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FOR THE CUPCAKES:
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1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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2. Grease and flour muffin tins OR use cupcake liners (24 count).
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3. Boil 1 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and steep teabags in it for 5 minutes. Remove bags, squeezing excess liquid, and cool tea completely. You can just pop the whole saucepan in the fridge while you mix the next ingredients.
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4. In a small bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, salt, and baking powder, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
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5. In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.
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6. Beat in eggs and vanilla until all is smooth and well-mixed.
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7. Gradually beat in flour mixture and cooled tea, alternating each, until all is incorporated and batter is fluffy.
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8. Fill each cupcake cup a little over half-full of batter. You should be able to get at least 24 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill them!
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9. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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10. Cool COMPLETELY before icing.
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11. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, spread with the brown-sugar icing. (Recipe follows.) I like to top the cupcakes with a few bits of candied ginger, but that's optional! They're wonderful even without!
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FOR THE ICING:
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1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
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2. Add brown sugar and mix well. Turn heat to high and cook the mixture about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sugar has melted completely and incorporated with the butter.
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3. Remove from heat and add milk. (Add the milk SLOWLY, as it is very prone to spattering at this stage and you could be burned if you're not careful!)
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4. Return to heat and bring to a boil, which should not take long!
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5. Remove from heat and cool until just about lukewarm, not cold-between 5 and 10 minutes.
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6. Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing with a whisk or fork to smooth out any lumps before adding more. Continue to mix until smooth. This will take some real arm-strength!
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7. Use immediately.
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(Note: If the frosting sets up too quickly while you're adding the powdered sugar, add a tiny bit of milk and mix well until frosting spreads easily again. If you add too much milk, balance it with a bit more powdered sugar. It's a bit trial-and-error to get everything just right, so don't be discouraged!)
