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Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

What you need: 

1 1/4 cups water
2 chai tea bags
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, line cupcake pan. Boil the water and add the two tea bags. Let steep while you are mixing the other ingredients.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder.
3. Take the tea bags out of the water and measure 1 cup tea, set aside. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add vanilla, oil, tea, and vinegar. Stir until just mixed.
4. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
I frosted them with garam masala frosting, and it was great.
Source of recipe: Modified from the chocolate cake recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. http://www.joyofveganbaking.com/sample_recipes

Preparation Time: 
15 minutes, Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Cooking Time: 
20-25 minutes
Servings: 
8
Recipe Category: 

SO HOW'D IT GO?

I just made these.  Couldn't find my cupcake pan, so made it as a little sheet cake.  :)
I used 3/4 c wheat flour and 3/4 c white flour, replaced half the oil with applesauce, and used 4 chai tea bags.  The resulting flavor was good, but the cake was a bit dense.  I am a pretty crappy baker normally (read: I rarely make it if it doesn't come out of a box), so I'm proud that these were edible, but I like my cakes a little fluffier.  Ideas?
Also, I used a pretty basic vegan cream cheese frosting on top, which was pretty good.

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;)b  These were excellent! They went so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to take a picture! I added a tbsp + of ground flax to help hold them together, and it was perfect. Recipe made 12 cupcakes for me.

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I have made these cupcakes twice and they've turned out great both times.  I don't notice the taste of the baking powder at all, and I have found the chai tea gives nice mysterious undertones.  I like the suggestion to use espresso powder, too!  I frost with a glaze made from vanilla silk creamer and powdered sugar. Cute for halloween this time of year - decorate accordingly. 

OH, and I find this recipes makes 12 standard size cupcakes.

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I have made these cupcakes twice and they've turned out great both times.  I don't notice the taste of the baking powder at all, and I have found the chai tea gives nice mysterious undertones.  I like the suggestion to use espresso powder, too!  I frost with a glaze made from vanilla silk creamer and powdered sugar. Cute for halloween this time of year - decorate accordingly. 

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nmpixie, you mentioned you used garam masala frosting. Where did you get the recipe for that? or did you buy it in a store? Sounds interesting and I'd love to try it!! thanks!

I just made buttercream, and added a ton of garam masala to it. It was really good, although kinda brown from the spice. I supose, for presentation, you could frost them and then dust the top w/ garam masala.

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These turned out so yummy and nice and moist, even though I think I accidentally baked them for longer than needed.

I used 4 chai teabags since other reviewers mentioned that they couldn't taste the chai.  The 4 teabags provided a mild chai flavor which complimented the chocolate perfectly.  Since I am a chai fanatic, I may actually consider using even more teabags  :)  Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly.

It made 12 cupcakes for me.  I didn't frost them yet, but I almost think the chai flavor is so delicate, that frosting might overwhelm them.  They are yummy plain!

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These turned out well, but very similar to a standard wacky cake recipe — i.e., couldn't really taste the chai. Will try again with more next time.

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nmpixie, you mentioned you used garam masala frosting. Where did you get the recipe for that? or did you buy it in a store? Sounds interesting and I'd love to try it!! thanks!

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After reading the reviews, I used 1/2tsp of baking powder, and they did not end up rising very much(if at all),

So apparently, I'm a total idiot, and forgot that the overabundance of baking powder reviews were in a different recipe I was looking at. Uh-huh. Applying things properly... always helps.

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These turned out great for me! After reading the reviews, I used 1/2tsp of baking powder, and they did not end up rising very much(if at all), but they tasted GREAT and had a very good texture. I did sub applesauce for the oil and used 3/4c white flour and 3/4c whole wheat flour. I kinda thought tHe chai flavor would be more pronounced, but it was pretty subtle. I liked that it didn't make a ton too... I made up 12, which is a perfect # of the size of my family.

I frosted them with the chocolate frosting from How It All Vegan.

Yummy. Would def make again.

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