Fall'Tea Logic, Cup'a Chai + Cake = Cupcake

Fall tea logic

We hope you have been working out because this week we are going to be a tea'mpting you! We have made a list of tealicious fall goodies all made using The Chai Bar Blends!! 

So, get your oven mitts ready to roll. 

We do love pumpkin spice a latte, but we are sure you will get plenty of the fall flavor anywhere you go this season, so we are diverging a bit from the traditional and showing you some fall favs with a twist! 

We have two recipes for you this week. These should set you up with unique treats to bake for the first half of fall!

We will be bringing you two more tea treats in the second half of fall! 

  1. Go big or gourd home - Pumpkin Spiced Chai Cupcakes

We showed you how to make Pumpkin Spiced Chai in our Blog Post - Spice Up Your Life. Now we are going to show you our take on a spiced chai cupcake recipe by Dessert for two by Christina - Presenting the ultimate fall dessert! 

TEA'P: If you're not a fan of pumpkin, we have added an alternate ingredient to this recipe, so read on! 

YIELDS 4 Cupcakes 
PREP TIME  10 minutes
COOK TIME 28 minutes

Ingredients

All you kneed is love- and all this other stuff .. but mostly love. 

For the spiced cupcakes:

  • 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour (You can replace this with raw banana flour ) 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (go easy on the ginger or skip this step for a less spicy cupcake) 
  • 2/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg 
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon (go easy on the cinnamon for a less spicy cupcake) 
  • 1 large egg (we like to use vegetarian feed free-range eggs) 
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (preferably homegrown and freshly purified - if you are getting the store-bought one then make sure to get the unsweetened 100% pure pumpkin kind) 
  • IF YOU WANT TO SKIP THE PUMPKIN AND MAKE CHAI CUPCAKES SIMPLY REPLACE PUMPKIN WITH APPLESAUCE AND REDUCE THE OIL TO 1 TBSP
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (you can also simply use white cane sugar for a different taste you can add jaggery) 
  • 3 tablespoons sugar (If you only have brown sugar use 4 tbsp here) 
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

For the chai buttercream:

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and nutmeg.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin puree, (or applesauce,) brown sugar, (or jaggery), sugar, and vegetable oil. 
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mix slowly combing until there are no lumps 
  5. Divide between the cupcake liners and bake for about 30 minutes.
  6. Prick test to make sure they are cooked through. 
  • While the cupcakes cool, boil a 1/3rd cup water in a small pot. 
  • Once it reaches a rolling boil then add Sanyukta Bharatam and let it simmer on low for 4 mins. Then turn the heat off and let it cool.
  • Whisk together butter and powdered sugar until fluffy
  • Strain the tea and add little by little to the mix make sure to set aside the extra tea. Combine well. 
  • TEA'P Brush the cooled cupcakes with a bit of the tea mix before frosting 
  • Frost and serve!
        2. Apple-y Ever After - Chai Apple Cake 

Who needs cinnamon scented brooms when you can make your whole house smell like chai and apples.. smell the cake and eat it too!  

This is our take on the Chai Apple Cake recipe by Lynn at Fresh April Flours. 

YIELDS  10 servings 
PREP TIME  45 minutes

COOK TIME  30 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 1 1/2 cup (180g) milk any kind, any fat content (you can also use vegan milk) 
  • 3 tbsp The Chai Bar Sanyukta Bharatam -Classic Masala Chai
  • 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour (you can also use banana flour) 
  • 3/4 cup (112g) flax meal 
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder 
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 2 teaspoon ground ginger (go easy on the ginger or skip this step for a less spicy cake) 
  • 1¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
  • 2/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg 
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter melted and room temp 
  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar 
  • 2 eggs room temperature (we like to use vegetarian feed free-range eggs) 
  • 1/4 cup (62g) unflavored yogurt any fat content, room temperature
  • 4 cups Fuji or Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced about 1/8-inch thick

For the chai cream cheese:

  • 4 ounces (112g) full fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger 
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons (15-30g) milk or cream

Instructions

CHAI CAKE

  • In a small saucepan, heat milk gently over low heat until steaming, being careful not to bring to a boil. Add The Chai Bar Sanyukta Bharatam and simmer on a low flame for 5 mins. 
  • Set aside for 20 minutes. Allow it to cool.
  • Once the milk is cooled, strain the chai and add 1.5 tsp to the spice mix. Lynn suggests you re-measure the milk if you have too much just drink the extra chai and if you have too little and replace any that evaporated and let it sit in the chai mix for 20 mins. Set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and set aside.
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until no clumps remain. Add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and cooled milk. Whisk until smooth. Add the apple slices and mix to incorporate them evenly. 
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients well and gently fold together until no flour pockets remain. (Do not overmix)
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in cake pan. Remove cake from cake pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. You may want to level the cake before frosting, but this is not required.

SPICED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, spices, and milk and beat until combined. Add more sugar if frosting is too thin, or more milk if it is too thick.
  • Spread frosting evenly on top of cooled cake. The cake will stay fresh up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or three days at room temperature. Cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Refrigerate it to allow it to thaw overnight. 

We hope you chai these recipes if you have any questions comment below and we will get back to you as soon as possible. 

 Don't forget to follow The Chai Bar on Instagram you could win a sample pack of ALL of your Black Tea Blends! We are celebrating having crossed 1000 followers! *EEEP* 

Stay tuned for some Insta - live chai tutorials and more! 

 In lieu of breast cancer awareness month, we are still donating 5 % to Breast Cancer Research Foundation from the sale of all Kashmiri Pink Chai this month. So, shop some Pink Chai for a Cause from The Chai Bar online tea boutique

Thank you once again for all the love and support! 

Stay warm, Tea'ta! 
Co-authored by Sargam Merchant and Madura Chaudhari

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