The idea behind this week's cupcake is one that I have had for some time now, but the last push came from a box of 'Bold Chai Tea' that was given to me as a gift on my trip home this past weekend. The true name 'Masala chai' literally translates to 'mixed-spice tea', an Indian beverage made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic spices and herbs. The specific tea used in this recipe consists of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and black pepper. Both the cake and buttercream frosting are vanilla and chai based, and I added a dash of cinnamon to finish them off.
Chai Tea Cupcakes
1 cup milk
3 bags Chai Tea
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1tbsp loose Chai Tea (approx. 2 bags)
In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat until a low simmer begins. Add tea bags and steep tea bags over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl combine butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy (~3 minutes). Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and loose Chai leaves. Add them to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the milk/Chai/vanilla mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients until combined. This batch yielded 12 regular and 5 mini sized cupcakes baked for 13 and 10 minutes respectively.
Chai Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
3 tbsp whip cream
1 Chai tea bag
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 oz cream cheese (1/3 reduced fat)
2 cups icing/confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heat the cream over low heat and steep the tea bag for about 3 minutes; allow to cool to room temperature. In the meantime, cream together butter and cream cheese (~1 minute). Add sugar and mix until well combined at medium speed until smooth (~2-3 minutes), scrapping down the sides as necessary. Add cooled Chai and vanilla, mix well.
This produced exactly enough frosting for the cakes. I finished them off by sprinkling each cake with a dash of cinnamon.
1 cup milk
3 bags Chai Tea
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1tbsp loose Chai Tea (approx. 2 bags)
In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat until a low simmer begins. Add tea bags and steep tea bags over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl combine butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy (~3 minutes). Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and loose Chai leaves. Add them to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the milk/Chai/vanilla mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients until combined. This batch yielded 12 regular and 5 mini sized cupcakes baked for 13 and 10 minutes respectively.
Chai Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
3 tbsp whip cream
1 Chai tea bag
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 oz cream cheese (1/3 reduced fat)
2 cups icing/confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heat the cream over low heat and steep the tea bag for about 3 minutes; allow to cool to room temperature. In the meantime, cream together butter and cream cheese (~1 minute). Add sugar and mix until well combined at medium speed until smooth (~2-3 minutes), scrapping down the sides as necessary. Add cooled Chai and vanilla, mix well.
This produced exactly enough frosting for the cakes. I finished them off by sprinkling each cake with a dash of cinnamon.
The Panel:
The cupcakeivores produced overall positive comments for this week's treat. Statements were made that the flavours worked well together overall and that the frosting complimented the cake in both presentation and taste. The level of appreciation for the spices varied as some prefer a spicier cake (Cupcake Canine) while others felt there was just enough to relay the Chai essence (Shannah). Mixed reviews, as always, on moisture content of the cake.
JRock: "Perfect for tea time."
Glameow: "Absolute perfection."
My comments:I found the cake to be rather fluffy and aromatic overall though individual cakes could have used some extra frosting to amp up overall flavours. The essence was very similar to that of a carrot cake, without the carrot of course. In future uses of this recipe I would try to incorporate more spices by adding another table spoon of loose tea to the batter.
The cupcakeivores produced overall positive comments for this week's treat. Statements were made that the flavours worked well together overall and that the frosting complimented the cake in both presentation and taste. The level of appreciation for the spices varied as some prefer a spicier cake (Cupcake Canine) while others felt there was just enough to relay the Chai essence (Shannah). Mixed reviews, as always, on moisture content of the cake.
JRock: "Perfect for tea time."
Glameow: "Absolute perfection."
My comments:I found the cake to be rather fluffy and aromatic overall though individual cakes could have used some extra frosting to amp up overall flavours. The essence was very similar to that of a carrot cake, without the carrot of course. In future uses of this recipe I would try to incorporate more spices by adding another table spoon of loose tea to the batter.