Cup cakery

While searching through other food blogs (a new favourite pastime of mine) I came across The cupcake bake shop run by Cheryl. A virtual wonder world of cup cakes, in every imaginable flavour, and a few that I never would have imagined; ‘Lavender cream filled cupcake with citrus cream cheese frosting’, ‘Chocolate Tarragon cupcakes with Tarragon Cream Cheese Frosting’, are simply the top two cupcakes listed in her index. And since I am dedicated to trying new things in an effort to fill up this blog and keep it interesting I decided to give cupcakes a shot.
Not having much experience with cupcakes (not since I was about 10 years old anyway) I really am more of a muffin girl; I chose one of the simpler ones. Chocolate chai Spiced Cup Cake.
I like chocolate (more than I ought to) and I like chai tea. What a great combination!
I gave myself a whole afternoon for such a project. Once they were mixed and in the oven I did nothing but stare in the oven window and bite my lip. I expected disaster, over flown patty pans, sunken tops, burned bottoms. What I got was; perfection. As I turns out cup cakes aren’t so tough after all, and all those horror stories can no longer be blamed on the poor innocent, cute lil’ cakes.
The cake was soft, and moist, chocolate was the first flavour, but the subtle chai spice wafted through after, giving the chocolate cake a very grown up flavour. I saw quite a few surprised faces as I passed them around to family and friends. Everyone gave them a big a big thumbs up, even my Dad who isn’t known for to have an adventurous palate but never turns down my baking.
The frosting, a butter cream, was not as lovely as the cake but I ‘m not crazy about butter cream on anything. The chai spices certainly improved it, but the sweetness of the butter cream make the cupcake sickly, I just started scraping off the butter cream and only eating the cake – the exact opposite of what Miss Baker was wont to do (unexpected? – No).

Chai Spice Mix
2 teaspoons fennel, whole

2 teaspoons cloves, whole

1 tablespoon cardamom, ground

2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground

2 teaspoons ginger, ground
1. With a small food processor, grind up the whole fennel and cloves.

2. Transfer to a small bowl and add remaining spices. Mix to combine.
chai spice mix

Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes

24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cacao
3 sticks butter

2-1/4 cups sugar

8 eggs1-1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons chai spice mix

pinch of salt
1. Chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.

2. Add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.

3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.

4. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.

5. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each

6. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, chai spice mix, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.

7. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chai Spice Butter cream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) butter

4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk2 teaspoons chai spice mix

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, spice mix, and ginger. Beat until combined.

3. Add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

Note: Everyone’s personal preferences differ. With frosting, the flavour is up to you. If you are unsure of how much of a chai flavour you want, start light on the spices and add a teaspoon at a time until you get to a flavour you like. Same goes for the sugar. It’s a matter of taste and what consistency you want to work with. Experiment until you get at what works for you.

Assemble

1. Frost the cooled cupcakes.