Chai cupcakes

Portion size: Makes 12
Prep time 45 min. Cook time 25 min
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Vegetarian

Emily Gussin

Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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Starting with a chai-infused milk, these cupcakes have a beautifully tender crumb and are richly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and black tea.

Love a bite-sized bake? Check out more delicious cupcake recipes.

Before you start

Make ahead These will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and the flavour will develop over time so they’re actually best to eat the day after you’ve made them.

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Ingredients

180g self-raising flour
180g golden caster sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
180ml sunflower oil
2 medium free-range eggs

For the chai milk

1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
4 cardamom pods
4 peppercorns
2 tea bags or 2 tbsp loose-leaf black tea
250ml whole milk

For the chai custard buttercream

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
230g icing sugar
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground cinnamon

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Method

Lightly crush the spices in a pestle and mortar. Put all the ingredients for the chai milk in a saucepan and put over a medium-low heat. Cook gently for 5 mins, stirring regularly, until the milk is a rich beige colour and smells spiced. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a jug to remove the spices.
Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole cupcake with paper cases. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. In a jug, whisk the oil and eggs until combined, then mix into the dry ingredients, followed by 200ml milk.
Divide the batter among the cupcake cases and bake for 22-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with only a few damp crumbs. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
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Once the cakes have cooled, put the soft butter in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy. Sift over the icing sugar and beat to combine well. Add any remaining infused milk 1 tsp at a time, until the buttercream is a soft dropping consistency then stir in the spices. Spread or pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.