I picked up a recipe card from Wheel and Barrow years ago drawn to the purple cupcake liners and the purple flowers atop. Having shunned purple for years as it was the unofficial colour of the alternative world of which I am not really part of (have you noticed all “new age” shops are purple and smell of incense?), I came around when I met my family in law, the ultimate alternative family and designers started using purple in dresses and my love of purple grew from there.
Earl Grey is my favourite tea, followed closely by Lady Grey. Not just because Nigella advertises both, my like for this tea leaf preceded her Twinings ads. My friend Nic, finds it “soapy” and whilst I do agree that it has a certain floral fragrance to it like lavender, I nevertheless find it relaxing. And give me a cup of tea over a coffee anyday.
Earl Grey cupcakes
Makes 12
- 1 cup almond or hazelnut meal (ground)
- 3/4 cup self raising flour sifted
- 1 3/4 cups icing sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Earl Grey (or Lady Grey) leaves
- 125g butter
- 5 egg whites, softly whipped
For decoration
- 1 batch of icing (buttercream or royal icing)
- Violet food colouring gel
- Green food colouring gel
- White fondant
1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan forced. Line cupcake tray with purple cupcake liners
2. Combine the almond or hazelnut meal, flour, icing sugar, orange rind and tea leaves in a bowl
3. Melt butter until light golden in colour and cool slightly.
4. Pour cooled butter in flour mixture along with softly whipped egg whites and stir until fully combined
5. Pour mixture in a measuring jug and then pour into cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool and then spread with icing of your choice (buttercream or royal icing, I just had some royal icing in the fridge).
7. For flowers (can be made ahead) colour two lots of fondant with violet, one darker than the other. The darker fondant petals will be used on the outside. Roll lighter violet fondant into balls and then between two sheets or cellophane or baking paper, press soup spoon so that you get a roughly round shape. Do the same with the darker violet fondant. With lighter fondant, roll up circle to start rose, then roll another circle around that. Then take one darker fondant circle and roll that around the bud and then take two more darker circles to finish.
Colour fondant green. Cut leaves out using teardrop of leaf shaped cutter and veiner or you can draw the veins on carefully using a knife.
8. Position flowers and leaves on royal icing before it sets and leave to dry for 2 hours.
“Daisy” Cup and saucer from Wedgwood Harlequin collection available from Myer and David Jones.
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19 Comments | Add your own
These little treasures are quite a sumptuous treat – love the red satin table cloth and those purple patty-papers look like little crowns. We have to recollect, besides its hippie connections, Purple is an official Royal colour as well!
Yum Yum, well done!
how lovely! purple has been my favorite color for as long as i can remember (except for a short all-things-black phase…), so i adore the liners and especially the flowers. ya done good!
where is your tea from? it’s a lovely tin!
these are so pretty! and i can’t get enough of lady grey at the moment too
Your flowers are the most adorable things ever, Lorraine!
I love how delicate your cupcakes are.
Earl Grey is my favourite too! I have yet to try Lady Grey, although I’m sure it will be fantastic. Can’t wait to make these cupcakes, they look equally as yummy as the thought of a cup of Earl Grey!
going to have to try these *printing out recipe now*
I LOVE earl grey!!
thanks!!
xx
Those are gorgeous. I love the colours
Hi Kyle-Thanks!
Yes you’re right, how very true about the Royal colour.
Hi grace-Thankyou! I don’t know why I shunned it, it was a silly reason I admit. In actual fact I ma wearing a dress with a lot of purple on it now, perhaps in an effort to makeup for my past!
Hi bowb-Thanks-it’s a tea canister that I bought from Kensington Palace in London on my last trip here a few years ago. I know, probably not the answer you wanted-don’t you hate it when ppl tell you somewhere impossible to buy things from?
Hi cyn-I love the bergamot in Lady grey. I think it makes it really refreshing. Just today, I tried Russian Earl Grey, not quite my taste as it was a little bitter but good to try!
Hi Patricia-Thankyou
I was hoping that they’d be as pretty as the ones that I’ve seen in mags but I am a bit too clumsy for that hehe
Hi Jennifer-I’d love to know what you think of the Lady Grey. I think the bergamot gives it a bit more of a pick me up flavour than Earl Grey. For when I need a coffee but drink a tea
Hi Iron Chef shellie-Cool! Can’t wait to see your pics, Iäm sure they will be gorgeous
Hi Y-Thanks so much!
lorraine, these are fabulous! i love the purple and the red and of course..earl grey…well you know it is one of my favs!
What pretty photo’s!
I was introduced to Earl Grey properly when I met my husband. It seemed to be his ‘main’ tea. In fact, my first present from him was a pink teapot and we’d watch TV and brew pots of tea and our hearts would race in each others company
I then went off it a little.. perhaps because I drank it often..which for me was one or two cups a day. Now ..these days.. I have an occasional milky style very weak latte. My hubby went from loathing the smell of coffee and hating coffee immensly to now.. always having double strength long blacks, unsweetened. From one extreme to the other. Which is quite auspicious for him…
Anyway.. I was brought up with black tea, my Hungarian family served it to us as children, making it in a saucepan over the stove before we ever had an electric kettle..or any kind of kettle for that matter. It was Liptons or Chammomile always. My first try of Earl Grey was forced on me in London and I didn’t like it. But hubby made it grow on me.. and I don’t mind the bergamot fragrance anymore.
These cakes look lovely Lorraine. I love the inclusion of almond or hazelnut meal. And your props, as always are exquisite
Hi airy fairy-Yes I saw that you made some Earl Grey cupcakes before. It adds such a lovely flavour!
Hi Maria-Aww what a sweet story about when you met! I know not everyone loves the flavour of it.
Did you have milk and sugar in your tea growing up?
Thankyou so much! I like using almond meal, cakes always taste so much more moist with it
Any baking involving Earl Grey is a winner in my books. These look and sound delicious. I can’t wait to try them and have a cup of Lady Grey. I agree that it is slightly more uplifting than the Earl Grey.
Hi lisa-Thanks so much! They’d definitely taste great with a cup of matching tea
Re: milk and sugar Q…
Sugar, for sure, but I didn’t even know you could have milk in your tea until I was in my teens I think? Milk in coffee or tea was not something that we did.. an Eastern European cultural thing I guessed?
Hi Maria-Ahh interesting! I always assumed countries in the West had milk in their tea, I don’t know why
I am so excited to give this recipe a try it looks great! Your site is so pretty.
Hi Jade*ndGinger-I hope you like it!
Thankyou so much, that’s lovely of you to say!
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