Raspberry Iced Tea Cupcakes

This is a recipe I submitted in a cupcake contest our local chocolate boutique was hosting. Despite warnings that I should stick with something including chocolate, I went with my instinct and won first prize! These cupcakes taste very similar to a popular, commercially available raspberry tea.

• Preparation Time: 45 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 289 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ⅔ cup white sugar
• 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 drops oil-based creme de menthe candy flavoring
• ½ cup frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
• ¼ cup unsweetened instant tea powder
• 4 teaspoons unsweetened instant tea powder

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 36 cupcake cups with paper liners.

Step 2

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly combined and sifted. In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of unsalted butter until fluffy with an electric mixer set on medium speed. Mix in 2 cups of sugar and the lemon pudding mix, and beat on high speed until very fluffy and well combined, about 8 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the electric mixer running, beat in milk in 1/3 cup increments, alternating with the flour mixture; beat in vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest just until mixed. Fill the prepared cupcake cups about 2/3 full with the batter.

Step 3

Bake in the preheated oven until the cupcakes are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool.

Step 4

When cupcakes are cool, make filling; pour about 2 inches of water into the bottom of a double boiler, place over medium heat, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and place the egg whites and 2/3 cup of sugar into the top of the double boiler. Do not allow the water to touch the upper part of the double boiler. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, and mix with electric mixer set on high speed until the meringue holds soft peaks, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium, and beat in the butter, 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time. When butter is smoothly beaten in, beat the creme de menthe candy flavoring oil in until the flavoring is fully incorporated and the filling is fluffy, 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove filling from heat and set aside. When cooled, load the filling into a piping bag with a medium-sized round tip.

Step 5

To make the frosting, place cream cheese, raspberries, both amounts of tea powder, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl, and beat until smooth with an electric mixer set on high speed. While mixer is running, slowly pour the cream into the bowl, and beat until the frosting forms stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl often.

Step 6

Insert the piping tip into the top of each cupcake, and squeeze about half a tablespoon of filling into each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a generous dollop of frosting to serve.