Chai Cupcakes with Honey Ginger Cream

As promised,  here is the first of my trial wedding cupcakes! 

Chai Cupcakes with Honey Ginger Cream 

This recipe was inspired by Pinterest, (as usual) via this picture:

I adapted the recipe from Whisk-kid.com  to make it cupcakes. Plus, since I am just taste testing I have been halving all of the recipes so I don't wind up with obscene amounts of cupcakes! 

Chai Cupcakes  (Makes about 6 cupcakes)

2/3 Cup milk (I used Silk Light Soymilk)
3 Tbsp loose black tea (I couldn't find loose black tea at the regular grocery store so I just used 4 tea bags and dumped them out.)
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp fennel
1/2" of ginger, peeled and grated
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 c all purpose flour
1 c  sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

Simmer milk, tea, cardamom, fennel and ginger in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Remove from heat and continue to steep for 5 minutes.  Strain milk mixture into a bowl, trying to get out as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and set milk aside to cool. 

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Prepared cupcake cake tins with liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and 1/6 cup of the chai milk. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Beat on low to combine, then add the butter and remaining chai milk. Beat on low speed to blend, then raise speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl often and mixing just to incorporate. 

Fill cupcake liners about half way and place in preheated oven. Bake for ~25 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.  Place in refrigerator to cool completely. 

My cupcakes came out rather high. I am not sure if that was due to overfilling the cupcake liners or if this recipe really just does puff up a lot. 

In order to make frosting the cupcakes easier I cup off the tops of the cakes. 

Honey Ginger Frosting

3 oz light cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c  honey
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1.75 c  confectioners' sugar

 Place cream cheese, butter, honey and ginger in a bowl and beat on medium to medium high. Add in confectioners sugar slowly, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. 

Refrigerate until a slightly thicker consistency. 

Once the frosting and cupcakes were cool, I piped the frosting on. 

And then decorated with a sprinkle of cinnamon: 

Ta-da! 

Conclusion: 


* the taste was quite delicious. I personally think it could have deal with maybe even being a bit more Chai-y 


* the texture was a bit dense and some complained it was dry.  This may be due to overcooking, or perhaps to using light milk? Or maybe the baking powder I used was past its prime so it did not rise the way it should have. 


* the frosting was good, but did not pipe well. Even the ones that were pictured with the nice piping eventually all flattened out. More butter would likely help the frosting to stand up better, or just spread the frosting. 

Any tips for improving the recipe are welcomed! 


What is your favorite kind of cake?? 

 (Photography by Jordan Garry)