Chai Tea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Fall has arrived! The first golden, crunchy leaves are available for stepping on and classes are in full swing. Autumn is my favorite season, with its gorgeous colors and crisp weather—and the return of the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. However, when I returned to campus, Starbucks still didn’t have my drink of choice, so I decided to try something new. The Chai Tea Latte was everything I didn’t know I wanted and more. Spicy and sweet, creamy and hot—it was love at first sip.

I thought to myself, what only thing that could make that better?

A cupcake version, clearly.

The finished product

You will need:

2 cups milk (I used 2%) 4 tea bags (chai, obviously) 1 cup yoghurt 1 ½ cup sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger Pinch of salt and pepper Cupcake liners

Heat the milk in a pan until it is almost boiling, then take it off the stove and put the teabags in (I’d recommend tying the strings together). Let the milk-tea steep for 5 minutes, then take the teabags out.

Milk the yoghurt, sugar, oil, vanilla and tea together.

Mix together all the wet ingredients

Once it is all combined you can add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper. Some of you might be squicked out by adding salt and pepper to baked goods. Salt is always a welcome addition when baking—in moderate amounts, it makes the sweet stuff taste sweeter– and in this case, pepper will amplify the other chai spices.  A pinch is really just another way of saying “to taste”. I gave three good shakes of each.

Then add in all the wet ingredients too!

Ladle into cupcake liners and cook for 20-25 minutes. When you can stick a knife in and have it come out cleanly, remove the cupcakes from the open and take them out of the baking tray. Let them stand until they are cool. Unless you are impatient/time pressed like me– then you throw them in the freezer until they are cool enough to frost.

To make the frosting, you will need:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature

1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Once they are combined and a smooth, glossy texture, slowly add in the powdered sugar, about a ¼ cup at a time. Beat until all the ingredients are combined.

If your butter or cream cheese is too soft, you might want to put the frosting in your fridge for a few minutes to firm up.

Otherwise, decorate, garnish with a little cinnamon, and enjoy these tasty treats!

Mmmm!