Are you a chai latte fan? I love spices, so of course, I couldn’t wait to make these vanilla chai cupcakes.  They are a blend of warm spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.  These cupcakes have just the right amount of sweetness and spice, similar to the drink, except these are much better.

These chai cupcakes are filled with chai flavor in every bite.  It is like classic comfort food because it makes you want to curl up on the couch with a cuppa.  It is light and fluffy and is tea in the form of a cupcake. Pairing it with brown sugar Italian Meringue buttercream with a dash of chai spice puts it over the top with flavor.  The buttercream is not too sweet, yet it hits all the right notes. This page may contain affiliate links which means that I may earn a small commission if you purchase from any links directed from this website. I only recommend things that I use and the classes I have taken. Wowisthatreallyedible is a participant in the Amazon Services Associate Program. As an affiliate of Amazon, we place custom links in blog posts (such as this one). Thank you very much for your ongoing support.

Chai Spice Cupcakes and Main Ingredients

To make these chai cupcakes, I adjusted my vanilla cupcake recipe and added the chai spice with a chai spice-infused buttermilk.  I used the same method to make Earl Grey cupcakes and loved how they came out.  So, I decided to try it again and the result was fabulous.  The aroma of the spices makes it feel like fall, except it’s not and it’s like 30 degrees outside (yup, it’s winter over here).

When I was finished making these cupcakes my mom stopped by (instant taste tester) and I immediately gave her a cupcake to try. She absolutely loved it.  While I couldn’t get her to try the frosting, I was happy she had a cupcake.  Since COVID I lost all my taste testers from work. So, I have been bribing my son to try my goodies.

• Chai Spice Mix–Mix ground cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice together to create the warm chai spice.  It will not only smell delicious but will have a nice kick to it.
  
• Cake flour–I know my vanilla cupcake recipe uses self-rising cake flour, but I wanted to change it up a bit.  Instead, I used cake flour, I believe they both yield the same texture so there is no real change.  The only difference, self-rising cake flour has leavening and salt added which makes it much easier.  If you don’t have cake flour measure a cup of all-purpose flour and remove two tablespoons, then add two tablespoons of cornstarch and sift together.
  
• Buttermilk–I like using buttermilk because it makes the cake moist and tender.
  
• Butter and Oil– Whenever possible I like combining butter and oil.  The combination makes you get the flavor of the butter (delish) and oil for a moist cupcake. 
• Chai teabag– I used Tazo chai teabag to infuse the buttermilk because that’s what I had on hand and I like their teas.  However, you can use any chai teabag.
• Cupcake liners–I used these greaseproof cupcake liners on Amazon that I absolutely love. There is no grease and they don’t stick to the cupcakes, win-win.

How to Make Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the cupcake liners to a muffin pan.
• Mix the spices together to make the chai spice and set it aside.
• In a medium bowl, measure the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chai spice, then set them aside.
• In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add the two bags of chai spice tea bags. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes.  Remove the tea bags and squeeze out the excess buttermilk.
• In a large bowl, beat butter, oil, and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla
• Then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
• Then, add flour alternately with buttermilk
• Beat well after each addition.
• Continue beating for one minute or until combined. Then use a cookie scoop to pour into the cupcake liners. You will need about two scoops.
• Bake 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool in the muffin pan, then move them to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

The Frosting: Brown Sugar Italian Meringue Buttercream

I used my delicious brown sugar Italian meringue buttercream for the frosting with a pinch of chai spice.  This time around, I did not infuse the sugar syrup with chai tea, as I did with the Earl Grey cupcakes, because of the deep flavor of the brown sugar.  Look at that beautiful buttercream. 

I know that Italian meringue buttercream takes some effort to make, but it is delicious.  Therefore, I suggest making it ahead of time.  An alternative is to use vanilla Italian meringue buttercream or this easy buttercream recipe with a teaspoon or more chai spice.

Decorating the Cupcakes

To decorate the cupcakes I fitted a piping bag (I used these) with a Wilton 1M tip and filled it about half-way with buttercream.  I piped a small amount of buttercream in the center, and piped around it, then released pressure once I got to the top.  You can find more tips for decorating cupcakes in this tutorial.

That’s it for today, super yummy vanilla chai latte cupcakes.  If you like this recipe don’t forget to share and give a star rating.

As always until next time happy caking.

Vanilla Chai Spice Cupcake with Brown Sugar Buttercream

Delicious vanilla cupcakes with warm chai spices.

4.34 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Buttercream 25 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 15 Cupcakes

Equipment

• Stand mixer or Handheld mixer
• Candy thermometer

Ingredients

  

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Vanilla Chai Spice Cupcake with Brown Sugar Buttercream

Chai Spice Mix

• 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

• 2 bags Chai tea
• 3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp chai spice mix
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Brown sugar Italian Meringue Buttercream

• 3/4+1/8 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of chai spice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large egg whites
• 2 sticks butter

Instructions

 

Directions for Making the Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the cupcake liners to a muffin pan.
• Mix the spices together to make the chai spice and set it aside.
• In a medium bowl, measure the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Chai spice, then set them aside.
• In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add the two bags of chai spice tea bags. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Remove the tea bags and squeeze out the excess buttermilk.
• In a large bowl, beat butter, oil, and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
• Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
• Continue beating one minute. Use a cookie scoop to pour into the cupcake liners.
• Bake 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool in the muffin pan, then move them to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Directions for the Brown Sugar Italian Meringue Buttercream

• For more information and use the step-by-step tutorial found here.
• In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar and water and place on low heat with a candy thermometer.
• While the sugar is on the stove, in a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peak. Start right around the time the sugar reaches about 200°F.
• Remove from heat when the syrup reaches 240°F, which is soft ball stage.
• Turn the mixer on 8 and slowly pour the hot syrup into the meringue.
• Then turn the mixer on 10 and beat until the bowl is cool to the touch.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, it will look curdled at first don't worry, just keep mixing until it comes together.
• Once the buttercream comes together, add the vanilla and the chai spice and mix well.

Decorating the Cupcake

• To decorate the cupcake, fit a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip,
• Pipe a small amount of frosting in the center, then pipe around it. Release pressure when you get to the top.
• Sprinkle some chai spice to the top and add a cinnamon stick (optional).

Notes

Notes:

How to make cake flour-measure a cup of all-purpose flour and remove two tablespoons, then add two tablespoons of cornstarch and sift together.

Replace with self-rising cake flour- use the same amount of self-rising flour and eliminate the salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

To make this dairy-free-replace the butter with plant-based butter such as earth balance and the milk with soy milk mixed with lemon juice for vegan buttermilk i.e. 1 cup soy milk to 1 tbsp lemon juice.

 

Keyword cupcakes, Vanilla Chai Spice Cupcakes, vanilla cupcake

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