Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

Full of delicious warming spices, giving it the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting, this cupcake perfectly embodies a delicious chai tea latte.

Chai tea lattes are one of my go to drinks! In the summers I love them iced and I switch to hot lattes during the fall and winter months. The blend of black tea with the various warming spices never fails to warm me up and make me think of cozy evenings wrapped in a warm blanket and reading a good book.  The chai tea latte flavours always make me think of fall. Everyone gets really excited about Pumpkin Spice season (myself included) but I often think that the Chai Tea Latte gets over looked.

I knew I wanted to highlight the chai flavours in a cupcake. I decided to use a store bought chai tea latte concentrate in these cupcakes. This way I didn't have to worry about purchasing various different spices and trying to perfect my chai tea latte flavours for the cupcake. I love the way that they turned out.  Of course, I decided to top the cupcake with a cream cheese frosting - because you can never go wrong with cream cheese buttercream! The tangy cream cheese flavour pairs well with the chai spices and the creamy-ness of the frosting mimics the foam atop a latte. 

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Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

Makes: 2 Dozen Cupcakes

Ingredients 

For the Cupcakes:

1 c milk 

1/2 c chai concentrate 

2.5 c flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tbsp baking powder 

1 c butter, at room temperature 

3/4 c sugar 

3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs

For the frosting: 

1/2 c butter, at room temperature 

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature 

4 c icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 tsp cinnamon 

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325. Line trays with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the chai concentrate and milk, set aside. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed, beat together butter and sugars, until well combined. Mixture should be light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. On low, slowly mix in half of the flour mixture. Followed by half of the chai/milk mixture. Repeat, ending with the chai/milk mixture. Mix until just combined, take care not to over mix the batter. 

Fill cupcake liners 2/3s of the way full. Bake on centre rack for 20-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting:

In the bowl of stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. The mixture should almost double in volume. Starting on low, beat in icing sugar, move mixer up to higher speed and beat for an additional minute or so. Mix in vanilla and cinnamon.  Frost cupcakes as desired. See how I frost my cupcakes.

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

Deliciously moist these rich chocolate cupcakes are sure to become an instant classic in your home. A recipe that you will return to again and again for special occasions, birthdays and every day treats. 

I am so excited to share this classic chocolate cupcake recipe with you! It is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. I make this recipe so often that I actually have it memorized. One of my favourite things about this recipe is that you don't need to remember to take your butter out of the fridge beforehand since the recipe calls for melted butter. Here's to not needing room temperature butter! 

These cupcakes are deliciously chocolate-y! The touch of coffee really brings out the chocolate flavour. I promise you won't even know there is coffee in the final cupcake! The recipe also includes sour cream (or you can substitute yogurt) which you know means that you will end up with a perfectly moist cupcake! They also bake up really well, into perfect rounded even cupcake domes. 

I typically pair these cupcakes with my vanilla buttercream recipe but they are the perfect base for pretty much any kind of buttercream frosting you can think of! Make them double chocolate with your favourite chocolate buttercream recipe. Fill them with Nutella! Top them with a minty buttercream frosting for a delicious chocolate mint cupcake - the possibilities are endless! 

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Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes: 1 dozen

Adapted from: Annie's Eats Basic Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

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Ingredients

1/4 c hot water 

1/4 c cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp instant coffee 

1 c flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 c butter, cut into cubes

1 c sugar 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 c sour cream 

Vanilla buttercream

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water, cocoa powder and instant coffee. In another medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine the butter and sugar. Stir occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. On medium, beat butter & sugar mixture until it begins to thicken and pales in colour (approx. 4-5 mins). You want to ensure the mixture has cooled slightly before adding your eggs. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and cocoa mixture. Mix until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour, followed by the sour cream, ending with the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake liners. Fill liners 1/2-2/3rds of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost as desired with vanilla buttercream.  I tinted my buttercream with wilton gels (Sky Blue & Lemon Yellow) and frosted my cupcakes with a Wilton 1B tip. You can see how I frost my cupcakes here. 

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Pina Colada Cupcakes

These Pina Colada cupcakes are perfect for summer and will make you feel like you are on a tropical getaway! 

If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, then these cupcakes are for you.  These coconut cupcakes are filled with a pineapple puree and topped with a silky rum buttercream. A cherry on top and a cocktail umbrella complete these festive cupcakes. These cupcakes will make you want to head to the beach.

The cupcakes are full of coconut flavour. I used both coconut milk and shredded coconut in the cupcakes to really highlight the coconut flavours. Coconut pairs so well with different tropical fruits. I decided to go with a pineapple filling but I think mango would also work great with these cupcakes, if you're looking to do something a little different. 

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I decided to put together a video for you of me making these cupcakes. There a couple of steps to get to the final product but trust me they are worth it! The flavours batter, filling and frosting each come together to create the tropical pina colada flavour!  The recipe for the cupcakes, filling & frosting are below. Enjoy! 

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Pina Colada Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

Makes: 1 Dozen

Ingredients

1 1/2 c cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 c sugar

1/3 c butter, melted

1 egg

1 c coconut milk

1 c shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners, set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar

In a small bowl whisk together, coconut milk, egg, and butter. Mix into dry ingredients until just incorporated

Stir in shredded coconut, until just combined

Fill cupcake liners with approx. 1 tbsp of batter, or approx. 2/3s of the way full. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean

Pineapple Puree Filling

Ingredients

1 can ringed pineapple, 3 rings removed - reserve for decorating

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Using a blender, blend together remaining pineapple rings and pineapple juice from the can, until pureed. You should have about 1-1 1/2 cups of pureed pineapple

In a small heavy bottom pan over medium heat mix together pineapple puree and sugar. Bring to a light simmer (3-5 minutes)

Whisk in 1 tbsp of corn starch. Bring to a boil for 3-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened - should be able to coat the back of a spoon

Remove from heat and allow pineapple puree to cool completely before using

Rum Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 c butter, at room temperature

3 c icing sugar

1 tbsp white rum

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium - high speed whip butter until light and fluffy

On low speed, add in icing sugar one cup at a time. Mix on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until buttercream is light and fluffy and has increased in volume

On medium speed, mix in rum until just incorporated

Assemble the Pina Colada Cupcakes

Directions

Use a knife, or cupcake corer, to remove the centre of each cupcake. Set aside. Fill each cupcake with approx. 1 tsp of pineapple puree. Replace top of cupcake

Fill a pipping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D pipping tip, with buttercream. Frost each cupcake as desired

Top cupcakes with slice of pineapple, maraschino cherry and cocktail umbrella

Enjoy!