To me nothing says summer more than a cool glass of iced tea or a nice cool glass of lemonade. Well a while ago I cam across a drink that put the two together and its a match made in heaven. As the story goes a golfer by the name of Arnold Palmer visited a country club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and he asked the bartender to mix lemonade with his iced tea the bartender refused and Arnold Palmer became angry. Finally the bartender relented and the drink was born. A perfect marriage of sweet iced tea and lemony lemonade makes a heck of a summer drink. So I decided to bake some cupcakes that reflect that same flavor.
I saw Paula Dean make this cupcakes on her show once so I decided to try out her recipe and I
must say the end result was quite tasty.
Arnold Palmer Cupcakes
Ingredients
* 1 cup milk
* 5 black tea bags
* 1 cups unsalted butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 tablespoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoons salt
* Arnold Palmer Frosting, recipe follows
Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until hot to the touch. Place tea bags in hot milk, and let steep for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags. Let milk cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1/2 cup milk and tea mixture, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add dry mix into the wet ingredients.
Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread or pipe Arnold Palmer Frosting evenly over cupcakes.
Arnold Palmer Frosting:
* 1 cups unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
* 1/2 cup reserved milk/tea mixture
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
In a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar alternately with tea/milk mixture slowly. Beat in lemon juice until creamy.
