Vanilla Chai Cupcakes -- The Kind of Baking That Feels Like a Reward

Clara finished her first year of pre-K this week, which her school marked with a small celebration that Ethan described as "forty minutes of four-year-olds performing the concept of graduation," which I think is perfect. She received a certificate of completion, which she brought to show me with the gravity of someone presenting a significant document. I told her I was extremely proud and asked what she had learned this year. She thought about it seriously and said: "How to share things you don't want to share." I told her that was one of the most important lessons available. She seemed to find this an adequate response.

Leo is five months now and has rolled over, both ways, which Mia reported as a milestone with the mixture of pride and mild grief that accompanies every milestone in small children's lives — the pride that they're growing, the grief that the previous stage is gone. He is a solid, determined baby who approaches physical challenges with a patience I find admirable. He will try a thing, fail, rest, and try again without apparent frustration. If this persists into adulthood he will be formidable.

I finished the winter chapter revision and sent it back to my editor. The section about Grace is in, fully, without the careful management of it that had been making the chapter feel airless. Writing it was hard and then it was done and then I felt, in the way that sometimes happens after hard writing, a kind of release — not relief exactly, but the feeling of having done the thing the work required. The chapter is better. I know it is. I'm proud of it in the specific way I'm proud of food that required something from me to make right.

June arriving. The tomatoes are setting their first small fruits, tight green globes that will be nothing much for weeks and then suddenly, one day, everything. The cut flowers are beginning. The kitchen windows are open for the first time since October. Everything taking its time and then arriving all at once. I find I am less impatient with this than I used to be. The waiting is part of it.

There’s a particular kind of satisfaction that follows something hard — finishing a difficult chapter, watching a child present a certificate with total seriousness, seeing the first green tomatoes appear on the vine — and I’ve learned to honor it with something made by hand. These Vanilla Chai Cupcakes were what I reached for: the warm spice felt right for the season we’re moving out of, and the vanilla kept it hopeful, which felt right for the one we’re moving into. The work of baking them, the measuring and the waiting, the thing coming out better than you feared — that part felt familiar in the best way.

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 2 chai tea bags
• For the frosting: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of cardamom

Instructions

1. Steep the milk. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until just steaming. Remove from heat, add chai tea bags, and steep for 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags and allow milk to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
3. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and salt until evenly combined.
4. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chai-steeped milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined — do not overmix.
7. Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool completely. Allow cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
9. Make the frosting. Beat the softened butter on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating on low after each addition. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom, then beat on high for 2 minutes until smooth and spreadable.
10. Frost and serve. Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Finish with a light dusting of cinnamon if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 115mg