Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes + a Giveaway!

***Giveaway closed!***I’m giving away a copy of Amanda Faber’s new cake cookbook, Cake Portfolio + my favorite scale!! To enter, leave a comment below and tell me your favorite cake to bake! That’s it. You can also submit additional entries over on my Instagram starting Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 8am PST. Giveaway open to US addresses only and ends Friday, October 25, 2019, 8am PST. Please email/comment/DM with any questions. Good luck everyone!

I am really excited to give you a sneak peek of Amanda Faber’s new book, Cake Portfolio. Think of it as the most delicious cake cookbook with heaps of awesome flavor combinations, design tips/suggestions/ideas, practical advice for creating your own design style and of course, lots of delicious recipes. I made the below recipe for Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes and everything came out perfect. The cupcakes had a beautiful, high crown on them; the caramel came together quickly and with ease, as did the buttercream. And they are SO delicious!! Stella’s volleyball team are league champions (YAY!) and I gave them these cupcakes as a treat and (of course) they loved them. Make ’em and I promise you’ll love them too!

What I look for in a cookbook are beautiful recipes, good instructions and beautiful pictures. Amanda delivers on all of this. Plus, she is a genuinely wonderful person. And that goes far in my book. 

Before We Get Started

• SIZE MATTERS. If only I had a dollar for every time I used this heading… So, Amanda makes 24 cupcakes with this recipe. I, following the motto ‘bigger is better’, only got 16 cupcakes. Let me know where you end up. **UPDATE: Amanda and I have been chatting about this…when I made the cupcakes I was interrupted a thousand times picking up kids from school, phone calls, etc., so I made them over several hours. We think that the time when the batter was sitting, allowed it to deflate a bit resulting in fewer cupcakes. Note that during Step 4 of making the cupcakes you whisk the batter on high to infuse it with additional airiness. All this said, mine were still airy, so don’t fret if you have to do as I did. Let us know how it goes for you!! 
• WEIGHT. Amanda uses only weight measurements for her recipes. There are many perks/bonuses to baking with weights. You’re guaranteed a consistent baked treat every single time, since the question of ‘did I add too much flour’ will never enter the equation. Using a scale also means less cleanup since you’re just using bowls and not adding in spoons and cups. Scales are inexpensive, I’ve linked my favorite above, and a really great way to take your baking to the next level. Dip your toe in the scale water…I think you’ll like it.
• SCHEDULE. I have you make the caramel first, so it has time to completely cool down. While it’s cooling, we whip up our cupcakes and lastly, we compose the buttercream, since I always like to use fresh buttercream. All this said, if you watched me make these on my Instagram Stories last week, you know that it took me several days to make these start to finish (not because they’re time consuming…but because I kept getting interrupted with other work stuff, kids, life…). I made the caramel one day, cupcakes the next and assembled them on the final day. If you’re working and/or crunched for time, this is a great way to break down this recipe over several days.
• CARAMEL. I absolutely love how Amanda infuses the caramel with Chai flavors and I can’t wait to try this with other teas and such. Think about it. You will also have some leftover caramel to play around with. Store it in the fridge and smear it on ice cream, between cookies or make more cupcakes. 
• DECORATING. Amanda includes tips on decorating in the DESIGN and ASSEMBLY section at the bottom of every recipe in her book and they are invaluable. I didn’t have the exact pastry tip, so I used what I had and replicated another style of hers (as best I could). The pretty frosting swirls were 1000% inspired by her!!
• GARNISH. Amanda dusted her cupcakes with ground cinnamon, I used sea salt flakes. Do whichever floats your boat. Or both. You’re the captain.

Let’s get our Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcake on, shall we??

Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes

Makes between 16-24

INGREDIENTS

For the Chai Caramel

• 225g heavy whipping cream, divided
• 3 chai tea bags
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 250g granulated sugar
• 40g light corn syrup
• 60g water
• 56g unsalted butter, diced
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar

For the Cupcakes

• 120g milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 113g butter, unsalted
• 110g vegetable oil
• 240g water
• 3 tbsp espresso powder, divided
• 280g all-purpose flour
• 430g sugar
• 70g cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature

For the Chai Caramel Buttercream

• 200g caramel sauce, room temperature (from the above recipe)
• 226g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 90g heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• ½ tsp salt
• 850g powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Garnish (optional)

• Ground Cinnamon (Amanda)
• Sea Salt Flakes (me)

DIRECTIONS

For the Chai Caramel

1. Heat 150g cream until just beginning to simmer. You can do this on the stove or in the microwave. Add the chai tea bags and vanilla to the cream. Steep for 5 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags before discarding. Add more cream to the vanilla chai cream to make 150g cream total.
2. In a 2-quart sauce pot, combine the sugar, syrup, and water. Before heating, stir to make sure the sugar is evenly wet. Cover and cook the mixture without stirring, over medium heat. Once the mixture has starts to boil, remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high. Do not stir! Watch for it to turn from clear to a light caramel color. Once this happens, let it go a bit further until it turns to a deeper amber color. You may see a few wafts of smoke.
3. Remove the caramel from the heat and whisk in the warmed vanilla chai cream. It will bubble up, be careful of the steam! Once the mixture is smooth, add in your diced butter. Finally, whisk in the salt and vinegar. Carefully pour the caramel into a heat-proof container to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using in recipes, allow it to return to room temperature.

For the Cupcakes

1. Line two 12-count standard muffin pans with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C.
2. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar, set aside.
3. In a medium sauce pot set over medium-low heat, warm the butter, oil, water, and 1 tbsp espresso powder until the butter is melted. Remove from heat, set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, remaining 2 tbsp espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the vanilla, milk mixture, and warmed butter mixture. Whisk until well combined. Add in the eggs, whisk until smooth. Once smooth, cover the mixer and bowl with a damp tea towel and mix on high for 15 seconds to lighten the batter. The tea towel will prevent batter from splashing out. Fill each cupcake liner to about ¾ full. Bake at 350°F/177°C until the cupcakes have risen and spring back when gently poked, about 20-25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Chai Caramel Buttercream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the caramel sauce and butter until completely smooth. Scrape down the bowl at this point, and continue scraping down the bowl as needed throughout the mixing process.
2. Add in half of the heavy whipping cream and the salt. Continue mixing on low until mostly incorporated. Add in half of the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix on low for a few minutes. The frosting should look very smooth. Add in the remaining milk. Mix until smooth. Add in the remaining sugar. Mix until very smooth.
3. Use the frosting immediately or cover tightly and chill for up to two days in the refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature and mix on low for a few minutes before using.

ASSEMBLY

Prepare a piping bag with a Wilton 1M piping tip. Pipe each cupcake with a spring. If you would like, use a fine mesh sieve to dust the tops of some or all of the cupcakes. Store and serve at room temperature.

Please tag myself @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife + @amandaefaber #cakeportfolio so we can see your beautiful Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes. Happy baking!!!

Reprinted with permission from Cake Portfolio by Amanda Faber 2019. Thank you so much Amanda for sharing your beautiful Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes recipe with us! 

The post Caramel Mocha Dirty Chai Cupcakes + a Giveaway! appeared first on DisplacedHousewife.