Chai Latte Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk or rice milk

4 black tea bags (or 2 tablespoons loose black tea)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup vanilla or plain soy yogurt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch to 1/8 teaspoon ground white or black pepper

For the Fluffy Vegan Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine
• 3-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

For the Spiced Chocolate Dust:

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 12 cinnamon sticks (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners
2. Heat soy milk in a small saucepan over medium till almost boiling. Add tea bags, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. When ready, dunk teabags a few times in soy milk and squeeze gently to extract any soy milk before removing. Discard tea bags. Measure the soy milk and tea mixture and add more soy milk if it is less than 1 cup.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and tea mixture until all yogurt lumps disappear. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Mix until large lumps disappear; some small lumps are okay.
4. Pour into liners, filling ¾ of the way. Bake 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.
5. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
6. In a small bowl, mix together cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Hello spiced chocolate dust.
7. To assemble, frost cupcakes generously and lightly sift the spiced chocolate dust over the buttercream frosting. It’s cute to stick a cinnamon stick into the frosting if you are feeling fancy-pants.

The compact, convenient and charming Chai Cupcake for those on the go!

Divine