Simply Tea: Chai Cupcakes & Farewell.....

I am the bearer of sad news today.... It's not totally devastating and it probably won't change your life but I will share it anyway!

After much thought and consideration I have decided to discontinue with writing The Simply Tea Shop Blog.

It was a hard call to make but I felt like it was the right thing to do to make better use of my time.

There is good news in this announcement. You see in the blog world I have two personalities - avid Tea Connoisseur & Baker and DIY Project Guru & Renovator. I write two blogs and each on different subjects but I thought to make better use of my time I would combine the two together!

So my dear friends and followers all is not lost. I am not going away forever.... Just moving house to the Diaries Of A Whimsical Wife. There will be a permanent feature called Tasty Tuesday which will showcase what I have been doing here - baking some great recipes, taking some photo's and matching it with my Tea.

So this is my last post here today but I would LOVE for you to come and follow me at my blog Diaries Of A Whimsical Wife and continue to hopefully be inspired in your baking, creating and homemaking endeavours. This is not the end, just the beginning of something great!

I thought I would make something special for my last post. If you haven't already guessed what it is (by the post name) and the picture of the spices... It's Mini Chai Cupcakes with Honey Butter cream!

I was inspired from a friend of mine who has gotten into baking recently and she told me about these Chai Cupcakes she made and how good they were.

Now I know Chai Cupcakes have been around for awhile but I have never had the pleasure of baking a batch.

Until the other day!

The aroma of these little morsels wafting through the house as they cooked in the oven made my mouth water. It was a heady aroma of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, & cardamon perfectly balanced to create a mouthful of pure pleasure. I had to be patient though as I had to let them cool down before I could ice them.

They needed to be dressed completely before I popped one in my mouth!

Mmmm Heaven!

If you averted to the flavour of "Chai", like my dear husband, do not fear these cupcakes are deemed "Chai Hater Safe"! My husband quite liked them, which says something because he is not a Chai man at all.

Chai Cupcakes

With Honey Butter Cream

{Download & Print Recipe}

Makes 12

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp Butter

¼ Cup Castor Sugar

¼ Cup Honey

2 Eggs

¾ Cup Milk

1 ½ Tsp Vanilla Essence

2 Cups SR Flour

¼ Tsp Salt

Chai Spice Mix:

1 Tsp Cinnamon, ground

1 Tsp Ginger, ground

¼ Tsp Cloves, ground (*You can add more if you like the flavour of cloves)

1 Tsp Cardamom, ground

Honey Butter Cream:

125g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

250g Icing Sugar

2 Tsp Hot Milk

3 Tbsp Honey

Method:

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 180 Degrees. Place cupcake papers in muffin tin and set aside.

Mix spices together in a small bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer beat together butter, sugar and honey for 5- 10 min until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, vanilla and salt and mix until combined.

Add milk and sifted flour and add alternately into the bowl. Add spice mix and mix slowly until combined and smooth.

Spoon mixture into prepared cupcake papers and bake for 15 -20 min or until golden brown.

Honey Butter Cream:

Beat butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Sift in icing sugar, milk and honey and beat until smooth.

Place in fridge for 15 min to set slightly before piping onto cooled cupcakes.

Sprinkle a little extra spice on top of piped icing and drizzle with a little honey!

Simply Tea Selection

I will make two suggestions of what you can serve with these cupcakes. If your obsessed with all things Chai then I would recommend our Chai Blend to serve with these cupcakes. It is a strong base of Indian teas, blended with rich warm spices; cinnamon, cloves, cardamon and ginger. Exactly what is in the cupcakes.

Curently 25 % Off - $8.25/100g Pouch or $2.00 for Sample Bag.

Or if that seems a bit much spices in one day I would recommend our Irish Breakfast. It is a strong, rich flavoured, malty blend with a high percentage of fine leaf tea. This tea will stand up to the punchy spices in the cupcakes without overpowering it.