Earl Grey Tea and Fruit Cupcakes

These cupcakes use a fruit cake recipe which includes soaking the fruit in Earl Grey tea. The cupcakes are moist in texture with lots of fruit and a hint of Earl Grey. They are good as they are for those who do not like sweet toppings but would take a good topping of butter cream with a dash of a good malt whisky such as Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Bowmore . I think they would be good as a picnic filler on a day out in the country walking, bird watching and fishing.

This is the recipe for Earl Grey Tea and Fruit Cupcakes.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sultanas

1 1/4 cups raisins

3/4 pint--425ml hot Earl grey tea

3 cups wholemeal plain flour

2 teaspoons of mixed spice

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 cup light brown or muscovado sugar

1 cup chopped dates

3/4 cup moist ready to eat apricots

1/8 cup--1 oz--25 gm butter

2 eggs beaten

Method

1 Soak the sultanas and raisins overnight in the Earl Grey tea

2 Pre heat the oven to Gas 4/5--350F--180C

3 Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

4 Add the soaked fruit with the liquid.

5 Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

6 Put the cupcake cases into the patty tins.

7 Divide the mixture into the cupcake cases. This mixture does not rise very much and has an uneven cooked surface. Less mixture in the cup cases means cook it less, more mixture a longer cooking time.

8 I cooked mine in the middle to top part of a gas oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Test after about 15 minutes with a wooden cocktail stick . Place the stick into the centre of a cupcake. If it comes out dry they are cooked. Do not over cook as they may get to dry.

9 Remove from oven and cool on a wire tray.

Variations

Use a different flavour of tea such as Green tea or Lapsang Souchong

Thanks for reading

Crazycupcakes