These Chai Latte Cupcakes are the perfect blend of fluffy, soft, and moist. Topped with a generous swirl of a chai-spiced buttercream frosting, they taste just like a chai latte from your favorite coffee shop, and are perfect for the Fall season!
This is one of my Cupcake recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
As impressive as massive layer cakes are, I definitely prefer cupcakes. They’re so cute, easy to decorate, easily feed a crowd, and are easily freeze-able.
Plus I feel they’re a lot easier to store than a big layer cake.
This cupcake recipe tastes like one of my favorite coffeehouse drinks, the chai latte!
The sweet and cloying marriage of black tea, sugar, milk, and a combination of warming spices… man, it’s absolutely my favorite drink (hot or iced!).
These cupcakes are flavored with actual chai tea, chai spices, and topped off with a silky smooth spiced buttercream frosting!
How to make chai latte cupcakes?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Combine spices. This is best done in a small bowl.
- Combine dry ingredients. I like to do this in a smaller mixing bowl. In this recipe, it would be the flour, some of the chai spice mix, baking powder and salt.
- Beat wet ingredients. You’ll want a bigger bowl for this, and using a mixer is highly recommended.
- Combine both wet and dry. Add the flour mixture to the larger mixing bowl and beat until combined.
- Scoop and bake. You can scoop or spoon the batter into the muffin pan.
- Beat butter. This can be done in a stand mixer or hand mixer.
- Add spices, then sugar. Do this gradually, and with a low speed to keep the sugar from flying out of the bowl.
- Beat. Increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
- Frost. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Helpful Tip!
For the perfect cupcakes, have all the cold ingredients at room temperature before you start mixing. Room temp ingredients will always mix together better and more fully, than cold ones will.
Variations of this recipe
- Chai spice – instead of making your own blend of chai spice, you may be able to find a blend of spices at the grocery store.
- Oil – you’re free to use your favorite neutral-flavored oil instead of the vegetable oil called for.
- Salted butter – for the frosting, if you have salted butter, you can use that. Just omit the salt from the frosting.
- Vanilla bean paste – instead of the vanilla extract, for a more robust vanilla flavor, feel free to use vanilla bean paste.
- Cream cheese frosting – try reducing the butter to 1 cup, and replacing it with an 8 oz block of cream cheese (softened to room temp). Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Then beat in salt, chai spice mix, and powdered sugar.
FAQ’s
Yes, unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen! I don’t recommend freezing any frosted cupcakes though. Be sure to check out the “Freezing” section of the post below for more details.
I’m certain that it could, although I haven’t tested it to be able to tell you how long it should be baked, or at what temperature. If you’d like to do some baking experimenting, I’d love to know what worked for you!
Absolutely! If you’re watching your caffeine, you can certainly use decaf tea to make this recipe.
Making cupcakes ahead of time
Cupcakes are great to make ahead of time, because when stored properly, they can last a couple of days before frosting.
Although, for the best moist texture and fluffiness, I don’t usually like to make mine more than a day ahead of time.
Storage
Leftover, frosted cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days, in an airtight container.
Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for up to 5-7 days, in an airtight container.
Unfrosted cupcakes can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Freezing
To freeze unfrosted cupcakes, add cupcakes to a baking sheet and place the whole thing in the freezer for about 2 hours, or until hard.
Wrap frozen cupcakes individually in plastic wrap, then transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container, label it with the date, then freeze.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting.
Tips for perfect cupcakes!
- Room temperature ingredients. As I mentioned earlier in the post, the ingredients will all mix together better if they’re room temperature.
- Be careful with how much you’re mixing. Over mixing can leave you with a tough, overly dense cupcake. Just mix the dry ingredients into the batter until no flour streaks remain as you stir.
- Pay attention to how much you’re filling the cupcake liners. Follow what the recipe suggests for how full to make them. Fill them too much and they can overflow, too little and they won’t even reach the tops of the liners.
- For optimal results, bake one pan at a time. I know it’s a hassle, and most of the time, I’m guilty of cramming two pans in there side by side (but then rotating and switching sides halfway through baking). But when you’re starting out, or want perfect cupcakes, bake one pan, and put the pan right in the middle of the center rack.
