Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes

Sorry the picture is so bad. These are my Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes with Sweetened Buttercream

My daughter loves to watch the mixer go and was being crabby so I decided to try to whip these up with her. I cheated and used a box mix but whatever I think they taste great and after you work all day something quick and easy that you can throw together with a 1 year old is great.

If you have never had a Thai Iced Tea you are definitely missing out. I love them and wanted to make them at home and went to several market places to find the tea which was difficult because at the authentic shops I went to no one spoke english.

I just used a white cake mix and followed the back of the box except for the water. I substituted thai tea I had brewed and cooled. It was made with THAI tea not CHAI tea. It is a wonderful bright orange color when brewed. This is the color the batter turned when the tea was added (no food coloring). I saw some recipes that used the tea powder but they said the taste wasn't very good.

For the frosting I made regular buttercream frosting but added about 1/4c. condensed milk since that is what is in a traditional Thai Iced Tea. I also added vanilla bean to the frosting (I love all the little flecks in the frosting) and toasted some large coconut flakes and rolled the edges in it.

Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 pound unsalted butter (room temp)

1 vanilla bean split and deseeded

1/4c. condensed milk

1 Tblsp meringue powder

4-6 c. powdered sugar

I just go by taste and desired thickness. You can add a teaspoon of milk if needed also.