Masala Chai Cupcakes for Cupcake Lovers Day

Masala Chai Cupcakes for Cupcake Lovers Day

with Tipu's Chai

In honor of Cupcake Lovers Day, June 13th, we were inspired to try some chai flavored cupcakes!

A hot cup of chai is delicious with a cupcake.  But what if the chai is IN the cupcake?  The spices used in Masala chai are often used in baking.  So a bit of chai is a great way to kick up the flavor in any baked goods.

This cupcake recipe includes sour cream, which makes them extra moist.  We like our chai flavor pretty loud so we used 4 teaspoons of Tipu’s Chai Now Unsweetened Chai Tea but you can adjust that to your own taste.   If you only have Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew on hand, you can simmer a Tablespoon in the milk for at least 3 minutes and strain it before adding the sour cream.

A little trivia about Cupcake Lovers Day:

  • The first mention of a cupcake recipe goes as far back as 1796. Amelia Simms wrote a recipe in “American Cookery” which referenced, “a cake to be baked in small cups”.
  •  However, it wasn’t until 1828 that the actual word cupcake was used by Eliza Leslie in her cookbook “Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats”.

 

Masala Chai Cupcakes for Cupcake Lovers Day with Tipu's Chai

  • Serves: 14-16
  • Prep Time:
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Ingredients

For Cupcakes:

  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 4 teaspoons Tipu’s Chai Now Unsweetened Chai Tea
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 cup cake flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature

For Condensed Milk Glaze

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (7 ounces)
  • Pinch of coarse salt
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease and flour your tins.  Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat.  Remove from heat; whisk in Tipu’s Chai Now Unsweetened Chai tea.   When dissolved, whisk in sour cream and vanilla.  Allow mixture to cool completely.

Whisk together both flours, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of chai-infused milk and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched and are pale golden, 12-14 minutes.  Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make your glaze.  With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together butter, condensed milk, and salt until smooth.  Whisk in confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup at a time until combined, then whisk on high speed until thick and smooth.  Use immediately.

To finish, dip top of each cupcake in icing, then turn over quickly, and let set.  Or you can use a knife to drop a bit of icing on the top of each cupcake.   If you want a stiffer icing, add more confectioner’s sugar.   Top with small piece of candied ginger or a pinch of nutmeg.  Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

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