Chocolate Tea Cakes

Uff da. I'm beat. So much going on in the school world. On the plus side, I get to go home for Thanksgiving break in a few days. I can do it! Home stretch!

I used Thai Chai tea from Adagio. Yum.

My birthday is on Monday, and I wanted to make something innovative...and I do like tea...so...tea cake? Whenever I try to brew tea into a dessert, the flavor doesn't come through very strongly. But I read on Cupcake Project that if you infuse the tea in butter, it'll come across really strongly. It...kind of didn't work for me. This could perhaps be due to the fact that instead of a strainer, I was using a slotted spoon, so I couldn't squeeze all the juices out of the leaves.

Overall they were pretty good. Smelled amazing, but were a little drier than I like in a cake. I think this had something to do with using butter instead of oil, which is what is in my favorite chocolate cake recipe. But brewing tea in boiling oil seemed dangerous. Also, chocolate cream cheese frosting. Where have you been all my life? Favorite part, hands down.

Tea Infused Chocolate Cakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups boiling water
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, melted and infused with strong tea (probably a flavored black)
• 1-2/3 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 cupcake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; set aside. 
2. After tea has visibly tinted the melted butter, strain the leaves out and discard them.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spoon batter into pans, each cup about 2/3s full.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons strong tea
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 3 tablespoons tea, confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla and cocoa to a spreadable consistency. Beat in additional tea if necessary. For a darker frosting add more cocoa or up to 4 ounces melted chocolate. Spread onto cooled cake.