You’ve heard of a London Fog, but have you heard of Dublin Smog? These cupcakes are inspired by a magical drink I had this summer while visiting Dublin. Imagine a London Fog, in all its earl grey – vanilla glory, but with the delightful addition of Irish Cream! Hence, Dublin Smog.
The cupcakes are such a treat. Earl grey and vanilla cupcakes brushed with earl grey syrup and topped with to-die-for Irish Cream frosting.
Enjoy with a steaming cup of tea, or even an Irish coffee!
Earl Grey & Irish Cream 'Dublin Smog' Cupcakes
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 bags earl grey tea
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Earl Grey Syrup:
- 2 bags earl grey tea
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
Irish Buttercream:
- 1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions
Make the batter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Heat the milk until just boiling, either on the stove in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Steep teabags in milk for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
- With a mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy and well combined.
- Reduce speed to low, and add egg, then egg white, letting mix until well combined after each addition. Add in vanilla extract.
- Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then about 1/2 of the tea infused milk. Beat until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and the rest of the milk. Add in the remaining flour. Turn speed to medium and mix until all flour is incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Divide batter evenly into muffin cups, spooning each cup about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from the muffin tin and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Make the earl grey syrup
- Add sugar, water, and tea bags to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and once simmering allow tea bags to steep for 5-8 minutes. The longer you steep the tea, the stronger the earl grey flavor will be. Set aside and allow to cool.
Make the buttercream and assemble
- In a standing mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add Irish cream, and stir for 1-2 minutes on medium-low speed.
- Slowly add in powder sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and sugar is well incorporated. It’s helpful to use a spill guard or clean kitchen towel to prevent sugar from getting all over your kitchen when mixing in the sugar!
- Brush each cupcake with simple syrup, doing about 2-3 coats of syrup per cupcake. Frost cupcakes with buttercream, and enjoy!
In place of vanilla extract, I used 1 tsp Heilala Vanilla Bean Paste
