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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
Just made these and they were a big hit! Perfect for fall!
Just made these and they were a big hit! So perfect for fall!
Thank you Andrea! xTieghan
Best frosting! Totally worth it to melt the brown sugar. I used butter in cupcakes and they were moist and delicious. Big hit!
Thank you so much Jenna! xTieghan
Delicious!
Thank you Michelle! xTieghan
cannot wait to try these! if I already have chai spice how many teaspoons of that should be added to the granulated sugar? thank you!
Hey Mariah!
I would add 2 teaspoons chai spice. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I am NOT a baker but these looked sooo good, I had to try. The cupcake turned out great but my frosting is watery! Any thoughts on what I did wrong or could have done better? Still good either way!
Hey Melanie,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am sorry to hear about the frosting! You can add more powdered sugar to help thicken it up! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
The flavors are absolutely AMAZING! The perfect fall cupcake!! I wanted to drink the frosting and bottle the cake up in a candle 🙂 Mine didn’t turn out near as beautiful as yours though. My cupcakes didn’t rise nicely and the icing was very, very runny for me. I followed the recipe exactly! Any tips for how to remedy the issues that I had?
Hey Brooke,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I am so sorry the cupcakes did not rise, was your baking powder and soda fresh? As for the icing you can always add more powdered sugar to thicken it up! I hope this helps for next time. xTieghan
Hi! Can you use ground nutmeg in this recipe if you don’t have fresh and would the measurement be the same?
Thanks!
Hey Breana,
Yes totally fine to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious!! I made these cupcakes on Sunday on a very cold and snowy day north of the border and while they were baking the house smelled AMAZING! I put them in the freezer immediately. How I managed not to eat one right away is shocking. Tonight I made the icing and finally indulged in one. Holy moly! These are the perfect Fall and winter (still snowing here) cupcake. More than perfect. Thank you. I’m heading away on a little girls weekend Thursday and can’t wait to surprise the girls with these. My only question is that I have a lot of the spice/sugar mix. Any suggestions on how I can use it up? Besides making more of these cupcakes, which I will likely do anyway.
Hi Caroline! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying them! Also, what about a chai latte for morning this weekend? Or maybe use some of the spice mix on some roasted pumpkin seeds! xTieghan
These were amazing! They made a perfectly moist and pumpkin-y cupcake – will definitely be making again!
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this one, Sarah! xTieghan
We made these today. Best cupcake by far that we ever made! (By the way, the 1/4 tsp of cinnamon isn’t included in the directions.)
Thank you so much Maryann! xTieghan
These were the perfect Fall dessert for my family! They are so moist and flavorful. I used canola oil for the oil and followed the recipe exactly. I wouldn’t change a thing! Sooooooo delicious!
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this one, Jan! xTieghan
Omg these are so good. My frosting ended up runny I think because I did not put into the freezer long enough. Still tastes great though. Do I have to refrigerate these frosted cupcakes if storing for a few days?
Hey Roxy,
Thanks for trying the recipe! You can keep these on the counter in an airtight container. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I am gushing over all your fall recipes and this one is next on my list. Can these be made ahead of time? If so, how long will they last? Also, if I want to make them into mini cupcakes, what would you recommend for baking time and temp?
Hey Stephanie,
You can make these ahead of time, they are good for 3-4 days. For mini cupcakes I would keep the same temperature just start checking for doneness around 15 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This recipe is perfection! This is by far my favorite cupcake I have ever made. My husband doesn’t usually like cupcakes and he ate three immediately! I love that it isnt too sweet, everything is perfectly balanced.
Thank you so much Jessica! I am really glad you enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan