Icing For Tea Cakes Recipe 45

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 24-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Whisk until smooth, then remove the bowl; keep the water simmering in the saucepan. In another bowl, whisk the sugar, flour and salt; mix into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla until smooth.
• Divide the batter among the prepared cups, filling each three-quarters of the way. Bake until the cakes spring back when touched, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on a rack.
• Meanwhile, make the icing: Whisk the sugar, egg whites, lemon juice and salt by hand in the bowl of a stand mixer. Empty the tea bags and add the loose tea to the bowl, then set the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot and the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large resealable plastic bag, snip the corner and pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.

Steps:

• Melt butter in sauce pan; add vanilla, and milk. Add sifted confectioner's sugar to mixture. The consistency will be thinner than cake icing. Dip desired amount of icing into small bowl to mix with desired food coloring. Use your imagination! Spread onto cooled teacakes and let dry overnight.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture (the dough will be soft). , Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.
• While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients, then add all the milk, and follow with the rest of the dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared tin.
• Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.
• To assemble the cakes: Slice a small layer off the top of the domed side of each cupcake to make a flat surface. Peel cupcake liners off and place cakes upside down on a rack.
• To make the glaze: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream, water and corn syrup to a simmer. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and shake bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate. Set mixture aside soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too many air bubbles.
• To Decorate: While still warm and loose, pour a thin layer of glaze (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup per cake) over each cake. If desired, set aside for about one hour before serving; if pressed for time, slip the cakes into the freezer to set.
• Decorate mini cakes with fresh berries or candies. If using candies to decorate, press into still slightly wet glaze before it sets.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon chamomile to a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot melted butter over the chamomile and stir. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Use the same saucepan (without washing it out) to bring the milk to a simmer over medium-high heat, keeping watch so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat, and stir the remaining 1 tablespoon chamomile into the hot milk. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the long sides of the pan have a couple of inches of overhang to make lifting the finished cake out easier.
• Add the sugar and salt to the bowl with the butter, and whisk until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, vigorously whisking to combine after each addition. Zest the lemon into the bowl; add the baking powder and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour and stream in the milk mixture while whisking continuously until no streaks of flour remain.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are OK, but you should see no wet batter), 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.
• While the cake cools, make the icing: Into a medium bowl, squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the zested lemon, then add the confectioners' sugar. Place the dehydrated strawberries in a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl and, using your fingers, crush the brittle berries and press the red-pink powder through the sieve and into the sugar. (The more you do this, the redder your icing will be.) Whisk until smooth.
• If needed, run a knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Holding the 2 sides of overhanging parchment, lift the cake out and place it on a plate, cake stand or cutting board. Discard the parchment. Pour the icing over the cake, using a spoon to push the icing to the edges of the cake to encourage the icing to drip down the sides dramatically. Cool the cake completely and let the icing set.