Passion Tea Lemonade Cupcakes

If you are familiar with Starbucks (who isn't?), you have probably heard of their Passion Iced Tea Lemonade. If not, you should get it immediately- it is delicious and the perfect spring/summer/anytime you need a refreshing beverage drink! The best part about it is you can make it at home (Tazo Passion Tea is available at most grocery stores and even Target). Of course I knew I must create the perfect representation of this amazing drink in cupcake form. I think the end result was successful! Now for the recipe...

First, I have to thank Cupcake Project for teaching me how to infuse butter with tea. It truly is the perfect way to get a strong tea flavor without compromising the texture of your cupcake and/or icing. You can find the full post on this here.

I chose to do a lemon cupcake and a passion tea buttercream frosting, primarily because my favorite lemon cupcake recipe does not include any butter, therefore it would be difficult to really get the passion tea flavor in the cupcake itself. I did however sneak a little bit of brewed passion tea into the cupcake, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it made. Here is the recipe I used, modified from this recipe by Coconut & Lime.


Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup canola oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup brewed Passion tea
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs at room temperature
zest of 2 large lemons

Frosting:
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 Tazo Passion tea bags, cut open
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar ( depending on how sweet you like your frosting)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablesoons milk

Directions for Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all remaining ingredients (zest, eggs, oil, lemon juice & tea)
4. Add in the dry ingredients, slowly until combined thoroughly.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full.
6. Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Directions for Frosting:
1. Melt all of the butter in a saucepan until it is just a liquid.
2. Add the contents of the two Tazo Passion tea bags and stir.
3. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring consistently.
4. Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour the mixture through a very fine strainer, making sure to catch as many tea leaves as possible.
6. Put the butter in the fridge, and leave it until it starts to solidify (check on it every 20 minutes)
7. When it is a soft, room temperature-like consistency, place in a mixing bowl and blend it until creamy using an electric mixer (love my kitchenaid!)
8. Add in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, making sure to taste along the way.
9. Add in the lemon juice.
10. Add in as much milk as you need, depending on the consistency you want.

An added bonus of using Passion Tea in your frosting- the hibiscus flowers in the tea turn your frosting a lovely shade of pink!

Ratings:
Cake: 5 out of 5
The cake was delicious; perfect texture, not too sweet, not too tart.

Frosting: 4 out of 5
I should've made mine a little less sweet, but the flavor was amazing.

Taste: 4 out of 5

The overall taste of the cupcake was amazing. It really did capture the refreshing aspect of the drink while still being a fun, sweet dessert.

Bottom line: This cupcake will make your mouth very happy, and it looks pretty too.