Pumpkin Chai Spiced Cupcakes

These Pumpkin Chai Spiced Cupcakes combine deliciously warm chai spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger with soft and fluffy cupcakes. Top with my chai spice buttercream for the ultimate coffee house-inspired treat.

I must admit I’m am not the biggest fan of pumpkin spice lattes. Instead, my all-time favourite winter beverage is a warm chai latte. These soft and fluffy vanilla chai spiced cupcakes beat all the fall flavoured desserts.

The Pumpkin Chai Spiced Cupcakes are decadent, flavourful and the best treat after a long and cold day. I enjoy these cupcakes with a cup of my homemade Chai Spiced Latte or Healthier Hot Chocolate while watching my favourite series covered in a cosy blanket. How does that sound?

Ingredients

• Vegan Butter – Always use unsalted butter. If you are looking for vegan buttercream use high quality vegan butter that can be bought easily in your local supermarket
• Rolled Oats – You can also use porridge oats.
• Whole Wheat Flour – I prefer to bake with whole wheat flour but you can substitute flour for Gluten Free or Plain flour if needed.
• Pumpkin – for the cupcakes we will be using pumpkin puree which you can easily prepared home by cooking and mixing any pumpkin you like. I used butternut squash.
• Homemade Chai Spices – I love making homemade chai spices, they are easy and so yummy. Grab some grounded cinnamon, cardamon, ginger and all spices and mix them together. I used them in both the cupcak batter and buttercream. You can also use them as a topping.
• Powder Sugar – The main ingredient of the vegan buttercream. 
• Flax Eggs – You can easily make one at home by mixing 1 tbsp of water with 3 tbsp of water.

How to make these Pumpkin Chai Spiced Cupcakes

These cupcakes are super easy to make and takes no longer than 40 minutes. Closely follow these few steps below to get the moist and soft cupcakes with creamy buttercream.

Prepare the chai spices – If you are making your own chai spices mix all of the spices together n a small bowl until combined. Use GROUND spices! Transfer the prepared spices into a jar or airtight container and set them aside. TIP – if you want to use them in future make the chai spiced in batch!

Make the muffins – Start by preparing the muffins. Preheat the oven to 375ºF/180ºC (fan) and line 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. You can also use silicone muffin moulds. In a bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add in the flax eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla and mix until just combined. Mix just until the butter starts to come together, you don’t want to overmix the batter as the muffins won’t be fluffy. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. They should be about halfway – 3/4 full, to ensure they won’t spill while baking. Bake them for 18-20 minutes until golden brown on top of the toothpick comes out clean. Remove them from the pan and let them cool down completely before frosting. You can place them in a cold room while making the frosting.

Prepare the buttercream frosting – For the frosting make sure to use room temperature ingredients to avoid lumps in the buttercream. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and creamy around 5 minutes. Be patient the butter must be double in size. Add in the powder sugar, 1/4 cup at a time and mix until fully combined and smooth. Finally, add in the cream cheese and vanilla extract and mix until just combined, again you don’t want to overmix the batter. You can also add 2 teaspoons of chai spices to the buttercream if desired (it makes the cupcakes even tastier!).

Assemble – Once the muffins are completely cooled fill the piping bag with prepared buttercream and top the muffins. I used a 1M piping tip. Sprinkle with more chai-spiced and decorate with cinnamon sticks. Enjoy!

Can I substitute any ingredients?

Yes! You can use regular all-purpose or oat flour in this recipe it works just well. If you are not vegan and would like to make these cupcakes, you can also swap for non-vegan alternatives – butter, regular eggs and whole milk.

How to store these Pumpkin Chai Spiced Cupcakes?

Cupcakes are best fresh but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the cupcakes and buttercream separately and finish the cupcakes any time you need. 

MORE FALL RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY

• Easy Chai Latte Recipe
• The Best Vegan Carrot Cake
• Vegan Maple Pecan Pumpkin Bread
• Healthy Apple Pie Pafraits

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