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Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Frosting…autumn in a sweet cupcake, and so good. Extra pumpkiny, chai-spiced pumpkin cake cupcakes made with warming spices and brown sugar. Each cake is generously frosted with the most delicious creamy cinnamon brown sugar frosting, and finished off with a sprinkling of chai sugar. Sooo much to love here! You can’t beat these cute little latte cupcakes for dessert.
I’ve been waiting to share these cupcakes for weeks…and weeks. Originally, I was going to share a version of this cupcake back in September. The first version didn’t include any pumpkin. But then, me being me, I began to play with the addition of potential ingredients in my head. I started to wonder about adding pumpkin to my chai cupcakes. Once the idea of a pumpkin chai latte cupcake was in my head, there was no going back.
It sounded way too good and way too perfect for fall. I had to make these cupcakes.
But not in September, because we all know how I feel…apples in September, pumpkin in October and November. So, here we are today in mid-October. We have a couple of weeks left before Halloween and about a month and a half before Thanksgiving. It’s the heart of fall and the perfect time for the sweetest little chai pumpkin latte cupcakes. Or at least that’s my thought, I hope you guys are all on the same page!
And really, it’s Friday (whoop, whoop). Fridays need something sweet, and today that something is going to be these cupcakes. I couldn’t love them more. If you could see me, I am smiling ear to ear. Something about these cupcakes, they’re just fun and make ya feel good…cheesy, but true.
To make these Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes…
You need pumpkin, vanilla, and a good amount of warming autumn spices. Plus butter…lots of butter.
For the cupcakes, I knew I really wanted the pumpkin flavor to shine. To achieve this, I used a whole lot of pumpkin, and a whole lot of chai spice. The chai spice highlights the sweet flavor of the pumpkin, while also adding that extra special touch that makes these little pumpkin cakes better than any other. And if you’re curious about the inspiration to mix pumpkin with chai? Well, of course…Starbucks.
We all love their pumpkin spice latte and we all also love their chai latte. Combine the two and you get the very best of both.
Before you start the cupcake batter, make the chai spice mix. It’s a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, all-spice, cloves, and the tiniest bit of black pepper. You’ll be using half of the spice mix in the cupcake batter and the other half is mixed in with the sugar to make a chai sugar. The chai sugar is used for topping each cupcake.
Now, make the batter, it comes together in no time. This is a one-bowl kind of cupcake batter. Once poured into molds just bake and wait patiently. The smells coming from the oven will have you so excited. It’s like Thanksgiving, with cozy scents of pumpkin mixed with hints of sweet sugar wafting throughout your kitchen.
Each cupcake is incredibly moist, so soft, and perfectly sweetened. The secret is truly in all that pumpkin. It makes for the best sweets.
On to the frosting…
This frosting is everything and has to be one of my favorites. I drew inspiration from a few of my older recipes, but especially from these sweet brown sugar cookies and also these butter pecan frosted fudge brownies.
There are two simple secrets to this frosting.
One, use a mix of brown sugar and powdered sugar. Powdered sugar adds practically zero flavor. The brown sugar adds hints of warm molasses and really deepens the flavor to create a frosting that’s perfectly rich and sweet.
The second secret, vanilla and cinnamon swirled throughout. SO GOOD. Think creamy, buttery, and hinted with brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Honestly? It’s addicting, and you should slather on more than you think your cupcakes will actually need. Because people always want more.
It’s the perfect pairing with the warming chai spices.
Now, frost, decorate…and eat.
I didn’t do anything fancy here. I simply dolloped a generous swirl of the brown sugar frosting, then sprinkled with that sweet chai sugar. Finish off each cupcake with a cinnamon stick (my favorite fall decoration has got to be cinnamon sticks) to mimic our favorite fall beverage…that pumpkin spice latte.
And that’s it. Honestly, these are really pretty simple to put together. The frosting is a little annoying because you do need to melt the brown sugar on the stove, then let it cool before using, but it’s all still very easy.
And so very good. Each bite is filled with sweet pumpkin and light, fluffy frosting. Best kind of autumn weekend cupcake.
I know it’s hard to believe, but Halloween is two weeks from Saturday and Thanksgiving is only getting that much closer. I’m thinking ahead and already planning to include these on my Thanksgiving menu.
My recommendation? Bake these cupcakes this weekend, then again on Halloween. Then one more time in November. Yes, these cupcakes will be perfect for Thanksgiving too! Fall is always such a short season, live it up while it’s here and enjoy every sweet minute of it…preferably with a cupcake in hand!
