These pumpkin and chai cupcakes will very quickly become your favourite, seasonal treat! Beautiful and light sponge topped with creamy frosting packed with warming spices. Perfect company for your favourite cuppa!
Hopefully by now, you all are enjoying beautiful Autumn and all of the fantastic produce it has on offer. I know I am! With pumpkin being the most obvious and popular one, I have a perfect recipe for you today to celebrate the return of this glorious ingredient!
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Why you will love this recipe
What's better at this time of the year than a nice, hot cuppa and a cosy jumper? Well, it will be nice, hot cuppa, cosy jumper and utterly delicious pumpkin and chai cupcake if you ask me( also, my pumpkin cinnamon rolls or apple and pumpkin handpies will fit nicely). These beautiful and easy to prepare cupcakes are made with light and moist sponge topped with super creamy, smooth chai flavoured frosting.
This recipe is inspired by my Pumpkin Loaf Cake, and the chai frosting will also go very well with that moist pumpkin bread.
They will make you feel warm and fuzzy from the inside, and once you tried them, you will keep making them again and again!
Ingredients
If you feel a bit discouraged by the long list of ingredients, don't! It may look like a lot, but it actually isn't much more than any other, classic cupcake recipe.
Let's look at the cupcake batter ingredients first. There are two groups here, your dry and wet ingredients.
Dry ingredients consist of flour (I used plain flour, however spelt, wholemeal or buckwheat flour will also work well!), ground nutmeg, mixed spice and cinnamon. Rising agents- baking soda and baking powder, and essential pinch of salt.
The wet ingredients include softened, unsalted butter, light, soft brown sugar and golden caster sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, pumpkin puree and milk of choice.
Chai flavoured frosting
I'm a firm believer that chai flavour is one of the best flavours in the world! The combination of all these fragrant, aromatic and warming spices is heavenly and perfect for this time of the year.
To make the chai flavoured frosting, you will need unsalted butter, icing sugar, and the combination of spices. Cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice, black pepper, some salt and vanilla.
Instructions
Start by sifting all the dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix them lightly to combine, then move on to the wet ingredients.
Using a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together. You can also mix it by hand, if you prefer.
Add the oil and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Tip in the pumpkin puree and keep mixing until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture followed by the milk. Mix until just combined and repeat with the remaining flour. Divide this batter into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
To make the frosting, simply beat all of the ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before you top them up with the frosting. You can use the piping bag or just simply spread some of the frosting into each cupcake.
Storing
These spiced cupcakes will last for up to 4 days at room temperature. Keep them in the airtight container or a cupcake caddy.
You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cupcakes for up to three months. To freeze them, firstly, ensure you have enough room in your freezer.
Place cooled cupcakes on a tray or container and put them in the freezer. After about 6 hours, the buttercream will be frozen. Remove the cupcakes from the freezer and wrap each cupcake individually in cling film.
Transfer the wrapped, frozen cupcakes into a sturdy, airtight container, tall enough to accommodate the cupcakes and place again in the freezer.
Before you are ready to serve the frozen cupcakes, place them in the fridge for about 2 hours (still wrapped and in the container). This will allow them to slowly come to the room temperature. It will also prevent any condensation from forming inside the plastic wrap as well as keep the frosting from sweating.
If you tried this Pumpkin and Chai Cupcakes recipe, or any other of my recipes, feel free to leave me a comment and a rating below. I love hearing from you!
To pin this recipe and save it for later, use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above.
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin and Chai Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the pumpkin cupcakes
- 240 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 60 g unsalted butter softened
- 110 g light soft brown sugar
- 100 g golden caster sugar
- 80 ml vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 285 g pumpkin puree
- 80 ml milk
For the chai frosting
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 320 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon plus extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 C (fan). Line up your muffin tray with liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, all the spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix it all with the whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl of the standing mixer, beat together butter and both sugars on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the oil in a slow stream, mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the pumpkin puree. Continue beating until you have a smooth mixture. Tip in half of the flour mixture, reduce speed to low, beat until just combined then add the milk and mix again. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.
