Don't try this at home kids

I received a bevy of fabulous gifts from my "Aunt" Rita last week (shout out Rita, thanks for reading!). She is a fellow baker so I got some really cool stuff for baking. I couldn't wait to try a recipe from one of the Marta Stewart books she sent- Cupcakes and Cookies. I also wanted to try one of the gadgets that came along as well. So I set to work picking out a recipe that I could bake in the sweet heart shaped silicone cupcake mold.... I had visions of mini heart shaped cupcakes that everybody would ooh and aah over...

Sad, isn't it? It took 10 minutes for me to realize why there was acrid smoke coming out of my oven. Then I had to try to release the melted plastic from the oven grates without spilling the molten cupcake batter. Turns out it was an ice cube tray and I'm a dumb-ass.

There was some good to come out of this disaster however. I also made a whole tray of mini cupcakes in a non-melty baking tin! And they were really cute and tasty (albeit not as cute as little heart shaped cupcakes). You must check out these books- especially the cupcake book. I don't know if I'll ever be skilled enough to pipe true-to-a-photo roses on a cupcake, let alone many cupcakes, but a girl can dream.

CHAI TEA MINI CUPCAKES
Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Makes 48 mini cupcakes

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 bags black tea (I used chai tea bags since I had some)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• Condensed Milk Icing (below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add tea bags and steep covered for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing bags over pan, discard tea bags. Cool milk to room temperature.

Whisk together dry ingredients.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer on med-high until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until tops are pale golden and spring back when touched, about 10-12 minutes. Turn out onto cooling rack and cool completely.

To finish, dip the top of each cupcake in icing and let set. I put mine in an airtight container before the icing was completely set I think, which made the icing wrinkle and look like brains.

CONDENSED MILK ICING
Makes enough for 46 mini cupcakes. Go figure

• 4 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup icing sugar

Mix together butter, condensed milk, salt with an electric mixer on med-high until smooth. On low speed mix in icing sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until combined. Beat on high speed until thick and smooth. Use immediately.