We had another office birthday last week, and I had a strong urge to bake cupcakes, as I hadn’t really made any since Halloween! (What is this world coming to?)
I didn’t have any specific requests from the birthday girl, so I figured I’d hit Pinterest and look for inspiration. Just a few scrolls in I knew what I was making – Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes!
I love chai, I love cupcakes, it needed to happen.
Unfortunately, it turned out that the recipe I found contained actual chai tea, and embarrassingly enough, I only had one bag on hand. So, I went rogue and while these have the essence of chai with all of the spices, only the icing is made with actual tea.
In any case, I don’t like to brag, but let me just come out with it – real chai or not, these are amazing. If you like chai tea, you are going to love these! They have all of the spicy sweetness of a chai tea latte, but in cupcake form!! So yummy.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 egg large
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 scant teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 scant teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 scant teaspoon ground cloves
- dash black pepper
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 bag chai tea
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 dash salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- dash black pepper
- 2 lb powdered sugar
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Cream together sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, beating well after each addition.
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Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until test done with toothpick. Remove from the tins immediately and cool on a wire rack.
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Heat milk until it simmers. Remove from heat, then add the tea bag and steep for 5 minutes.
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Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix together butter, salt, and extract until well blended. Add spices. Gradually add powdered sugar one cup at a time and whip vigorously. Gradually add tea-infused milk until desired consistency is reached.
