11/10 : National Vanilla Cupcake Day- Vanilla Chai Tea Cupcakes

While perusing fellow foodie blogs, searching for my next cupcake inspiration…my eyes popped out like a cartoon character when I read the subject line: Vanilla Chai Tea Cupcakes!
It was love at first site! I knew right then and there that these cakes would be my next project! I love chai tea! I drink a chai tea with a splash of vanilla almost everyday.
I noticed that the original recipe did not include cake flour, as my favorite recipe for vanilla cupcakes, Billy’s vanilla cupcakes do. I feel as though cake flour makes the cupcake less dense so I wanted to incorporate the ingredient into the recipe.

I sort of made up my own recipe for the chai cupcakes, using suggested measurements and ingredients from both Bakingdom and Billy’s Vanilla.

Feel free to check out the links to each recipe’s site; however the recipe I created for these delightful cakes is below:

Oh and guess what! My aunt pat sent me an early Christmas present- a kitchen aid mixer!!!…makes baking so much cleaner, faster, and simpler! THANK YOU PAT!

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes — Makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 ¼ cups all purpose unbleached flour

1 ¾ cups cake flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbl baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

2 tbl. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

4 eggs

½ cup apple sauce

1 cup whole milk          

4 bags chai tea

Frosting:

1 ½ cups butter

4- 5 cups powdered sugar

1 tbl. Vanilla

1 tbl. Cinnamon

3 tbl. whole milk or heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a small saucepan, heat milk until it simmers. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let sit for 10 minutes, then remove tea bags and leave it to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, then add apple sauce until well incorporated.
5. Add 1/3 of flour mixture, mixing well. Then add 1/2 of chai tea milk. Add additional 1/3 flour mixture, then remainder of the milk, finishing with the rest of the flour, mixing well after adding each ingredient. Do not over mix.
6. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes until a toothpick can be removed cleanly.
7. For frosting, cream butter until it is light and fluffy. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, and cream together. Beat in an additional cup of powdered sugar until incorporated, then add vanilla. Add cinnamon, then remainder of the powdered sugar. If frosting seems too thick or is not mixing, add tablespoons of milk until it is the right consistency (thick enough to stand but thin enough to mix, with everything incorporated). Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and enjoy!