Pumpkin Chai Holiday Cupcakes
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Take pumpkin and spice to a whole new level with this pumpkin chai cupcake recipe! They're a perfect addition to your holiday dessert menu!
Good morning my friends! How was your weekend? Did you enjoy the holiday?
We sure did. In fact, it's been a little hard getting back into the swing. After 9 (!) days off, my kids went back to school yesterday but I was having trouble getting back into my normal routine. This post should have gone up yesterday afternoon, but hopefully you'll forgive me when you see how cute these cupcakes are 😉
These are just a little different than your average pumpkin cupcake, because they have extra oomph from real brewed chai tea. So good! Have you ever had it? It's made from all the most delicious spices: cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves, ginger, and black pepper. Pumpkin just loves it.
Those are my little fondant pumpkins and I had so much fun making them I just had to snap a pic of their cuteness. I buy my fondant at the craft store (it's by Wilton) and I just worked some orange gel paste food coloring into it, rolled it into balls, pressed the back of a knife into it for the grooves, and stuck in a whole clove for the stem.
It made a cute garnish for the cupcakes, whose full recipe & step-by-step tutorial you can find over on the KitchenAid blog! Click here for the recipe. I hope you'll give it a try; it's definitely a winner and so perfect for the holidays!
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Pumpkin Chai Holiday Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup (236.59 ml) boiling water
- 2 chai tea bags
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (330 g) dark brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons (177.44 g) unsalted butter,, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (367.5 g) pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (118.29 g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) softened unsalted butter,, cut into pieces
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- Fondant pumpkins
- Chocolate vermicelli or sprinkles
Instructions
For pumpkin chai cupcakes
- Place the water in a KitchenAid® Pro Line® Series Electric Kettle, and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags, and allow them to steep for at least 10 minutes, or as long as overnight.
- Lightly mist a KitchenAid® Professional-Grade Nonstick Muffin Pan with non-stick spray, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, and mix on low speed to combine.
- Add in the butter, and stir on low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand.
- Stir in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
- Fill the KitchenAid® Muffin Pan no more than ⅔ full and bake for 15 minutes, or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost and decorate.
For chai buttercream
- Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer. Place over a pot of simmering water. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture no longer feels gritty when rubbed between the thumb and forefinger.
- Remove the egg white mixture from the heat, and whip on medium-high speed (using the whip attachment) until there is no hint of warmth remaining, and the meringue holds stiff peaks.
- Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whip on medium-high speed.
- Stir in the five-spice powder, ginger, and black pepper until completely incorporated.
- (If the buttercream seems runny, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes, then whip again until fluffy and stiff.)
For assembly
- Pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes in a rosette. Sprinkle with chocolate vermicelli, and garnish with a fondant pumpkin.
It is so hard to get back into the swing of things!! I was a day late with my blog post too, whoops! Your cupcakes were absolutely worth the wait - they look perfect! I love those fondant pumpkins, and the flavors in the cupcake sound unreal!
Thanks Cate! I loved your cookie post too- those chocolate shortbread cookies were amazing! Glad you're home safe and sound. 😉
Pumpkin Chai sounds like the perfect combination! These cupcakes are beautiful and the mini fondant ones are too cute! Pinned!
Thank you so much Lyubomira! 😀
Ahhhhh! These are so cute! I'm digging the pumpkin chai combo—I made a chai pumpkin soup last month and it was slammin'. Can't wait to give these babies a try. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Thanks Margaret Anne! Pumpkin chai soup sounds amazing, I could use a bowl of that right now!
Allie!! I absolutely LOVE the flavour combo of these!! How do you do it? You just have a knack for coming up with really cool combos!! Thanks!
Thank you Nagi but I can't take credit for this one- it was all KitchenAid's idea lol! They know what they're doing over there 😉
So glad you had a great holiday! These cupcakes are beyond gorgeous! The pumpkin fondant topper is so adorable and I love the pumpkin and chai combo! Popping over for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much Kelly! Hope you enjoy 😉
What a fun project, Allie! Love those pumpkins and made me crave for more pumpkinis (pumpkin minis).
Thanks Linda!
NINE days off?! God, sometimes I wish wasn't in college anymore.
Love chai, never thought to combine in with pumpkin. You've got me thinking all types of things right now!
Lol can't wait to see what you come up with, Graham!
Pumpkin chai is my favorite! Love the fondant pumpkins!
Thanks Jessica! I thought the cupcakes needed a little dressing up 😉 So glad you enjoyed!
Those fondant pumpkins are so adorable, Allie! And yum - pumpkin + chai!
Thank you so much Lisa!
Of course I forgive you-----but it WAS easier to do with these champion cupcakes. Geez they are Better Homes & Garden cute. Not only that they even taste good. Wow.
Thanks Carol! I'm so happy you enjoyed 😉
Pumpkin and chai sound amazing together. Thanks for teaching me about a new chai combo! Also, your fondant pumpkins are adorably cute!
Aw... thank you!!!
The cutest pumpkin cupcakes ever! I bet this combo is perfect. 🙂
Thanks Tiffany! I loved the combo- something just a little bit different 😉
These cupcakes are just beyond gorgeous girl. Like I am still all about pumpkin and pumpkin with chai is a great combo.
Isn't it though?? So happy you liked Jocelyn, thanks for the sweet comment boo 😉
The combination of pumpkin and chai sounds amazing! I love your little fondant pumpkins. They turned out perfect and so cute! Pinned!
Thank you so much for pinning Kristine!
Those fondant pumpkins are just toooo cute Allie! Loving the chai spice and pumpkin combo for the cupcakes!!!!! So excited for December!!!!! All the indulgence is about to begin hehe!!! Pinning! <3 :*
I know right? I've already got a head start on the indulging 😉
Pumpkin and chai are two of my favorite things ever. Those fondant cupcakes are adorable too! So much love for this post!
Aw, thank you Mallory! 🙂