Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

Fall is my favorite season, and I don't mind winter either. One thing I particularly like about the cold time of year is the smell of warm spices. I am a sucker for cinnamon rolls all year long, but I only break out the more distinct spices like ginger or cloves as the Holidays approach.

In my role as a hockey mom I spend a lot of time in the cold, and for this reason I need a place to go that provides a heated place to sit down, a tasty beverage, wifi (when do you think I do all my blogging?) and a bathroom - in this exact order ;-)

This season Colin and his teammates moved on to a higher category, meaning their practice takes place later in the afternoon, meaning at some point I don't drink coffee anymore. That's where chai tee comes in.

I have been trying different recipes for chai muffins or cupcakes. Some require to infuse chai tea bags in simmering milk, others tell you to cut the tea bags open and grind the contents in a spice mill, and I was over here thinking "who needs tea bags if you can google and make your own chai spice mix?"

Now there are probably a dozen diy chai spice mixes out there, some contain fennel seeds and star anise (which are super decorative, but I don't particularly like the taste) and you might want to find out for yourself which cinnamon to other spices ratio you like best.

Here's the one I like:

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, ginger and nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground vanilla and allspice
a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

113.5 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
60g unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped (2oz)
60ml freshly brewed espresso (1/4 cup)

2 large eggs
50g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
100g brown sugar (1/2 cup)

100 - 125g all purpose flour (3/4 - 1 cup)
1 teaspoon  baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift flour, spices, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl until combined.
3. Place eggs and sugar into the work bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat together until light and fluffy. Scrape down attachment and bowl. 
4. Pour your espresso into a sauce pan and carefully melt the dark chocolate and butter in it.
5. Add butter-chocolate-coffee mixture to eggs and sugar and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl as you work.
6. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and gently whisk until batter is smooth. 
7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 17-20 minutes, depending on your oven. 
9. Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
10. I like them as is, but if you think a cupcake needs frosting, I'd probably make a dark chocolate ganache that includes all the spices from the batter recipe.

Enjoy!

If you like this post, you might want to check out my recipe for magical Elf / Reindeer cupcakes.