Tomorrow marks the arrival of Autumn which is my absolute favorite time of the year! Needless to say, there will be a liberal use of exclamation marks in this post. Autumn means warm and spicy liquids, toppling over with mounds of whipped cream, flushed cheeks, fuzzy mittens, and a dazzling array of bold foliage on display. One of my favorite Autumn-y beverages is a steaming swirl of spicy Chai in frothy milk so I figured why not make it into a cupcake to celebrate the arrival of Autumn?–yaaaaay!!!
- ½ c unbleached Cake Flour
- ½ ts Baking Soda
- ½ ts Baking Powder
- ¼ ts fine Salt
- ½ ts ground Cinnamon
- ¼ ts ground Cardamom
- ¼ ts ground Ginger
- ¼ ts ground Nutmeg
- ¼ ts ground Cloves
- 1 grind of Black Pepper
- ¼ c granulated Sugar
- ¼ c Brown Sugar
- 2 tb softened Butter
- 2 tb Apple Sauce*
- 1 room temperature Egg
- ¼ c warm Buttermilk
- 3 Chai Tea Bags
- ½ ts Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sift all of your dry ingredients into your first bowl (excluding your spices).
- In a separate cup, steep your tea bags for at least 5 minutes. Scoot in all of your spices and let it sit.
- In your third bowl, cream together your Sugars and Butter. Slowly stream in your Egg.
- Still working with your third bowl, spoon in your Apple Sauce (if you’re using it) and also slip in your spiced tea mixture. Next, dribble in your Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Lastly, you want to marry your first bowl with your third bowl–sprinkle in your dry mixture in about 3 separate additions, taking care not to over mix.
- Bake at 350 for 17-22 minutes for standard size Cupcakes.
- Cool and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
You can top with Buttercream, or my favorite thing to top everything with! Cream Cheese Frosting.
Dust with Pumpkin Spice or Cinnamon, take a HUGE bite!! (or 3, 6, 12…) and you’re ringing in Autumn the right way, I assure you
Love & Warm & Spicy Kisses,
Your Squishy Monster ^.~