Perfectly sweet vegan chai cupcakes topped with a spiced buttercream. These cupcakes are soft and fluffy and infused with chai spices. Perfect for the holidays or any fall and winter occasion!
When my husband and I got married in September 2019, I planned and prepared our entire wedding menu with the help of a few family members. I made my own wedding cake and served a variety of cupcakes to go with it. These cupcakes were all recipes from Sally’s Baking Addiction, including her chai latte cupcakes, which were my favorites. Shortly after our wedding, I made the switch from vegetarianism to veganism and I knew that I wanted to create a vegan version of our favorite wedding cupcakes. And so today, I share with you these vegan chai cupcakes.
How to Make Vegan Chai Cupcakes:
These cupcakes are made with a few steps:
- Prepare the Ingredients
Start by prepping your ingredients. Make the chai spice mix, let your ingredients come to room temperature (think vegan butter and yogurt), make your flax eggs and prepare your chai milk (oat milk infused with chai tea).
- Combine the Dry Ingredients
Once you’ve prepared these ingredients, you can start! Mix the dry ingredients, including flour, chai spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients
Beat your butter and sugar together, then add all your wet ingredients, including yogurt, flax egg, chai milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat together until just combined.
- Bake
Bake your cupcakes for 22 minutes, then let them cool completely.
- Prepare the Frosting
Make your buttercream frosting by mixing vegan butter, confectioner’s sugar, oat milk, chai spices, vanilla and salt.
- Decorate
Decorate your cupcakes and you’re done!
How to Decorate Chai Cupcakes:
I love to decorate them with cinnamon sticks and a dusting of chai spice mix. You can of course leave them plain. Just make sure not to try and eat the cinnamon sticks… Yes, someone actually tried this at our wedding!
Tips to Make the Best Cupcakes:
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. It does make a difference!
- Bake only one batch at a time in the middle rack to ensure even baking.
- Let them cool completely before decorating or you’ll end up with a mess.
- Don’t over or under mix! Over-mixing will lead to tough and dense cupcakes. Mix until just combined. You don’t want any pockets of flour.
- Once cooled completely, store the cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container to keep them moist and fluffy. If you don’t decorate them immediately, you can keep them at room temperature for several days. If they’re frosted, place them in the refrigerator after 1 day.
- Avoid scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup to measure the flour or you’ll end up using too much. You’ll also want to avoid shaking the measuring cup for the same reason. To measure the flour in this recipe, use the spoon and level method (see recipe notes for details).
Vegan Chai Cupcakes FAQ:
Yes! You can freeze the cupcakes, but I would recommend not frosting them until you’re ready to serve them. Let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge, then make the frosting and decorate them when ready.
I made this recipe with both white cake flour and white all-purpose flour. Both resulted in soft and fluffy cupcakes. Use the one that you prefer.
I made this recipe with oat milk, but other plain and unsweetened plant-based milks should work. Avoid using flavored milks.
This recipe was tested with vegan Becel (soft tub margarine). I recommend using this vegan butter for the best results. Using hard block margarine will likely affect the results.
I used Maison Riviera’s Oat based plain yogurt. Other plain vegan yogurts should work. Avoid flavored yogurts.
More Vegan Cakes and Sweet Bread Recipes:
- Vegan Lemon Mug Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Mug Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf with Streusel Topping
- Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
- Vegan Funfetti Birthday Mug Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping
Vegan Chai Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 bag chai tea
- 1/2 cup oat milk, plain and unsweetened
- 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1 3/4 cup white cake flour, spoon and leveled
- 3 1/2 teaspoons chai spice mix
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt, room temperature (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chai Spice Mix
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
Vegan Chai Buttercream
- 1 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
- 5 cups confectioner's sugar, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons chai spice mix
- 1/4 cup oat milk, plain and unsweetened, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Start by making your flax egg. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of room temperature water. Set aside to let it thicken.
- Heat 1/2 cup of oat milk. I heat it in the microwave for 1 minute in a glass measuring cup. Add the chai tea bag to the warm milk and let it steep for 20 minutes or until it gets to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, mix all the chai spices together.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix your flour, 3 1/2 teaspoons of chai spice mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer of hand mixer, beat the sugar and 1/2 cup of vegan butter together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flax egg, vegan yogurt, chai milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Don't over or under mix.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. It should make 12 cupcakes, filling each liner *almost* to the top (see photos).
- Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Prepare the Vegan Chai Buttercream
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the icing sugar, chai spice mix, oat milk, vanilla and salt. Beat on high speed for about 2 minutes. Add more icing sugar if the frosting is too thin or more milk if too thick.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag. I used the Wilton 6B piping tip. Frost the cupcakes. Decorate with a cinnamon stick and a dusting of chai spice mix if desired.
Notes
If you make these chai cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
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