Cupcake Wars

Boring, Naked Cupcakes....

Will NOT do...for a fancy Tea Party

Creating a Jasmine Tea Buttercream frosting to top them...

now that is more like it!

The only trouble is....

We are NOT pastry chefs!

And there was frosting all over the place by the time we got done...

And these pictures do NOT do justice.....

of the BIG mess we made....

Oh yea...

then there was the frosting of the cupcakes....

That one year that we spent serving soft-serve ice cream to the neighborhood...

Well....let's just say that it took a few cupcakes to get the hang of it again!!

No worries...

the battle was soon ended...the cupboards were cleaned off -

and a yummy recipe was put into our "tea party" book...

Jasmin Tea Buttercream Frosting

(makes 4-5 cups)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

3 tablespoons jasmine tea leaves

(make a note...we will use different flavors of teas as well as this one -

try your favorite tea if you don't have jasmine!!)

8 cups confectioners' sugar

Pink food-coloring paste

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, microwave cream on high

in 30-second intervals until hot.

Place tea leaves in hot cream. 

Stir, and steep for 10 minutes. 

Strain cream through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding tea leaves. 

Refrigerate until cold, 20-30 minutes.

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer at medium-high speed,

 beat butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. 

Add 4 tablespoons tea-infused cream, beating until just combined. 

If frosting looks dry, slowly add additional cream by the teaspoonful

until frosting is creamy.

Add food-coloring paste, a bit at a time, until frosting is desired color.

Use immediately.