Chai Cupcakes

I recently had a request for some Chai Cupcakes from a friend of mine. Since I have never had a chai cupcake myself, or even seen any recipes during my internet wanderings, I got right to work to find the perfect recipe.


I thought that the Snickerdoodle cupcake recipe would be the perfect base because the batter lets whatever spices you add shine through.  I mixed up a quick spice mixture with the common flavours used in chai-flavoured lattes and desserts and got to work taste testing!

I found that a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom was the best received by my willing taste testers.  Since the cupcake had such a distinctive flavour, I used a Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream to complement the cupcake so that the frosting wouldn't compete with the cupcake.


I was so happy with how these turned out, and I really hope my friend enjoyed them as well :)

This recipe makes about 26 regular-sized cupcakes.  Feel free to add the spice mixture a couple of teaspoons at a time until they are as spicy as you like your chai tea.


Chai spice mixture

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cardamom

Chai Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 to 2 tbsp chai spice mixture (to taste)
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line you muffin pans with cupcake liners
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tbsp of the spice mixture
3. In a second bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy
4. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar two at a time, mixing well after each addition
5. Add the vanilla and again mix well
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well
7. Add the milk, mixing until well incorporated
8. Mix in the rest of the flour mixture and then give it a quick taste test.  Feel free to add more spice mixture if you want it to be stronger in flavour (I added about another 1/2 tbsp at this point)
9. Fill your cupcake liners, and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a cupcake
10. Let cool completely before frosting
11. Frost with your favourite vanilla frosting, or enjoy the delicious chai flavour in a naked cupcake!
12. Enjoy!