In search of the perfect gift for her father’s summer birthday, Hannah Kaminsky, cookbook author, photographer and blogger extraordinaire at Bittersweet, baked up these creative, seasonal iced tea cupcakes. We featured them way back when, and thought that they deserved a refresh!
Mixed into both the cake and the frosting, the instant tea powder brought me right back to my childhood, thinking how grown up it was to be drinking this fancy iced tea concoction. These cupcakes are decided less “grown up,” but way too much fun to pass up.
Piled high with mounds of fluffy frosting, I made sure to be generous with the piping bag to satisfy [my father’s]well-established sweet tooth. As if that weren’t enough, a light sprinkling of coarse white sugar adds a slight crunch, and is a nod to that sugar-saturated brew my dad is so fond of. Finally, that touch of lemon is a nod to the lemon flavored tea that was a common choice back in the days of buying a mix.
Though these iced tea cupcakes may not cool you off on those hot summer days, the sweet tea flavor enhanced with lemon is certain to perk you up. Plus, these personal-sized cakes are perfect for Father’s Day, 4th of July, a weekend picnic spread, or a phenomenal post-barbecue dessert. Best of all, the ingredients for these iced tea cupcakes are quite easy to find in almost any grocery store.
Special Diet Notes: Iced Tea Cupcakes
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 1 cup plain soymilk or dairy-free milk beverage of choice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup non-GMO canola or grapeseed oil
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup instant unsweetened iced tea mix
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dairy-free margarine (soy-free optional), room temperature
- 3 cups powdered confectioner’s sugar
- ½ cup instant unsweetened iced tea mix
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line 12 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- Whisk together the milk beverage, lemon juice, and oil in a large bowl, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, iced tea mix, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt so that all of the dry ingredients are well distributed. Add the dry goods into the wet, and stir just enough to incorporate everything and get out most of the lumps.
- Distribute the batter equally between your prepared tins, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- Place the margarine, confectioner’s sugar, tea mix, and lemon zest in the bowl of your stand mixer, and start it on low speed. Slowly add in the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time, increasing the speed once the sugar is mostly incorporated. Whip on high for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Apply frosting to cooled cupcakes, and top with coarse sugar or pearl sugar if desired.
15 Comments
This looks incredibly delicious! Being the southern girl that I am, this sweet tea is right tup my alley. I love the combination of lemon and iced tea; it’s a match made in heaven 😉 I would definitely use either soy or cashew milk in this. Thanks for posting! I recently made a southern cooking and baking blog. I would greatly appreciate it if you would check it out! Thanks so much!
I would never have thought to add iced tea to cake and frosting, but they sure look delicious – just perfect for summer BBQs
Wow, how unusual. However, I bet the two just somehow work and work really well indeed. I’d d love a big nibble for me and my kids! xo Nic
Whoa those look amazing- Thanks so much for sharing Hannah’s cupcakes- I didn’t realise iced tea was so popular until I arrived here!
Never enough of Hannah’s recipes 🙂 Yes, we love our iced tea in North America, but how it is served varies by region quite a bit!
Alisa, the lemon ice tea frosting for these cupcakes look AMAZING!
More amazing than the Amazing Spiderman.
If I were Spider-man I’d stop and stare at these cupcakes, web them into my mouth and carry on in my superhero endeavors. YES THEY ARE THAT DARN GOOD!
STUMBLED THIS! Because, well, they are awesome. That is all!
You are awesome Levan.
Your pictures are just beautiful, Alisa! Love the ice cubes in the pictures. These Cupcakes look delicious and bet the frosting with the lemon twist taste refreshing. Perfect for summer gatherings or BBQ.
I have never seen anything like this before, how creative! They’d be perfect for a summer picnic.
Love all things sweet tea, and these cupcakes look delicious! Pinning these for later! 🙂
Thank you Josie!
Sweet tea SAVES me during the summer. I love the idea of using it in cupcakes. My husband is allergic to dairy, so bonus that these are vegan.
Delighted to see this recipe featured again. It’s such a fun treat, and yes, it’s particularly delicious when served chilled on a hot summer’s day! 😉
It’s an amazing recipe Hannah and I appreciate you sharing it!
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