Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes (vegan)

A few years ago I went to New York and while I was there I had to go to the Baby Cakes bakery. I had bought their recipe book a while before even thinking about going to New York city and knew that I had to go! So I journeyed through the other side of China Town to find the small bakery. The treats I had were good and the company I had that day even better! We then took a metro line we weren't very familiar with to get back to our hostel in Brooklyn which turned out to have a confusing detour on it so it was in fact quite the adventure! 

But at least  got my delicious and healthy treats. 

Baby Cakes has since changed it's name to Erin McKenna's Bakery. Named after the owner and author of the original book. 

I've been making the Baby Cakes frosting recipe ever since I got the recipe book but hadn't made it in a while since I do not regularly stock up on soy milk powder. However, I knew that I had to try an earl grey tea version for this recipe! It turned out delicious, as expected. 

Here's to more adventures and even more cupcakes

Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes

Adapted from here

Makes 12

Cupcake Ingredients 

4 earl grey tea bags (or 4 tsp loose tea leaves)
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

1 earl grey tea bag
3/4 cup almond milk, heated
1/2 tbsp coconut flour
6 tbsp soy milk powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Make the frosting first. First steep the earl grey tea bag in a cup of warm almond milk for 5 minutes. In a food processor or blender (you could also do this by hand or with a hang blender but it will be more difficult). Combine the earl grey tea almond milk, soy milk powder, coconut flour, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes. With the food processor running, slowly add the coconut oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully incorporated. Your mixture should look creamy. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate (the Babycakes recipe book says to do this for 6 hours but you can get away with less)
2. As your frosting refrigerates, get started on the cupcakes. Preheat your oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin.  
3. Cut 4 teabags open and empty the leaves into a large bowl. If you have full leaf tea you may have to grind up the leaves to make them smaller. Add the flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the almond milk, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combine. Do not over mix
6. Divide the batter into your cupcake tin and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
7. After your frosting has set, take it out of the fridge. The frosting should be hardened and creamy. If your frosting broke or separated simply reheat the mixture and whip it up again then place it back in the fridge to set again. This should fix it. 
8. Apply frosting on to cooled cupcakes as desired. I spread it on using an icing spatula but you should be able to pipe it as well.

Enjoy!