Chai Spice Glazed Doughnut Muffins. If you haven’t realized it yet – I kind of have a thing for chai spices.
From teas and lattes to cookies, it’s my flavor of choice during the cold winter months. There’s just something about that combination of rich, aromatic spices that warms me up and calms me down. I’ve also been on a muffin kick lately – several of which have been epic disasters which is why they haven’t graced the pages of MBA. One recipe didn’t rise, another sunk and one seemed to implode – meaning none of them were even remotely photogenic. However, this weekend I thought I’d combine two of my favorite things into one incredibly delicious recipe – Chai Spiced Glazed Doughnut Muffins. I used the base from my Glazed Doughnut Muffins, but this time I infused the batter with chai spices. Whether you’re craving a muffin, glazed doughnut or Starbuck’s Chai Tea Latte, I’m pretty sure I’ve got ya covered with these Chai Spiced Glazed Doughnut Muffins.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may like... Late Night Concoction. I am a horrific night owl, I mean it is currently 4:19am PST and I have yet to go to bed.
One of the downfalls of playing the late game…keeps you wired up way past your bed time. Anyway, it does give me a chance to catch up on all my shows. We have DVR(which is like TIVO and if you don’t know what that is you must be my parents). I’m not sure what I did before DVR. When my husband suggested it, I rolled my eyes and thought, oh good another gadget, but really I can’t live without it. For the filling: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/3 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 3 TBSP melted butter for the muffins: 1 cup plus 7 TBSP all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 3 TBSP unsalted butter, melted 1 cup plus 2 TBSP buttermilk for the topping: 1/2 cup honey Preheat to 400F. Source: Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. Crafty. (Ancient, Powerful, Spicy, Sought-After.
Those are some of the things that come to mind when I think about mexican chocolate. And because chocolate is so deeply rooted in the history and culture of Mexico, it seemed like the perfect thing to wrap up my Cinco de Mayo posts this year. It's the delicate and unique blend of sweet and spicy that transforms the typical chocolate we all know and love into something mysterious. I really wanted to replicate those flavors in a muffin. It was my first experiment with this recipe, and they came out good, but I'm not entirely happy with it yet.
Since they were good I'll post it anyway- I just think with some tweaking they'll probably get better. Mexican Chocolate Muffins: 1 1/4 Cup Flour 1/4 Cup Coco Powder 1/4 Cup Sugar 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda Half Teaspoon Salt 1/4 Teaspoon Chipotle Powder 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon 1 Egg Half Cup Unsweetened Applesauce Half Cup Milk (I use nonfat) 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil 4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate (60% cacao) Spiced Chai Latte Cupcakes. Folks, we have a winner.
Hands down, no question about it, winner. This little gem will be joining lovely almond and rich chocolate on our wedding cupcake menu. Holy cow they are delicious. How they all came about: Robin likes Chai. A lot. So we began with a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and went from there. Chai tea is sure a complicated beast – but after a good bit of research, I understood fairly well that most chai teas are comprised of a few key spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger. For the tea portion, we simply steeped some black tea, using the soymilk instead of water. The frosting was a challenge, but to me, no cup of chai is complete without a giant dollop of whipped cream. Success. Spiced Chai Latte Cupcakes with Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream Makes 12 cupcakes.