A Teaspoon of Turmeric

A regal cupcake for the Royal Wedding ~ Chai Spiced Cupcake with Shirkhand Icing.

At the moment my British accent is on and I’m ready to watch the Royal Wedding in a short few hours. After all, the memory of watching Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981 hasn’t really left me.

Shortly thereafter, I was given a commemorative Royal Wedding book as a gift from one of my cousins sent from abroad. This book became one of my bedtime picture book “reads” night after night, as I leafed through the photos of the guests gussied up in their royal wedding attire and alluring fascinators. I can’t remember how many times I looked at that book.

Tonight I went through some old boxes looking for that commemorative book. I hung onto it all these years because the memory of the wedding of the century is a memory I won’t forget. After looking in every possible place, sadly I realized the box of odds and ends containing the keepsake book was thrown out as “junk”.

I’m shattered.

I guess I don’t need a book to remember The Princess of Wales’ long train, her timid wedding day smile and all the good she did after all.

With all eyes watching the wedding across the pond, we may as well make a ‘high tea’ party out of our early morning. So here is a regal cupcake for the royal wedding ~ Indian Spiced Cupcake topped with Creamy Chai Spiced Shirkhand Icing. Many were asking for the recipe, so here it is!
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Regal Indian Spiced Cupcakes with Creamy Chai Spiced Shirkand Icing

Cupcakes:
1/3 cup butter, softened
¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup milk
1 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp. Arvinda’s Chai Masala
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
12 cupcake liners

Method: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin baking pan with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar. Add egg and mix. Mix in vanilla. Set aside.

Sift all dry ingredients together. Mix in half dry ingredients with creamed butter mixture. Add milk and mix well. Sift in remaining half of dry ingredients.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cupcakes are golden and cooked all the way through. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Shirkhand Icing:
1 tub Balkan-style plain yogurt (750g container)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground raw pistachio
1 tbsp. coarsely ground almonds
1 tsp. Arvinda’s Chai Masala
pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp. of milk

Method: Lay a pile of newspapers on the counter top. Line newspapers with a cheese cloth and spread yogurt evenly on the surface.

Allow 5-6 hours (or overnight) to drain excess water from the yogurt.

Scoop yogurt “cheese” into a bowl. Mix in sugar, saffron, pistachios, almonds and Arvinda’s Chai Masala. Mix well and spoon onto cupcakes as frosting.
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The Shirkhand makes a delightful icing!

I’m pretty sure somewhere in Prince William and Kate’s repertoire of tea drinking includes Masala Chai, with the UK being the worldwide purveyor of Indian cuisine.

I’ll be sipping some Masala Chai along with my regal Indian Spiced Cupcakes in a high tea manner in the morning. How about you?

Congrats to Prince William & Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

A teaspoon of: Tired Pony. Listening to: That Silver Necklace.