Chai Tea Cupcakes

I have to say, probably my favorite thing to give people for their birthday is food. If I don’t know the person very well, chocolate chip cookies are always the best bet. However, it is the most fun making food for someone I know well, because then I can customize it to exactly what they want.

For example, last weekend, I made one of the kids I babysit carrot cupcakes for his 9th birthday. I decorated them as little baseballs because I have never known someone more in love with baseball. 🙂

Incidentally, I have used yet another carrot cake recipe for my friend, Briana’s, birthday.

I’ll have to share those recipes soon….

Of course, this past weekend, there was Dan’s chocolate chip ice cream cake that I’ve made for him the past four years…

And then yesterday, I decided to make some cupcakes for one of the ladies I babysit for whose birthday was this past Saturday. She, like most of us, loves to go to Starbucks, but she goes for their Chai Tea Lattes. So, with that in mind, I decided to find a recipe for Chai Tea Cupcakes.

(source)

I had a Starbuck’s chai tea latte for the first time when I was in England. The barrista at the Surbiton Starbucks actually made me a tall chai to try for free after I sat in line debating between trying one and getting my usual drink. It was one of those cold England-y days, so the warmth was great, but the spice was a bit much. I felt like I was drinking a spice-scented candle! 😛 Needless to say, Chai Tea Lattes aren’t for me…

…but Chai Tea Cupcakes? Hand them over, please!

There are plenty of wonderful things about this recipe (which I actually found through a simple Google search): it is vegan, relatively healthy, and can easily be varied to make wonderful muffins.

Chai Tea Cupcakes (E, N, D)
makes 9 cupcakes
very slightly adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
– 1/3 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats
– 1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp.
– 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
– 1/2 cup liquid chai tea concentrate
– 1/2 cup vanilla rice milk (or soy, almond, coconut, etc.)
– 1/4 cup applesauce
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F and line or grease a cupcake/muffin tin.
Combine the dry ingredients (oats through brown sugar) in a medium bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients (chai through vinegar) in a large bowl.
Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Mix well. Pour into prepared cupcake tin, and bake for 18-25 minutes (baking time is dependent on your oven).
Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling before you frost them.
For the frosting, I took a tub of vanilla frosting and added in about 1/8 teaspoon of the chai concentrate. Then I sprinkled the frosted cupcakes with some cinnamon.
Enjoy!

Notes:
– After mixing the batter up, I found that it was a bit too runny. That’s why I decided to add the other 2 tablespoons of flour.
– I used this brand of chai tea concentrate, and despite my dislike of chai, it is actually really good served over ice with vanilla rice milk!
– The reason I decreased the amount of applesauce is because the first time I made these (following the original recipe exactly and adding 1/3 cup applesauce) they turned out more like muffins.
That isn’t a bad thing, of course (in fact, it’s a great variation!), but for more cake-like cupcakes, definitely decrease the amount you add!