Chris brought home giant, extremely ripe olallieberries, black mission figs, the sweetest blueberries I've ever tasted and more Gaviota Strawberries from the Farmers Market. All are delicious! but since we lost a bunch of cherries last week, I am jumping on using these so we don't miss this small, fleeting window of opportunity as Olallieberries have a very short growing season!
I found this recipe for Olallieberry White Tea Cupcakes and began changing it within the first two ingredients. Instead of white tea, I infused whole organic milk with Twinings Earl Grey Black Tea with Bergamot and a Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea. I only infused the milk for 30 minutes rather than an hour. I also used only 3/4 cup of sugar instead of one cup and used brown sugar. Finally, I didn't fuss so much about how I added the ingredients together. I sifted and added the dry in one bowl, beat the eggs and added the liquids in another then blended them all.
These cupcakes are delightfully fluffy and not overly sweet. The huge olallieberry in the center of each makes this impressive flavorful punch. The teas I infused them with are incredible with these berries, matter-of-fact, I didn't care for drinking the Tazo tea nearly as much as I like it perfuming my baked goods! A beautiful first experiment into the world of tea-infused cupcakes!
Olallieberry White Tea Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon white tea leaves or other tea
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 pint berries
Bring the milk just to a boil and pour over the tea leaves. Let steep for about an hour or more, depending on the intensity of flavor you want.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and beat until combined. Add in the egg white and beat until combined.
Add in the flour mixture and milk in five alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Let each addition combine fully on low speed before adding the next one. After the final addition, let the flour just combine before stopping.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Press a few berries into each cupcake.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the cupcakes are lightly golden.
