Fall is my favorite season. Warm, cozy sweaters, beautiful changing leaves and all of those delicious autumn flavors make me countdown the days until mid-September!
During this time, coffee shops large and small begin offering their popular seasonal flavor: Pumpkin Spice. The latte version has become so popular that it's developed it's own acronym: PSL. Because "Pumpkin Spice Latte" can be a mouthful.
Personally, one of my favorite "fall" flavors is available all year around; and may be quite underrated. I find the warm, spicy notes of chai to be the perfect introduction to the fall season; and it keeps me in the autumn mood all the way through those dreary winter days.
Which is why I decided to make vanilla chai cupcakes for my first blog post of the fall. And - BONUS - these just happen to be vegan! Although, it is very easy to make these non-vegan, which I've noted in the recipe below. I was able to share these with a couple of my friends who prefer to eat vegan, so it was nice to share this recipe with them!
So next time you're feeling in the mood for some fall flavors, maybe skip over the obvious and try these sweet autumn underdogs instead!
Vanilla Chai Cupcakes
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or 2 eggs for non-vegan)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular 2% milk for non-vegan)
1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil)
5 bags of your favorite chai tea
For the Icing:
1 cup vegan butter - I used "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" (or regular, unsalted butter for non-vegan)
2 cups powdered sugar (I ended up adding in more to taste to cut down on the "buttery" flavor)
2 Tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular 2% milk for non-vegan)
Cinnamon Sugar to taste to sprinkle on top (ratio of 1/4 cup granulated sugar to 1 tbsp cinnamon)
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) Line cupcake pans with cupcake papers
3.) Place the 1/2 cup of milk and tea bags on the stove on medium heat. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes (ensure that it doesn't burn or boil over)
4.) Allow milk mixture to sit
5.) Meanwhile, using the paddle attachment, mix together the applesauce (or eggs), sugar and oil until it becomes lighter in color
6.) Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix on medium speed until combined
7.) Add the almond milk/chai mixture to the batter and continue mixing
8.) Spoon the batter into the cupcake papers until 3/4 full
9.) Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
10.) Meanwhile, mix together powdered sugar, vegan (or regular) butter, cinnamon and the 2 tbsp of milk
11.) When the cupcakes are cool, ice them with the frosting and then top with the cinnamon sugar mixture to taste
