Chocolate Peppermint Tea Cupcakes

The winners of last week's poll with 270 votes were Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes! These are very different from the chocolate mint cupcakes I've done before. Instead of being flavored with peppermint extract, these cupcakes get their minty kick from peppermint tea! The recipe comes from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. The cupcakes are good. They're moist and chocolatey with a hint of peppermint. You don't notice the tea flavor at first, but if you knew it was there you could definitely pick it out. The frosting that was supposed to go with them was a peppermint cream cheese frosting. But I was in the mood for some Swiss meringue buttercream. Peppermint SMBC is Josh's FAVORITE, so he was very happy that he showed up to my house just as I was frosting the cupcakes. He kept asking if eating all that frosting was bad for him. Hahaha, I told him it might be unhealthy but there was no way it could be bad! :D I garnished the cupcakes with some crushed up candy canes. I didn't eat a cupcake with the frosting and garnish, but I tasted them separately and they were both great. Everyone at Wing Night loved them too!

Steeping the tea Ingredients... Aren't the egg whites pretty???
Melt the tea, butter, sugar, and chocolate together.
Heat until smooth and whisk in the egg yolks.
The finished batter ready to go!
They look like Christmas!

Cupcake recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.
Frosting recipe by me!

Chocolate Peppermint Tea Cupcakes
Makes: 18-22 CUPCAKES

1 cup water
4 peppermint tea bags
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt, plus pinch for the egg whites
3 ounces dark chocolate (I used unsweetened chocolate)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Boil water in a small pan and add tea bags. Let steep for about 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard.
3. While tea is steeping, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.
4. ln the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, place mint tea, chocolate, sugar, and butter. Stir until chocolate and butter have melted and mixture is smooth (you can use a microwave, if you prefer). Remove from heat and whisk in egg yolks, beating well. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream or buttermilk and beat until batter is smooth.
5. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff but not dry and gently fold into batter.
6. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

Peppermint Frosting (my own recipe)
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes

4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but cool
2 teaspoons peppermint extractRed food coloring (optional)

1. Put egg whites and sugar in a double boiler over simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees on a candy thermometer).
2. Pour heated egg mixture into a clean bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes (It's very important to beat it for the whole 6 minutes, or until mixture is room temperature).
3. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears soupy or separated after all butter has been added, beat on high speed until smooth again, 2 to 5 minutes more.)
4. Beat in extract. Reduce speed to low; beat 1 minute to eliminate air bubbles.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 4
Frosting: 5