- Divide the mixture between your muffin cases, filling about ¾ of each case.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted to the middle comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before topping with the frosting.
For the frosting
- Beat the butter in a large bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar, spices, salt and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is soft and creamy. Depending on the consistency, you may want to add a some milk (no more than a tablespoon) to loosen it up a bit.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag fitted with your favourite nozzle and top the cooled cupcakes with he frosting. Sprinkle with some ground cinnamon. Enjoy!
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
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Millie D
Will be baking these gorgeous babies for sale . I adore your recipes, thank you. May I please ask what kind of cupcake cases are these, how and where I can find them?
Love,
Millie x
Anna
Hey Millie! Thanks so much for this lovely feedback, so happy to hear that you like the recipes! As for these cupcake cases, they were from Wilton, and they are called 'wave'. Hope this helps!
Toni
I love that combo! So perfect and screams fall! Yummy!
Anna
Thanks Toni!
Audrey
Two of my favorite flavors!! YUM
Anna
Thanks Audrey, it is such a delicious combo!
Bal kaur
Hi, I love the combination for pumpkin and chai and would love to attempt but what pumpkin purée do you use or do we make our own?
Anna
Hi Bal, thanks for stopping by. You can use any type of pumpkin puree in this recipe. Homemade or shop bought puree from the tin, both will do the job just fine! Hope that helps, let me know how did you get on with the recipe!
Jess
These cupcakes look perfectly sweet and delicious! What a great holiday great idea!
annabanana
Thank you so much Jess, they are great for any occasion! Hope you will give the recipe a go!
Ela
They look super cute my dear! I hope you enjoyed them. Love all photos! 🙂
annabanana
Hey gorgeous! Oh, I really did enjoy them! It was hard to stop eating these cupcakes! 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words Ela, have a great week ahead! Hugs x
Jacqui Debono
Ooh, I love chai lattes! I do not make enough cupcakes either, so these would be perfect for our next tea and cake get together!
annabanana
Chai lattes are one of the best things about this time of the year! I'm very happy to hear that you will be trying this recipe out, and I hope you will love it as much as I do! Thanks for visiting Jacqui!
Sharon
The combination of sweet banana and the fragrant chai spices make a lovely combination. Great for an afternoon treat!
annabanana
Thanks Sharon. Although, there are no bananas in this recipe.... 🙂
Aleta
Pumpkin AND Chai?! Girl, you are amazing! These little cupcakes will soon be filling my kitchen with their comforting aroma, I just can't wait!
annabanana
Hehe, thanks Aleta, it is such a great combo, right? And you are so right, they will make your house smell heavenly! Happy baking!
Aline
These look amazing!! And wheeeeeere did you get those cute cupcake liners!? I want to use them when I make this recipe!!! So excited!!
annabanana
Hey Aline, thanks for stopping by! So glad to hear you will be trying the recipe out! And I got the cupcake liners from Wilton, hope that helps!
Veena Azmanov
These cup cakes are a delight to make. Awesome ingredients and amazing flavors. Love the frosting flavor too.
annabanana
Thank you Veena, they are such a treat, and chai flavoured frosting is where it's all at! I could eat it by a spoonful!
Kelly Anthony
I had my first experience with a chai latte today and I have to say I'm a big fan. I'm sure these pumpkin chai cupcakes are the most perfect fall dessert. I'm excited to try this recipe.
annabanana
I'm obsessed with chai flavour at the moment, it is so perfect especially at this time of the year! I want to sprinkle chai spices on everything 😉 Happy you also like it Kelly!
Heather
These are just SO gorgeous! And I love the idea of marrying pumpkin with chai spice. What a perfect Fall cupcake.
annabanana
Thanks Heather, they're match made in heaven! The flavours work beautifully together, I'm glad you like it too!