Look at these Chai Latte Cupcakes – so much to love here! All the warming spices that are in your favorite coffeehouse beverage are in these cupcakes.
As these bake, the most amazing smells will be wafting through your kitchen…scents of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves and cardamom with a hint of vanilla.
All those spices are not only in the cupcakes – they are in the frosting too! You can see the little flecks of chai spices in the buttercream frosting.
The creamy frosting is finished off with a sprinkling of coarse raw sugar mixed with cinnamon and cardamom – YUM! Fluff and crunch!
You can hand-frost these with an offset spatula or use a pastry bag. I used the Wilton tip 1M for these. It is an easy tip to use and creates a nice swirl on top.
Perfectly seasoned chai latte cupcakes – so pretty and tasty. The Sprinkles Baking Book by Candace Nelson is filled with beautiful cupcake and dessert ideas – you will love just looking through it and thinking about all the goodies you would like to bake.
Try adding a cinnamon stick garnish to your cupcakes, along with the sprinkles. Or instead of the sprinkles, you could sprinkle the cupcake with a cinnamon -sugar mixture and then add the cinnamon stick.
What a treat! The warm chai spices are like a hug in a cupcake! Enjoy!
Chai Latte Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chai Latte Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
Chai Latte Frosting
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Large pinch of ground cloves
- Large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Crunchy Sugar Topping
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
Chai Latte Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°, line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, cardamom, pepper, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vanilla.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the eggs one at a time, and beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating until just blended after each addition.
- Divide the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17-19 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting with Chai Latte Frosting and sprinkling with Crunchy Sugar Topping (optional – not part of the original recipe).
Chai Latte Frosting
- In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cardamom, cloves, pepper and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar mixture, milk and vanilla and beat until blended, being careful not to incorporate too much air into the frosting.
- Hand-frost with offset spatula or a pastry bag ( I used tip 1M).
Crunchy Sugar Topping
- Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of frosted cupcakes.
