I absolutely love chai. Ever since college, it is still hands-down my favorite drink to order at coffee shops. (And even lately – I’ve been experimenting with recipes making it at home!) Whether it’s cool and iced in the summer, or warm and cozy in the winter, a good chai is definitely my “comfort” food of the warm drink world!
So when I recently saw some chai cupcake recipes popping up on the blogosphere, I knew I had to give them a try. Then I also found out the theme for this week’s Holiday Recipe Exchange was vanilla, I figured this was the perfect week to try some vanilla chai cupakes – yum!
Unfortunately, to be honest, my first batch was a total disaster, thanks to accidentally adding just 1/2 cup flour instead of 1 1/4 cups flour. Arggggg. But thankfully once I actually followed the recipe, they were extraordinary! The vanilla and chai spice flavors are absolutely delicious, and the cupcakes came out with a perfectly light and fluffy texture. Then once they were iced with this simple but rich cinnamon buttercream…look out. Completely irresistible. :)
So if you love chai, you must give these a try!
Vanilla Chai Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. chai spice mix (recipe below)
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Chai Spice Mix Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Buttercream Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- remainder of the chai spice mix
- 1 Tbsp. cold milk, if needed to thin out the buttercream
Instructions
Cupcake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
- In a small bowl or plastic bag, combine the chai spice mix ingredients. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and beat in one egg at a time. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the chai spice mix. Fold in the flour and buttermilk alternately and stir until combined, don’t over mix. Mix together the baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl, then add it to the batter and mix until combined.
- Spoon into prepared cupcake tins until 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Buttercream Directions:
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is creamy. On low, mix in the vanilla and the rest of the chai spice mix. Carefully beat in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thick add 1-2 tbs of cold milk until the desired consistency is reached. Then pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip. (I used a 1M Wilton tip.)
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
I’ve mentioned this before, but an easy way to get perfectly sized cupcakes (and muffins!) is to scoop the dough into the muffin tins with an ice cream scoop. I like this one.
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Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.
Glad they turned out so good for you the second time around–I will have to add these to my list of “to-make-cupcakes”! :-)
I love chai! These look delicious!
I love chai, too! Have you ever had a “dirty chai,” or a chai with a shot of espresso in it? It’s this professional barista’s guilty pleasure—tastes like pumpkin pie in a cup. Yum.
Oh my goodness! I am a HUGE Vanilla Chai Tea fanatic! I have to make these asap! Thanks so much for submitting these beauties to our Holiday Recipe Exchange. Best of luck in the contest!
-Jamie
I’ve got to try these, and soon!!
i can’t wait to add it to my chai repertoire! i love chai and your recipes are always fabulous!
Looking forward to your chai recipe!
Oh my gosh, I am a chai lover. I can’t wait to try these! My beverage of choice is anything pumpkin chai…so I may add a pumpkin twist to these!
These look delicious and I love your other cupcakes so I’ll give these a try. I don’t have cardamom in the house – it is crucial enough that I need to go out and purchase some?
I made the salted caramel icing the other day and had leftover caramel for some apples the next day. AMAZING! Thanks for showing me how easy it was to make my own.
I honestly don’t think I have ever had chai anything! What rock have I been living under? These look amazing.