Ingredients
Scale
Chai Spice Mix
- 2 and ½ – teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 and ¼ – teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and ¼ – teaspoons ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon – ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon – ground clove
- Pinch of black pepper
Cupcakes:
- 2 bags – chai tea
- 1 cup (240g) – non-dairy milk, 90° F or lukewarm (I used soy)
- 1 teaspoon – white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon – vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) – vegetable oil
- ¾ cup (150g) – white sugar
- 1 2/3 cup (210g) – all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon – baking powder
- ½ teaspoon – baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon – salt
- 3 teaspoons – chai spice mix (above)
Chai Spice Frosting:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) – vegan butter, softened at room temp (I use Country Crock’s Plant Butter)
- 3 1/2 cups (420g) – powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons – chai spice mix (above)
- 2–3 tablespoon – non-dairy milk (only use if needed)
Equipment:
- Food scale
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Cupcake Liners
- 12-cup muffin pan
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Wire cooling rack
- Rubber spatula
- Piping bag
- Piping tip
Instructions
Prepare chai spice mix:
- In a small bowl, combine the ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground allspice, ground clove, and black pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
Steep the tea (see notes)
- Bring the non-dairy milk to a boil or heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Pour it over the tea bags and steep for 20-30 minutes. This is your chai milk.
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Next, when your chai milk has cooled to room temp, add in 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and mix to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, add in the white sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chai spice mix. Mix until well combined.
- Next, add in the bowl the chai milk mixture, add in vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Whisk until emulsified and then add it into the dry ingredients. Combine all the wet and dry ingredients until you get a thick batter.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Fill only 2/3rds of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven, and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. After, remove from the pan and let them fully cool on a wire cooling rack. Do not frost at this stage, it will melt right off.
Chai Spice Frosting:
- Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, whip butter on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until creamy and smooth.
- On low, beat in the powdered sugar in batches until fully incorporated. Until creamy and smooth. You might need to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally.
- Next, add in the vanilla extract and chai spice and continue to whip the frosting until well incorporated.
- Continue to beat on high until you get a nice smooth and fluffy consistency and everything is well incorporated. About 2-3 minutes.
- If the buttercream frosting seems super stiff and not pipeable, add in a tablespoon of non-dairy milk and mix. The frosting should be stiff enough to hold its shape but soft enough to use as decorative piping.
Assembly:
- Frost cooled cupcakes and serve. For fun, I stuck a cinnamon stick in some of them and sprinkled them with a mix of the remaining chai spice mix. Enjoy!
Notes
- A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error. My recipes are 100% tested in grams.
- However, if you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Watch this video from King Arthur on how to properly measure your flour if you don’t have a food scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUSovVHpqsU
- Chai milk can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight. Just make sure that it’s brought to room temp before adding it into the batter.
- Do not overfill the cupcake liners. This recipe makes exactly 12, fill only 2/3rds full.
Keywords: vegan, vegan dessert, vegan cupcakes, vegan chai latte cupcakes, chai, chai cupcakes, fall, fall dessert
Made this for a potluck and got rave reviews! easy to make as well.
★★★★★
Thank you! I’m so glad that this recipe was a hit at your potluck!
My wife requested chai cupcakes for her birthday and I hadn’t made them since being vegan so needed to find a new recipe. This recipe is incredible! You’d never know the cupcakes were vegan, in fact I think they were better than the non-vegan ones I used to make!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you and your wife loved this recipe! That makes me so happy.