Chai Spice Maple Cupcakes

Chai spice in maple cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting is a dreamy combination of warm and cozy flavors! The cupcakes are so incredibly moist and spongy and FULL of flavor. They're topped with a silky smooth cinnamon spiced cream cheese frosting that holds its shape well enough to pipe sharp designs on top!

how to make chai spice maple cupcakes

* This is just a quick little breakdown of the steps. You can find the full detailed recipe towards the bottom of this post! *

1. Make the cupcakes: Start by whisking together dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, oil, and sugar.
3. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla and maple syrup.
4. Mix in half of the dry ingredients, followed by sour cream and milk, and finish off with the remaining half of the dry ingredients.
5. Scoop and bake the cupcakes then cool completely to room temperature.

6. Make the cream cheese frosting: Cream together cheese and butter until smooth.
7. Mix in remaining frosting ingredients (minus the sugar).
8. Add sugar in 1 cup at a time, mixing well to dissolve the sugar before adding the next cup.
9. Frost the cooled cupcakes and decorate however you'd like!

decorating chai spice maple cupcakes

You can decorate these cupcakes however you like or simply serve them plain with a pile of frosting on top. My personal favorite decoration for these cupcakes are cute little pie crust leaves sprinkled with chai sugar! They're not only the perfect little decoration, they are SERIOUSLY delicious for snacking on.

You can make the little leaves using store-bought or homemade pie crust. I used my favorite all butter pie crust recipe that you can find here. For the cutouts, I used this set of leaf cookie cutters, but you can use any set you like / have. Here's a closer breakdown of how to make and bake the leaves:

1. Make the chai sugar: In a medium bowl, whisk together ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, and ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg to combine. Set aside.
2. Roll and cut the dough: Roll the pie dough out until it's about ¼ inch thick then use your cookie cutters to cut out the leaves. Arrange the cutouts on a parchment lined baking sheet leaving about 1 inch of space between each leaf. Gather, reroll, and cut any scraps.
3. Freeze the cutouts: Pie dough loves to shrink, especially if it's not super cold when it goes into the oven. The pie dough will have softened in the process of rolling and cutting out the leaves, so just 10 to 15 minutes in the freezer will help resolidify the butter and help them keep a better shape! They should feel very firm to the touch afterwards.
4. Preheat your oven to 400F. Keep the cutouts in the freezer until you're ready to do the next step.
5. Top the leaves with chai sugar: To help the chai sugar stick to the dough, lightly brush the tops of the leaves with some heavy cream or milk and then sprinkle the chai sugar on top. Heavy cream will give you a deeper golden brown color and it's my personal preference - but milk does the job just fine too!
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown: Cool the leaves completely on the baking sheet before using to decorate!

how to pipe sharp designs with cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting is famous for being softer and (at times) difficult to use for intricate piping and details. Usually buttercream is the go to for sharper designs, but it's actually very easy to achieve the same look and feel with cream cheese frosting as long as you keep it cold! Cool cream cheese frosting will firm up to an almost identical consistency to buttercream, but you still get that deliciously cheesy flavor in every bite.

So basically, to use cream cheese frosting for piping sharper designs, finish whipping it up and then do a little test to see how it holds its shape. If your house is cooler, you may be able to start decorating with it right away. But if you notice the frosting is flopping over and looking kind of melty, pop the bowl of frosting into your fridge for about 30 to 60 or until it's firmed up to your desired consistency.

If you feel the frosting softening at any point as you work, just place it back in the fridge. Keep any cupcakes that are already frosted stored in the fridge until ready to enjoy.

more tips for perfect cupcakes

1. Measuring the flour: This almost always makes the top of the list for ensuring cupcake success! If flour is measured by simply scooping the cup directly into the bag, it can pack in more weight worth of flour and cause the cupcakes to bake up dry and crumbly! It's always best to measure using a food scale if you have one, but if you prefer to use cups, make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then use a butter knife or flat utensil to level it off.
2. Use pure maple syrup, NOT table syrup: Pure maple syrup has a much better flavor and isn't as sickeningly sweet as table syrup. The only ingredient listed on the jar should be maple syrup - there's really no need for any additional ingredients!
3. Room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients will allow the cupcake batter to whip up much more easily without the need to overmix.
4. Mixing the batter: Overmixing the batter (specifically once the flour is added in) can overwork the gluten and deflate the air bubbles that have begun to form once the baking powder and soda have hit the wet ingredients - leading to dense cupcakes. Mix the batter until the flour JUST disappears and then stop! You're not looking for a perfectly smooth mixture here - leaving lumps in the batter actually allows the cupcakes to bake up spongier and moister! Overmixed batter will be looser, won't hold its shape well as it bakes, and will typically sink in the center as it cools.
5. Filling the cupcake cups: With any cupcake recipe, filling the cupcake cups with the right amount of batter can impact the taste, texture, and look of the cupcakes. Underfilled cupcake cups will have flatter tops with a drier feel and a crispier top. Overfilled cups will cause the batter to overflow past the rim of the cupcake tin and the cupcakes can be prone to sinking in the center as they cool. Overfilled cups can also cause the eggs to overheat, which can make the cupcakes taste eggy. The perfect amount to fill the cupcake cups (for any recipe - unless otherwise stated) is around ⅔ or ¾ of the way full.
6. Baking the cupcakes: Pull the cupcakes out of the oven once a skewer inserted into one comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. A fully clean skewer would indicate that the cupcakes are a little on the drier side. Also, avoid cooling the cupcakes completely in the tin or the residual heat can dry them out.
7. Cooling: Once the cupcakes have cooled for a bit in the tin, it's important to let them cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack before decorating otherwise the frosting will melt all over the place!

storage

Since there's cream cheese in the frosting, decorated cupcakes should be stored in the fridge until you're ready to serve them. The cupcake and frosting will firm up in the fridge, so if you would like to serve them softer, simply set them out on your countertop for about 30 minutes before serving to allow them to come back up to room temperature.

Frosted cupcakes will keep for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge (whichever you prefer). They'll keep for about 4 days at room temperature or about 1 week in the fridge.

check out these other recipes!

• Chai Spiced Snowflake Cookies
• Pecan Pie Cupcakes
• Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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