Chai Latte Cupcakes from the Luxe Baker
Alina Fintineanu is a competed in season five of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Since her season aired, she has spent time perfecting new original recipes, including her Chai Latte Cupcakes. Made with chai-infused milk and buttercream, this will be your new go-to baking project when you must stay indoors when it’s too chilly! Check out her website Baking With Alina.
Serves 15
Chai infused milk
150 ml milk, 2%
4 Chai tea bags
Sponge
135g unsalted butter, softened
120g golden yellow sugar
200g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
90ml chai-infused milk
½ cup chopped pecans
Buttercream
250g unsalted butter, softened
225g powdered sugar, sifted
3 tsp chai infused milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp salt
Cinnamon sugar
½ tbsp demerara sugar
Large pinch of cinnamon
Decorations (optional)
Star anise and cinnamon sticks
To make the infused chai milk:
In a small saucepan, warm the milk until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and add the
tea bags. Leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze tea bags well, discard, and set infused
milk aside.
To make the sponge:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Sift together all the dry ingredients: flour, spices, salt, baking
powder, and baking soda. Cream together the butter and golden yellow sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients, careful not to overmix. Add 90 ml
of the chai-infused milk, and ½ cup of chopped pecans. Pipe batter into a prepared and
lined cupcakes pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a
cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 1 min, then gently remove the cupcakes to a
cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make the buttercream:
Place all buttercream ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Mix well, until the sugar is dissolved, and the frosting is light, fluffy, and voluminous. Pipe
onto cupcakes using your desired piping tip (I used Wilton 1M).
To make the cinnamon sugar:
Place demerara sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Rub together using your fingertips.
Sprinkle onto frosted cupcakes and top with star anise and half a cinnamon stick (optional).
