Chai Cupcakes with Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting

Another birthday in the friend circle - another personal request baking order fulfilled! Well, sort of. The birthday boy of this week requested an angel food cake as he is a serious lover of vanilla. Unfortunately, the semi-small city I live in doesn't really have a restaurant supply store and I was forced to hunt around various other shops for a tube pan with a spring bottom. As you can see from the header of this post, obviously I failed. However, I concocted something even more magical - Chai Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting!

After some internet research, I decided to make my own version of this recipe by gaining some inspiration from Love & Olive Oil's version and another recipe I discovered from Tamsinkcakes. I was aiming for a moist cupcake, almost a muffin consistency, with a sweet vanilla frosting. From the feedback the birthday boy gave me, I succeeded!

The only change I would make the next time I bake these little babies is to add a little cardamom for spice. The chai concentrate I used is good, but I like my chai extra spicy. Enjoy!

Chai Cupcakes with Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting 

1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/2 cup chai tea concentrate (such as Oregon Chai)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup white flour (all-purpose or bakers works)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup cinnamon applesauce (can use regular)
1 tbls. melted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl. Set aside.

In a mixer, add egg and sugars and mix until combined. Next add milk, chai concentrate, applesauce, melted butter, and vanilla to the batter and mix together.

Slowly add flour mixture to wet batter in batches. Mix until just blended without large lumps. Try not to overmix.

In a 12-sized muffin pan, add paper liners. Fill each liner until about 2/3 full. Makes about 11-12 regular sized cupcakes.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Put aside to cool on a rack once out of the oven.

For the frosting, add 3/4 cup of mascarpone cheese and 3 tbsp of butter to a bowl and whisk with an electric whisker or hand mixer until very smooth. Add vanilla and whisk more. Slowly start adding the powdered sugar in batches of a half cup at a time. The frosting will slowly start to form with the addition of more powdered sugar. Stopped when you have reached a good stiff consistency. Return the frosting to the fridge to harden up a bit, about a half an hour to an hour.

Frost the cooled cupcakes, decorate as desired, eat and be merry!