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.

Apple Pie Cheesecake

When apple pie meets cheesecake you get this decadent dessert. Why choose one when you can have both?

I warned you the apple recipes were coming. I know you shouldn't play favourites but you guys if you make one thing from this blog let it be this. Seriously I think it is one of the best things I have ever made. A pain to photograph - oh why can't everything I make be as photogenic as a cupcake? But seriously delicious. Everyone who was lucky enough to try this delicious masterpiece commented even days after the fact that it was the best cheesecake they've ever had. It is that good. I mean when you are combining two delicious desserts - apple pie and cheesecake - its hard not to come up with something delicious. 

This cheesecake is a bit of a labour of love. I love the look of a beautiful intricate lattice pie crust - but you can omit this if you are short of time or cannot be bothered. The cheesecake will still be as delicious.  In order to truly capture the essence of apple pie, I used pie dough as my cheesecake crust rather than a traditional graham cracker crumb. I used a homemade pie crust but feel free to use your favourite store bought brand as well.  To develop the apple pie flavour I cooked my apples slightly on the stove first before layering them with the cheesecake in the oven. Since the apples are being topped with the cheesecake mixture they won't cook the same way they do in a traditional apple pie. 

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Apple Pie Cheesecake 

Makes: One 8 inch round cheesecake

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Directions 

In a medium bowl toss together all of the ingredients for the apple filling, except the butter. In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the apple filling. Simmer until the apples have softened, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese, greek yogurt and sugar until well combined. Mix in the flour and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, scrapping down the bowl after each addition. 

Preheat oven to 325F. Roll out your pie crust into a circle approximately 11 inches in diameter.  Press into the bottom of of a spring form pan with 1-2 inches of crust coming up onto the sides of the spring form pan. Spread half of your apple filling mixture on top of the crust. Pour the cream cheese cake filling on top. Bake for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes or until cheese cake is set.

Allow cheesecake to cool. Top with the remainder of your apple filling mixture and decorate with a lattice pie crust top if desired. 

To make the lattice crust - create crust design as desired and bake according to directions based on the crust recipe you've used or until golden brown. Place on top of cheese cake after baking.

Ingredients

For the Apple Filling: 

8 medium apples, peeled and sliced 

1/2 c sugar 

1/2 c brown sugar 

2 tsp cinnamon 

2 tbsp flour 

2 tbsp lemon juice 

1/4 c butter

For the cheese cake:

Single pie crust, double if you'd like to create decorations

2 1/2packages (625g) of cream cheese, softened

1/2 c greek yogurt 

1/2 c sugar 

1 tbsp flour 

1 tsp vanilla 

3 eggs, at room temperature

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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Scones

Homemade apple cinnamon oatmeal scones with a delicious sweet nutty flavour. Top with almond butter or a drizzle of maple syurp for the perfect breakfast or snack! 

We went on our annual apple picking trip a couple of weeks ago - so get ready for lots of apple recipes! I tend to go a little bit over board while apple picking and some how we always end up with 20+ pounds of apples. Oops! Apples for everyone!  I like to pick a variety of apples - some for eating and some for baking. I love making pies and other baked desserts with various apple varieties. I find that using a few different types of apples makes for a really delicious dessert.

Apples, cinnamon and oatmeal are foods that feel cozy to me. They make me think of cool autumn mornings. I have been on a big oatmeal kick lately. I have been making lots of overnight oats, bircher mueslis and granola.  Which means I basically have some form of oats for breakfast on a daily basis. Since I have been on such an oatmeal kick lately it seemed only natural to incorporate oats into the apple scones that I was planning on making after we went apple picking. Does anyone else think about all the things they are going to make after they go apple picking (or berry picking)? Just me? 

These apple oatmeal scones are perfect for breakfast or for a quick snack! The oatmeal adds a delicious hardy texture and slightly nutty flavour to the scones. I love the combination of apples and cinnamon together. The apples add a nice natural sweetness to the scones. I would recommend enjoying these scones topped with almond butter, or butter with a drizzle of maple syrup!

Apple Oatmeal Scones 

Makes: 8 Large Scones

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Ingredients

1 c oats 

2 c AP flour 

1 tbsp baking powder 

1 tbsp sugar 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 c apples, peeled & shredded (about 2 medium apples) 

1/2 butter, cold, cut into small cubes

1/4 c heavy cream, plus more for brushing scones

Corse sugar (optional)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and apples. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter, until coarse crumbs form. Using a rubber spatula stir in heavy cream. 

Turn dough out onto counter top and form into a circle about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Cut circle into 8 wedges. Place scones onto prepared baking sheets and brush with cream. Top with corse sugar if desired. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.  

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