A Desire For Adventure

Friday, November 19, 2010

Friendship isn’t a big thing - it’s a million little things. - Author Unknown

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 tsp. chai spice mix (recipe below)

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Chai Spice Mix Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Butter Cream Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

remainder of the chai spice mix

1 Tbsp. cold milk, if needed to thin out the butter cream

Cupcake Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners.

In a small bowl or plastic bag, combine the chai spice mix ingredients. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and beat in one egg at a time. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the chai spice mix. Fold in the flour and buttermilk alternately and stir until combined, don’t over mix. Mix together the baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl, then add it to the batter and mix until combined.

Spoon into prepared cupcake tins until 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Buttercream Directions:

In a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is creamy. On low, mix in the vanilla and the rest of the chai spice mix. Carefully beat in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thick add 1-2 tbs of cold milk until the desired consistency is reached. Then pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip.

gimme some oven