Milk, Tea & Honey Teacup Cake

by Emma Barlow | 19 November 2015

Makes: 3 average tea cups

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 Typhoo tea bag

100mls milk

85g salted butter at room temperature, plus a little extra for greasing

50g castor sugar

1 large egg

100g plain flour

35g ground almonds

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g honey + 3 tsp for soaking the warm cake with

For the cinnamon honey icing:

210g icing sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

15g salted butter

45g honey

20mls cold water

Method:

Milk, Tea & Honey Teacup Cake

Before you start, please do check your tea cups are safe to bake in the oven; if they are dishwasher safe then it's likely they are, but basically, don't use Granny's best china.
Warm the milk on the stove in a small pan over a low heat until just starting to bubble at the edges.
Add the Typhoo teabag, stir, then transfer to a jug and cool in the fridge (with the teabag still in).
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Grease the tea cups with a little softened butter and place on a baking tray.
Beat the butter and sugar together using a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, dribble by dribble, beating well as you go.
Mix together the flour, ground almonds and baking powder and set aside.
Remove the milk from the fridge, discard the Typhoo teabag, (being sure to squeeze it beforehand), add 50g honey and stir well.
Beat half of the flour mixture into the creamed butter, then half the honeyed tea-milk.
Beat again and repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
Divide equally between the prepared teacups, being careful that the batter comes no higher than two thirds up the sides.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes on a baking tray (the deeper the cup the longer it will take to bake) until a skewer comes out of the centre of the cakes clean.
Whilst still warm, brush with 1 teaspoon of honey per cake and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Make the cinnamon icing by mixing all the ingredients together and then using to flood the top of each completely cool cupcake. (If the cakes have peaked too much and threaten to poke through, simply slice the tops off and eat them as a chef's perk).
Give each teacup a few sharp taps on a work surface to bring any bubbles to the top; these are pleasingly reminiscent of little bubbles of tea.
Serve with a cup of Typhoo and a teaspoon.