NC Cupcake Cooking Quest WEEK 4

[Obsi]

Week 4
**This is the basic recipe for the week BUT let your imagination go wild with fillings and frosting ideas.
Cupcake recipe is a must but the frosting recipe is optional**


Chai Latte Cupcakes
(Makes 24 large cupcakes)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups milk
2 black (normal) tea bags
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of ground black pepper
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla essence (or vanilla bean)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups Plain flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour

Method:
1). In a saucepan, heat the milk until just before boiling. Add the teabags and spices (including the split vanilla bean if using this), cover and remove from heat. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then give the milk a stir and remove the teabags, squeezing them to remove as much tea flavour as possible. (and remove and scrape the vanilla bean). Allow to cool. Measure out 1 1/4 cups of this, adding extra (plain) milk if some has evaporated off (I needed to add 2 tb).

2). Beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs. Sift together the baking powder, salt and flours.

3). Gradually add the spiced milk and sifted flour mix alternately, mixing well.

3). Spoon mixture into baking cases and bake at 190C for around 20 minutes, or until cakes are cooked (skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean). Allow to cool before icing.


~ If you would prefer to use Chai teabags instead of the spices, use 3 Chai teabags and do not use the spices or black teabag, however the result will not be the same flavour as using the spices. If you really like Chai, try the Chai frosting, or if you prefer something more subtle, perhaps a plain vanilla frosting. Recipe adapted from the recipe here - Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes - Recipe Detail - BakeSpace.com ~


Vanilla Chai Frosting:
(I actually haven't had a chance to try this... its just an idea....so use at your own risk haha)

100g softened butter
100g softened cream cheese
3 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence (or 1 vanilla bean)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamon

Beat butter and cream cheese together, then add spices, vanilla and enough icing sugar to make the right consistency.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just like before, the rules are the same.
all contest related discussions to be diverted to nc-cupcakers
with all general cupcakey goodness talk to Cupcakes thread

You have until Saturday 3rd January to post your photos and then the next recipe will be given on Sunday morning the 4th January.
The winner of the voting poll will be responsible for getting the weeks recipe up first thing Sunday morning

[cathyrubin]

mm chai goodness, going nuts with this one

[MadMumof3]

oh btw it works fine with self raising flour if you take out the baking powder / add 2 extra tbsp of self raising flour, and the chai teabags works fine

and now to ice them ( i may do it tomorrow tho) and mine made, 12 big ones, 24 mini's and 2 stars cos i got bored with plain cupcakes.

[MadMel]

yuck. As a tea HATER I am so passing on this one!

[trippylongsocks]

I just bought a new cupcake recipe book on the weekend and it had a recipe for the chai latte cupcakes. Can't wait to try it. I drink chai ALL.THE.TIME!!!

[MadMumof3]

oh mel you cant taste the tea! the main thing you can taste is the chai spices they are so YUMMY!

[Obsi]

Chai tea is nothing like tea really...(you could probably leave the black tea out, since you only taste the spices)... but each to their own - we're not going to be able to please everyone with our recipes

BTW... I made my batch up with of them half vanilla frosting and half a Chai frosting.... So I could try which tasted better.... Both hubby (who isn't a Chai drinker) and I agreed that the Chai frosting was best because it matched the cakes.

I'd used about 50g cream cheese and about the same of butter, with about 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste... and then for the Chai batch I added 1/8 tsp cardamon, 1/8tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.

[claireberry]

Ooooh, I'm gonna join in this week! I love Chai too!

[MadMel]

if you can't taste it, I am going to try it

[~Sherree~]

im missing this week too hate chai and tea hehe...

[cathyrubin]

I tasted Donnas test batch and oh yum!!
similar to my apple cinnamon muffins, lol, which I love, so I'm making a batch of these for sure!!

[Obsi]

Yes they are very much like a cinnamon cake.

[~Sherree~]

ohhh they look yummy

[maybutterfly]

Mmm, they look yummy!! On my to do list as well, these sound really nice and I think DH will like them too. Bought the two spices I did not have today for them.

[my3sons]

im just about to make my first chi latta if i like that then will make the cupcakes tomorrow im getting hungry thinking about it

[my3sons]

btw obsi yours look sooooooooo yummy

[bamboogal]

My first go in the challenge. No cupcake pattys here so i did it in the friand molds. will post pics after i ice them.

[my3sons]

i dont know if this is any help to anyone but i came acrose chilatta sachets in woolies today im planing on useing them for the recipe and maybe the icing too

[Nadine]

i seem to have lost my cupcake cooking mojo

just not feeling the love

if anyone finds it can they send it back to me

[lesley4]

Nadine, that would be the heat It will come back.

[Nadine]

thanks Lesley - would hate to think its gone forever

[MadMel]

could you just use normal plain flour to substitute the wholemeal? I don't have any wholemeal

[Obsi]

yep you can

[MGlatte]

Here is my attempt. I was too impatient with the icing (and DH doesn't like icing) so the cakes just got a dollop. Very tasty.

[Obsi]

Yum! They look cool with the dolop... and purple papers!!!! sweet!

[MGlatte]

Thanks Obsi.

[bamboogal]

No pics this time. I am not skilled with icing so will practice some more. I don't think mine were moist enough. i halved the quantities too.

[Obsi]

I wondered about halving the quantities..... every time I've made cupcakes we end up with heaps left over and they go stale before we can eat them (and we shouldn't eat so many cupcakes) As delicious as these were, I still have 7 of them left and they are now stale (though still yummy. I knew I should have frozen half the batch before I iced them and tried it that way

[MadMumof3]

yeh i had some i havent eaten and as i made them the same day as obsi i doubt they will be nice anymore

[MadMel]

I froze half ours. It made heaps and as it's just the boys and I there was no way we would eat that many!

[Kara]

I haven't had enough time to try these this week. Am keeping the recipe for another day.

[maybutterfly]

I made these, sorry no pictures as the camera is having a few issues ! But wow these are yummo - this is the first lot of cupcakes that I have made that the whole family likes. I did do the whole batch but gave around half of them to the kids day care lady for her and her family since I was seeing her today. This recipe is a definate keeper in this house, but next time I will either halve the batch or freeze half of them.

[Karma]

I have put iced cupcakes in the freezer before without any problems, if you find that after icing them you have too many. You can also freeze the icing on its own and defrost it if you find you have too much icing for the batch you've just made.

[Obsi]

So does that mean MGlatte wins by default since nobody else uploaded pictures of their creations, and I won last time?

(Gee, I wouldn't have thought a Chai cupcake would have been less popular than the red velvet )

[claireberry]

I made some! It was my first time using a piping bag, so the icing isn't flash.... they were delicious though.

[MadMumof3]

mm claire they look yummy

[mum2miya]

They look yummy! I meant to make some but this week has been really busy with DH home on holidays and day trips etc.
I will try them though

[Obsi]

yum!

[AngeA]

i made them and they were sensational, i had 3 today! But they are certinaly not picture worthy. i had no casings and just slapped a bit of cream cheese frosting on the top! Didn't effect the taste though, thanks for the recipe.

[KateE81]

They look scrummy Claire where did you get your cupcake cases?