, gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture is very fluffy. Zest the lemon over the bowl into the frosting, add the lemon or limoncello, stir until smooth. Spread or pipe the frosting on cooled cupcakes. Please remember buttercream should be served at room temp.
Self-Rising Flour
http://southernfood.about.com/cs/breads/ht/self_rise_flour.htm
- Using a dry measure, measure the desired amount of flour into a separate container.
- For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Mix to combine.
The Visual Manifestation:
