You’ve heard of a London Fog, but have you heard of Dublin Smog? These cupcakes are inspired by a magical drink I had this summer while visiting Dublin. Imagine a London Fog, in all its earl grey – vanilla glory, but with the delightful addition of Irish Cream! Hence, Dublin Smog. And these earl grey cupcakes with Irish Cream buttercream are Dublin Smog in cake form!
Last summer I spent some time solo traveling in the U.K. and Ireland. I spent three days exploring and snacking my way through Dublin, and while there I stumbled across Accents Coffee Lounge. It’s a fairly unassuming coffee lounge, but while there I had the most unbelievably delicious Mixed Berry Scones, and I had a Dublin Smog for the first time!
This cozy little coffee lounge had quite an impact on me; so much so that I’ve based two recipes on the treats I had there! I ended up visiting the coffee spot every day during my short trip to Dublin. And if I’m ever lucky enough to return to Dublin, I know the first place I’ll go for a delicious scone and an Irish twist on the London Fog.
The cupcakes are such a treat. Earl grey and vanilla cupcakes brushed with earl grey syrup and topped with to-die-for Irish Cream frosting. Whether you’re a tea lover, Irish Cream aficionado, or just appreciate a delicately delicious cupcake, you gotta try these guys.
Looking for even more sweet treats? I <3 these S’mores Cupcakes. Or if you have a bundt cake pan that’s been gathering dust, try out this Chocolate Kahlua Cake. I’ve been told by many that it’s the best chocolate cake they’ve ever tasted! And just for good measure, this Rum and Brown Sugar Coconut Cream Pie is another delicious, boozy infused treat.
Enjoy these delightful cupcakes with a steaming cup of tea, or even an Irish coffee!
Earl Grey & Irish Cream "Dublin Smog" Cupcakes
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 bags earl grey tea
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 6 tablespoon butter at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Earl Grey Syrup:
- 2 bags earl grey tea
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
Irish Buttercream:
- 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the batter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Heat the milk until just boiling, either on the stove in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Steep teabags in milk for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
- With a mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy and well combined.
- Reduce speed to low, and add egg, then egg white, letting mix until well combined after each addition. Add in vanilla extract.
- Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then about 1/2 of the tea infused milk. Beat until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and the rest of the milk. Add in the remaining flour. Turn speed to medium and mix until all flour is incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Divide batter evenly into muffin cups, spooning each cup about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from the muffin tin and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Make the earl grey syrup
- Add sugar, water, and tea bags to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and once simmering allow tea bags to steep for 5-8 minutes. The longer you steep the tea, the stronger the earl grey flavor will be. Set aside and allow to cool.
Make the buttercream and assemble
- In a standing mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add Irish cream, and stir for 1-2 minutes on medium-low speed.
- Slowly add in powder sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and sugar is well incorporated. It's helpful to use a spill guard or clean kitchen towel to prevent sugar from getting all over your kitchen when mixing in the sugar!
- Brush each cupcake with simple syrup, doing about 2-3 coats of syrup per cupcake. Frost cupcakes with buttercream, and enjoy!
I made these but they came out more like a muffin texture. Has this happened to anyone else? My 1st time making cupcakes. Did I overmix?
Hi Julia, by that you mean they were more dense like muffins? If that’s the case, it sounds like you might’ve over mixed the batter, so it got a bit more tough than it should. When I make cupcakes I try to err on the side of under mixing, so if I see a spot or two of flour I’ll mix that by hand so I don’t risk over mixing.
I know I made these before and they were absolutly perfect, but now, everytime i click on the link it just shows me one random recipe from your blog but not the one for the cupcakes?
I really hope you can look into it or maybe mail me the recipe, I am longing to make these again :D:D
Thank you so much
xxx
Thank you so much for pointing this out Janne, and I’m so sorry you’ve been having issues accessing this recipe!
I recently went through a site redesign, and looking into this issue it seems like there was a weird glitch going on with the tool I use for displaying recipes. This issue *should* be fixed now, but please email me at bella.whiskandwhiskers@gmail.com if you have trouble accessing this recipe again!
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoy these cupcakes and I hope you enjoy them again!
Bella
OMG Thank you so much for fixing this :D:D:D:D cant wait to make these again!!!
[…] was so good I came back to this cafe every day I was in Dublin! I already made a recipe for Dublin Smog Cupcakes based on the delicious tea I had, and now I’ve done my best to recreate the berry scones as […]