Happy Birthday To Me! Chai & Honey Cupcakes

So this past weekend was my Birthday! Yay! I am officially 31 and just getting better with age.

Not only was it my birthday, but also Canadian Thanksgiving. So I decided to make myself some cupcakes that would go well for both occasions.  

For my love of bees and the sweet goodness they provide; Honey

For the quickly coming fall and all the warm delights that go with it; Chai Tea

Mix them together to combine something amazing;

Chai & Honey Cupcakes

This awesome recipe comes from the same book as 

the Rose Water & Raspberry cupcakes that I posted about earlier this year.

So far these recipes have proven to be worth making

3 chai-spice tea bags

2/3 cup boiling water

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, at room temperature

honey, to drizzle (or honeycomb, cut into 1-inch pieces, for garnish)

Position oven rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 350°; line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a small bowl, steep the tea bags in the boiling water for 5 minutes.

Discard tea bags and let the tea cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt together.

Look at that beautiful, organic, wildflower honey
soooo good....

In a big bowl, combine the honey, melted butter, buttermilk, and egg.

Add the flour mixture and, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until just combined, about 2 minutes.

Add in the cooled tea and beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.

Bake about 18-20 minutes, until a pick comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cook in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour (the unfrosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before frosting and garnishing).

Honey Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 tablespoons honey

In a chilled bowl, combine the cream and honey; using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.

Gradually increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the cream holds soft peaks, 2-3 minutes; use right away.

I did n't have any honeycomb and neither did the store, so I opted for topping my cupcakes with a drizzle of honey.

If you let the honey sit on the whipped cream for a moment, it starts to sink in and leave these cute little indented lines in it.

These cupcakes were perfect. Not only were they better than I thought they would be, they were also the perfect fall treat!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Stay tuned, as I'm hoping to get my computer back up and running again soon so I can post more of the treats I made this summer.

Oreo Cupcakes

 

The Handsomest, most Amazing man in the World, my boyfriend Adam (yes, I might be a teensy bit bias in this regard, but I'm ok with that) recently had a birthday.

He decided to throw himself a board game party and invited all his friends.

I, of course, loving themed treats, scoured the internet for ideas for game themed cupcakes, but found I didn't come away very inspired.

Adam asked that I make him Oreo cupcakes instead. I've been meaning to make him some Oreo treats for awhile now, so I jumped at the idea. I looked at lots of recipes and finally decided to do it my own way.

 

For the cake I used the Vanilla Tex Mex recipe, but cut way back on the cinnamon. Instead, I got a bag of mini Oreos and cut them into small chunks, middle stuff and all and mixed them into the batter.

 

I placed a full sized Oreo cookie at the bottom of each baking cup, then filled the rest with batter.

Like the Tartcuppins, having something at the bottom of your cake makes the baking time change. The heat doesn't penetrate the same. I ended up baking them for about 10 minutes longer and then broiling the top of them, hence the slightly browned look.

mmm... look at those big Oreo chunks...

 

For the icing, I wanted to do something special. I looked up recipes for homemade Oreo's and used the recipe for "the middle stuff" from Sally's Baking Addiction, tripled the recipe and made it into icing. 

1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup (48g) vegetable shortening, room temperature

1 and 3/4 cups (210g) confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together on high speed until creamy and combined, about 1 minute. Turn the mixer off and add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat on low for 1 minute and then switch to high and beat for 1 more minute until creamy and combined. The cream filling is thick.

I tweaked this recipe, using a bit of milk, a bit more vanilla and Oreo crumbs until I found a taste that I felt worked.

 

Once the cupcakes were iced, I placed the remaining mini Oreos on top as garnish.

 

 

Don't they look good?

 

 

Check out what they look like inside. You can see the Oreo at the bottom, which had softened nicely in the oven.

 

 

These cupcakes were heavenly! I made about 24 all together and all but 2 or 3 were left at the end of the night, which was pretty good, since there were only 7 of us there. The remaining cupcakes were gone the next morning and made a terrific breakfast ;)

 

You should try these, they are to die for!