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.
I made these for a bake sale yesterday and they were a hit! I did add cream cheese to the frosting and it put them over the top! Thanks!
Thanks Amy, I’m glad they were a hit!
I made these for a Valentines Day cupcake contest at work. While my wife thought that they tasted more like spice cake than chai, they were a huge hit at work. In fact, they won the flavor category. Will definitely make these again.
These are delicious. I made two batches, one using this recipe and I adapted this recipe for the second batch to make them dairy free for my dairy allergic child, using rice milk and earth balance spread, they turned out even better!
I made these a few nights ago and just to change things up a bit I mixed up a batch of homemade apple pie filling that I spooned into the center of each cupcake. It was an AMAZING surprise when I served them for dessert!
Hey Ali,
I have made these cupcakes several times. Always rave reviews! Anyways, I spilled on my printed recipes, and am back to print a new one, and can’t find where to make a printer friendly version? Am I missing something?
I’ve made these about 6 times now and everyone always asks me to make them again! Such a hit… delicious :) ‘Chai’ love them!!
I baked those cupcakes and they were a total hit – amazingly good. Thanks!
Just made these, they’re excellent. Thanks!
I made these cupcakes last week. Although the flavor was really good, they were very dry. I would add some sour cream or buttermilk to them if I made them again. I liked being able to buy cardamon at Sunflower Market in a very small quantity.
Hi, these look so yummy! I went into the supermarket to look for ground cardamom and it said on the package that it was dehydrated garlic made from mature cloves, is this what I would use in this recipe? Please help I really want to make them!