These cupcakes always make me think of my favourite season – Autumn! I love the changing colours of leaves, getting all wrapped up in a cosy jumper and overloading on everything ‘spiced’ flavour!
And these cupcakes definitely fall into that category. Chai is a gorgeous black tea blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and allspice and it pairs perfectly with carrot cake! These cupcakes are utterly delicious and definitely tick the box on everything Autumn!
The addition of grated carrot to the cake mix means that it stays lovely and moist. I also like to add a touch of orange zest which really complements the warming chai spices.
One of the best parts of these cupcakes? The frosting! Made up of mascarpone, double cream and icing sugar, it is such a brilliant accompaniment. I also infused the double cream with some more chai tea for an extra hint of spice!
This is another great gluten-free recipe. It’s lovely and moist and you defnitely can’t tell the difference! I love using the addition of ground almonds as they are really good at locking in moisture and give a great nutty taste to the cakes.
These cupcakes are so warming and such a great comfort as the days get colder. Perfect with a cuppa!
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes and takes up to 1 hour to make.
Ingredients:
For the sponges:
- 175 g unsalted butter
- 175 g light soft brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g gluten-free self raising flour
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- zest of 1 orange
- 200 g grated carrot (approx. 3 carrots)
- 50 ml milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 250 g mascarpone, keep cold
- 300 ml double cream
- 75 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 chai tea bags
- cinnamon or nutmeg for dusting
Useful Equipment: 12 hole muffin pan, small saucepan or microwaveable jug, mixing bowl, hand/stand mixer, sieve, spatula, piping bag and nozzle
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C fan/ 325 °F and line the 12 hole muffin pan with cupcake cases.
- In a small saucepan or microwaveable jug, heat the milk until just boiling. Steep the two chai tea bags in the milk and set aside until needed.
- Repeat step 2 for the double cream for the frosting. Place this in the fridge to cool down completely.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs, whisking after each addition.
- Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and add the ground almonds. Fold until combined.
- Add the zest of one orange, grated carrot, infused milk and spices and fold the mixture to combine.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20-22 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Once baked, place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Whisk the cold mascarpone in a clean bowl for a couple of minutes. Add the infused cream and whisk for 2-3 mins until nice and thick. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
- Place the frosting in a piping bag with your chosen nozzle (I used a 9FT French Tip nozzle) and pipe the cream frosting onto the cupcakes. Finish with a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg. Enjoy!
As they are decorated with a cream based frosting, these cupcakes need to be stored in the fridge. They will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.
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