- Let them cool. Don’t try to frost a cupcake that’s still warm, it’ll end up a big ol’ mess. Let the cupcakes cool, then pile up that frosting as high as you’d like!
- Follow the recipe. This may seem like a no-brainer, but there’s a reason the recipe is written the way it is; because it works that way. With cooking you may be able to swap out ingredients, guess on the measurements, etc, but with baking you really don’t want to do that. Only use any substitutions specifically mentioned, and follow everything to the letter.
My Favorite Way to Scoop Batter!
Cookie scoops are perfect for scooping the perfect amount of batter every time. This size is perfect for muffins/cupcakes!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Chai spice mix
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Chai cupcakes
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp chai spice mix
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs preferably at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brewed chai tea
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Chai buttercream
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp chai spice mix
- pinch of kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar whisked to remove any lumps
Instructions
Combine spice mix
- To a small bowl, add all chai spice mix ingredients (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg). Whisk or stir to combine well. This will be divided amongst the cupcakes and frosting.
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Make cupcake batter
- To a mixing bowl, add the flour, 2 Tbsp of the chai spice mix, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside for now.
- In a separate bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), add the oil and sugar, and beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- Add the brewed chai tea, milk, and the flour mixture. Beat until smooth and no flour streaks remain.
Bake
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 of the way up (approximately 3 Tbsp of batter in each well of the tin).
- Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs, or clean.
- Let cupcakes cool on a wire cooling rack until they're room temperature.
Make buttercream
- Add butter to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), and beat with a mixer until fluffy.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbsp chai spice mix and salt and beat until combined.
- Add in powdered sugar, a little at a time, mixing on a lower speed to prevent the sugar from flying out of the mixer.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium, and beat for another 2 minutes or until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Frost cupcakes
- Transfer frosting to piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (or your desired tip), and once the cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe swirls of frosting onto cupcakes.
- Garnish with a dusting of ground cinnamon, a star anise pod, and/or a cinnamon stick if desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- This recipe makes approximately 18 cupcakes, which you are free to divide up into as many servings as you’d like.
- For best results, bake the cupcakes one pan at a time.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Julie says
Loved this! I didn’t have cloved or cardamom so I used a bit of extra all spice, and I let the chai tea steep for a much longer time to see if I could get some extra flavor. Seemed to work really well!
I did run into them being denser for cupcakes, but I like that personally! But this could honestly be just a user error as well, over or under mixing. Not sure though.
Nora says
I have never had cupcakes turn out this perfect 😍 thank you for the amazing recipe !
Jade says
hiii these look soo good but i was wondering if i could make these gluten free or would a gluten free flour mess with the texture and/or density??
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t have any experience with gluten free baking, so I truly couldn’t say for certain how that would work in this recipe. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Jo says
Can this cake be made with a box cake?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure it could, that would be a whole other recipe to develop.
Emma says
Hi! I was wondering how to store them if I made them the night before I made them? Should I leave them out and covered or in the fridge?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi there 🙂 All the storage information, including how long they’ll last and how to store them, is located in the “storage” section of the post above the recipe.
Stephanie says
These were really great. The buttercream was extremely buttery, so next time I make these, I’ll be adding a bit more salt in the recipe to cut the butter flavor.
Sandra says
My kids couldn’t stop eating these cupcakes! They were so good! Thanks for the recipe!
Catalina says
Oh my goodness! My family will go crazy over these cupcakes!
Erin says
Looks so good! I’m just excited to make this!
Marla Jones says
What brand Chai spice mix do you use?
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t use a brand, I use the chai spice mix listed in the recipe 🙂
Wernertara says
Is that what you brew too? How do you brew it?
The Chunky Chef says
I use a chai tea bag to brew the tea for this recipe.
Amanda H says
These are really good, however, the oil tends to make them more dense than if you use butter. I really like the chai spice mixture… I’ve even converted a non chai lover to like these cupcakes. The spice mixture in my buttercream cream recipe is fantastic 😊