I’ve never considered baking a hobby, and I partially blame my sister. Growing up, we would argue in the kitchen, screaming at each other after she refused to let me stir or taste something. To scare me away from the kitchen, she said I would burn down the house, make a mess that I wouldn’t clean up, or die of salmonella. Despite all this, baking was how we bonded as siblings, and it taught me responsibility, patience, and an openness for trying new things. My sister loves to bake and it became one of her favorite ways to relax during her last two years of highschool during the pandemic. At first, she started out by helping our grandma bake; but by middle school, she started to bake on her own, so much so that our mother had to ban her from even entering the kitchen. I used to hate baking, but now I have a great respect for it after I’ve seen how much my family enjoys the activity. In the future, I would like to try baking on my own and bring the same feeling of joy that I feel when eating my sister’s baked goods to other members of our family, especially my sister herself.

My sister first made Earl Grey Cupcakes with our uncle, and since then, it has been a family favorite. Whenever she’s back from college, I beg my sister for these cupcakes since I’m not a baker myself. My sister took inspiration from this recipe but has made a few changes according to our family’s preferences. It also includes some instructions for a vanilla buttercream but the cupcake tastes just as amazing without it! 

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup of flour
• ¾ teaspoons of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 ounces of butter

Wet Ingredients:

• Around two Earl Grey tea bags
• 1 cup + ½ tablespoon of milk
• 3 eggs
• ½ tablespoons of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven at 350°F
   
2. Heat the milk for approximately 90 seconds and then add the tea bags. Leave them in until the milk turns a light caramel color.

   – You can soak the teabags longer for a stronger flavor if desired
   – Make sure you don’t soak them for too long, or else it will taste bitter

3. Combine all the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set it aside.

4. Whisk the remaining ingredients (sugar and butter) until it becomes fluffy.

   – Add your three eggs one at a time
   – Then lastly add your vanilla extract

5. Bring back the flour mixture from before and add about ⅓ of it into the sugar/butter mix and then half of the tea-milk

   – After stirring add the rest of the flour and milk

6. When everything is thoroughly combined, you can scoop the batter into the pan and bake for about 18-20 minutes

7. After you let the cupcakes cool long enough, you can frost and decorate if desired or just eat as it is