I finally decided to have my house warming on the weekend. It was about 4.5 months after I moved in. Even though I held a big party before the house warming, it was more for family, and family friends who haven’t seen the place before. I ended up inviting so many people I kind of forgot who I invited. It was like a surprise party every time I opened the door! I didn’t know who it was going to be. I highly suggest you do the same, it was a lot of fun 😛

I had about 30 people crammed in there at one point… pretty impressive, since no one spilled out into the backyard. Of course, everyone was hovering around the food though! Apart from frantically cleaning the house, I was madly cooking up a storm. Luckily my Mum and aunt also helped a lot, and with surprise dishes from April, Kat and my cousins it turned into a very impressive spread. Daisy who had been to high tea before coming said our food was better, and my aunty also said it was better than any high tea she had been to!

Chai Cupcakes

Eric Landlard

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 125 g 4.4oz Plain flour
• 25 g 0.9oz Pure cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 25 g 0.9oz Instant chai tea mix for the cupcakes
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 0.25 tsp Fine salt
• 100 g 3.5oz Unsalted butter, softened for the cupcakes
• 150 g 5.3oz Caster sugar
• 2 Large eggs
• 0.5 tsp Vanilla extract
• 80 ml 2.8fl oz Milk
• 200 g 7.1oz Unsalted butter, softened for butter-cream frosting
• 50 g 1.8oz Instant chai tea mix for butter-cream frosting
• 60 g 2.1oz Icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1 Orange - finely grated zest

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C)/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, chai mix, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and mix together.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, using an electric hand whisk on medium speed. This will take about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well. Then stir in the vanilla.
• With the whisk on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the creamed butter mixture and beat until well combined and smooth.
• Fill the cupcake cups with this batter up to three-quarters full. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until risen, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
• For the frosting, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Refrigerate until the cakes have cooled.
• Spread or pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes and, if you like, sprinkle with extra cocoa powder and icing sugar to decorate.