Looking for other chai and or pumpkin sweets? Here are a few ideas:
Cinnamon Swirl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Butter Bread
Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pumpkin Pie
Chai Spiced Maple Sugar Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Lastly, if you make these Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Frosting be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Frosting
Servings: 16 cupcakes
Calories Per Serving: 300 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
Chai Spice
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon all-spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil (melted butter or canola can be used)
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Brown Sugar Frosting
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. To make the chai spice. In a shallow bowl, combine the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, all-spice, cloves, and pepper. Divide the mix in half. Mix one half of the spice blend with the granulated sugar and set aside for topping the cupcakes. Reserve the remaining chai spice blend for the cupcake batter. 2. To make the cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 16 cupcake molds with paper liners. 3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, and pumpkin until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining chai spice. Mix until smooth and no lumps remain in the batter.4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan. Transfer to the oven and bake 18-22 minutes, until the tops are just set, and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool. 5. To make the frosting, melt together 2 tablespoons butter, the cream, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for one minute or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl in the freezer (or fridge for longer) for 15-20 minutes or until cool to touch.6. Grab the cooled butter mixture from the freezer and add the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter, the vanilla, cinnamon and the powdered sugar to the bowl. Beat together until well combined. 7. Frost each cupcake and sprinkle with chai sugar. Add cinnamon sticks, if desired.
This post was originally published on October 16, 2020
These are AMAZING! I’m already getting requests for more batches!
I recently made your pumpkin butter and have a bunch left over – would you recommend incorporating that into the cupcakes? Or should I stick to the pumpkin purée?
Hey Angela,
For this recipe I would stick with the pumpkin puree:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made these a few days ago and brought them to work, and my colleagues raved about them. Don’t forget to divide the chai spices before adding sugar (oops), my cake was a little on the dense side, possibly since the sugar ratio was a little off. I also made an extra 1/2 of the recipe so I have to admit I could have made a math mistake along the way, either way I would say it was more on me than the recipe. 1.5 recipe yielded 48 heaping mini cupcakes and 2 regular size.
Despite that, cake flavor was great (I used canola oil), and everyone LOVED the frosting. I should not have made additional chai spice, I think the single serving would have been sufficient for the extra 1/2 recipe. I would make this recipe again, it was a hit.
Hi Corey!! I am so happy you and your coworkers loved these cupcakes!! Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
Would love to make these!! Would applesauce or flaxseed meal work as an egg replacement? Thanks!
Hey Kay,
I haven’t tested either of those, but I think those would be your best bet! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
We made these tonight, and they were absolutely delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing! The cake was fluffy and light, but also moist from the pumpkin. The cakes themselves were not overly sweet, and when paired with the frosting and sugar topping…it was a perfect match! I will save the remaining spice mix to add into my morning coffee. It smells incredible.
I am so happy this turned out so well for you, Allissa! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
I made these cupcakes. AAAMAZING!! I was wondering about making it in cake form. Maybe to 8inch cake , 2 layer. Just double the recipe you think?
These cupcakes are fire! I used a 12 cup pan instead of a 16 and they came out great. If I had to do it again I would focus on the cupcake and frosting portion of the recipe and make the chai topping for the frosting at the end while the cupcakes are cooling. I ended up with more toppings then needed but it’s a good mixture to have for future use. Stoked. Thank you.
Thank you so much Al! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Wow!!! These cupcakes are amazing. The cupcake is light and has great savory flavor that’s is perfectly complemented by the sweet frosting.
Thank you so much Lexie! I am glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
My sister and I just made these and they were so delicious! We substituted coconut milk for the heavy cream and the frosting turned out great! I will definitely be making these cupcakes again!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for trying these, Ashley! xTieghan
Thank you so much for this magical recipe! My family looooooved it. Idid the frosting with melted butter and it was too fluid… would you recommend to add more cold butter or to rather do it with coconut oil ?
Thanks and cheers from Switzerland 🙂
Hey Noemy,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try. You want to make sure that your butter is just soft at room temperature, not melted. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Hi! Would the batter recipe amount be enough to make a cake instead of cupcakes? Either 2 round pans or a 9 x 13. And would the temp stay the same, just longer bake time?
Thanks!
Hey Holly,
I would use a 9×13 pan, start checking for doneness at 30 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
OMG! Amazing! Bakery quality – made for a dinner party and did not disappoint. My husband can’t stop talking about them! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you so much!! I am so happy these turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
Made these yesterday and my family loves them even though my husband doesn’t like cardamom, who knew, I was going to share with neighbors but the family doesn’t want to part with them. I did make two mistakes, I added sugar to the chai mix early and didn’t put enough chai mix into the batter and still they are amazing. Very nice rise to the cupcake and super moist.
I am so happy this turned out so well for you, Kate!! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
how big are your cups? Huw much butter would you say is each (in measuring cup)?
Hey Lina,
I used a standard size muffin tin pan. I use about 2 tablespoons of batter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Loved these. Everyone loved these.
Thank you Lynn! xTieghan
These were delicious! My frosting though didn’t come out as thick as I’d wanted it too. I saw the tip on instagram to boil the sugar to dissolve which I don’t think I wanted to do enough.
I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Jessica! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan