Soft and fluffy Easy Vegan Chai Cupcakes topped with spiced vanilla buttercream frosting. These chai-spiced cupcakes are perfect for any occasion and are quick and easy to make.
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Why You Will Love This Vegan Chai Tea Cupcake Recipe
I love creating new cupcake recipes whenever I can. And this cupcake recipe is a real winner! It is a quick and easy recipe to make - while the fluffy cupcakes bake you make the creamy frosting and in almost no time you will have a batch of yummy cupcakes
These easy cupcakes are filled with yummy vanilla chai flavor and they have a moist fluffy texture when baked. Chai latte cupcakes are always a favorite of mine as the warm spices combine so beautifully with creamy spiced frosting.
These easy chai cupcakes use classic chai tea spices, which are cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger from tea bags to make the recipe simple and flavorful. All the spices add lots of delicious flavor to the cupcakes.
The baked and cooled cupcakes are then topped with lightly spiced vegan buttercream frosting that is soft, sweet, and creamy. The perfect topping to the moist spicy cupcakes!
Another yummy cupcake recipe to try out is my Double Oreo Chocolate Cupcakes!
Ingredients & Notes
- Sugar or Xylitol. This is to add the perfect touch of sweetness to the cupcakes. You can also use coconut sugar for a healthy alternative.
- All-purpose flour. I haven't tried these cupcakes with gluten-free flour, but you could use a 1:1 gluten-free flour if desired.
- Flax eggs. This is a vegan egg alternative that is easy to make using a combination of flax seed powder and water. To make the flax eggs you will need 2 tbsp ground flax seeds and 6 tbsp of water. If you're not worried about the vegan aspect, you can substitute the flax eggs for normal eggs.
- Baking powder. To give the cupcakes a light and fluffy texture.
- Almond milk. Or any other preferred non-dairy milk, such as oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.
- Vegetable oil. You can use any light oil for this recipe, such as canola oil, coconut oil, etc.
- Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavor of the spiced cupcakes.
- Chai teabags. Use your favorite brand of strong chai tea bags.
How To Make Easy Vegan Chai Cupcakes
These one-bowl chai cupcakes are very simple and easy to make. This recipe follows a classic cupcake recipe, but for these Vegan Vanilla Chai Cupcakes, you have to steep the chai tea bags in the milk beforehand - but this only takes about 10 minutes.
Step-By-Step Instructions & Recipe Tips
Prepare oven and tray. Start by preheating your oven to 180ºC/375F and line a muffin tray with paper cupcake liners.
Steep the chai tea. Place the milk and chai tea bags in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the tea bags to simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and allow to cool.
(Tip: be careful to not let the milk burn or boil over)
Cream eggs and oil together. While the milk mixture cools, use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine the eggs/ flax eggs, sweetener, and oil until it becomes lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.
Add remaining ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed until it batter just comes together.
(Tip: Be careful to not overmix)
Add the chai milk mixture. Add ½ a cup of the chai milk mixture to the batter and mix until just combined.
Fill the tray. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until ¾ way full
(Tip: Be careful to not overfill the cupcake liners)
Bake. Place the muffin in the centre of your oven and bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Cool the cupcakes. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Make the frosting. While the cupcakes cool, mix together the powdered sugar, butter, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tbsp of the chai milk mixture
(Tip: Fluffy frosting requires lots of mixing so be sure to mix your frosting well)
Frost and serve. Once the cupcakes have cooled, top them with the frosting and dust with ground cinnamon before serving.
Adapting This Easy Cupcake Recipe
To Make this Recipe Sugar-Free:
- You can make these cupcakes sugar-free by using xylitol as a sugar replacement. Other dry sweetener alternatives should also work just as well too. For the frosting, then replace the powdered sugar with powdered xylitol.
To Make This Recipe Non-Vegan:
- If you do not require a vegan cupcake, feel free to replace the margarine/vegan butter with butter, the almond milk with cow's milk, and use regular eggs. The cupcakes will still turn out just as fluffy and delicious!
How To Make Ahead And Store Vegan Cupcakes:
- These cupcakes can be given a head start by preparing the chai milk mixture ahead of time. Steep the milk and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The cupcake batter can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge.
- The spiced frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge.
- Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Chai-Inspired Recipes:
- Vegan Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate
- Mini Chai-Spiced Baked Cheesecakes
- Chai Spiced Flapjacks
- Baked Chai Donuts
I hope you love this recipe for Easy Vegan Chai Cupcakes as much as I do! And if you want to see more of my food adventures, follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Vanilla Chai Cupcakes
These Vanilla Chai Cupcakes are easy to make using lots of chai tea and vanilla flavor and are topped with creamy, spiced frosting. A fluffy chai latte cupcake recipe that is full of delicious chai spices, is refined sugar-free and can be made vegan.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Xylitol
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 flax eggs (or regular eggs for non-vegan)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp almond milk (or any preferred non-dairy milk)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 bags chai tea
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 250 grams margarine/ vegan butter regular butter for non-vegan
- 500 grams Xylitol powdered sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare oven and tray. Start by preheating your oven to 180ºC/375F and line a muffin tray with paper cupcake liners.
- Steep the chai tea. Place the milk and chai tea bags in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the tea bags to simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and allow to cool. (Tip: be careful to not let the milk burn or boil over)
- Cream eggs and oil together. While the milk mixture cools, use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine the eggs/ flax eggs, sweetener, and oil until it becomes lighter in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed until it batter just comes together. (Tip: Be careful to not overmix)
- Add the chai milk mixture. Add ½ a cup of the chai milk mixture to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Fill the tray. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until ¾ way full (Tip: Be careful to not overfill the liners)
- Bake. Place the muffin in the center of your oven and bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Cool the cupcakes. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Make the frosting. While the cupcakes cool, mix together the powdered sugar, butter, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tbsp of the chai milk mixture (Tip: Fluffy frosting requires lots of mixing so be sure to mix your frosting well)
- Frost and serve. Once the cupcakes have cooled, top them with the frosting and dust with ground cinnamon before serving.
Notes
How To Make Ahead And Store Chai Cupcakes:
These cupcakes can be given a head start by preparing the chai milk mixture ahead of time. Steep the milk and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The cupcake batter can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge.
- The spiced frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge.
- Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
