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recipe
Apple Chai Cupcakes - A Family Feast

Apple Chai Cupcakes

Adapted from Cupcake Friday Project

Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
Prep: 30 minsCook: 25 minsTotal: 55 minutes
Units:
Scale:

Ingredients

For the Spice Cupcakes

  • 1 1/4 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 cup chai concentrate (we used Tazo)
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Apple Filling

  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped medium-fine
  • 1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored and chopped medium-fine
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Chai Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup chai concentrate
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions

To make the cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Set aside.
  3. In a measuring cup, combine the chai concentrate and milk. Stir to combine and set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs on high for approximately 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk again until frothy (about 30 seconds).
  5. Add the oil and vanilla to the mixing bowl and blend until combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk-chai mixture to the mixing bowl, blending after each addition. (Don’t worry – the batter will be a fairly liquidy batter and this is OK!)
  6. Divide the batter equally into the 12 cupcake liners. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
  7. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

To make the Apple Filling

  1. While the cupcakes are baking, in a medium bowl, combine the chopped apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter until bubbly. Add the apple mixture and cook with the lid on the pan for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Remove the lid and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the apples are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the frosting

  1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the chai concentrate until have have 3-4 tablespoons remaining in the pan. Set aside in the refrigerator to chill.
  2. In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and beat until combined.
  3. Alternate adding the reduced chai and the remaining 1½ to 2 cups of confectioners (add all of the reduced chai but only as much sugar as needed to get the right frosting consistency) – whisking well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Whip on high for 2-3 minutes to get the frosting a light and fluffy consistency.

To assemble the cupcakes

  1. Using an apple corer, remove a small section of the center of each cupcake. Then fill the cupcake with some of the apple filling, pressing down to pack the filling into the cupcake.
  2. Place the frosting into a pastry back fitted with a star tip (like this one) and pipe onto the top of each cupcake.

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© Author: A Family Feast
Cuisine: American Method: Bake