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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 look so good!! What is the best way to convert this to a cake? What size pan do you recommend and what would be the baking times?
Thanks!
Hey TeeKay,
I have not tested this as a cake, but I would use a 9 inch round cake pan or bundt pan and start checking for doneness at 30 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
A wonderful fall cupcake!! My husband ate most of the first batch, then requested morr!
Wow yes!! I am so happy these turned out so amazing for you all! xTieghan
Just since a lot of people asked in the comments, thought I would share that I made these with butter instead of coconut oil (only because I didn’t have enough on hand,) and they were truly incredible!! I daresay the best frosting I’ve ever had.
I am so happy you loved these, Kendra!! Thank you so much! xTieghan
These came out great – everyone loved them! Would you make any changes if I wanted to make this as a bundt cake?
Hey Joanna,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! To make as a bundt cake you would just need to increase your baking time. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Amazing! Followed the recipe to a T. Moist, flavorful delicious!! And super easy! Thank you! So excited to try your other recipes.
Thank you so much Amber! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I don’t mean to sound weird but in the chai spice mixture, why does it call for 1/2 teas of all spice when the other spices are essentially the recipe for all spice?
Hey Shana,
It is just what I found worked best in the flavoring:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Yum! So good! Everyone loved these. I used gluten free flour 1:1 from Bob’s Red Mill in place of the flour, stored them in the fridge (surprisingly fantastic cold!) and doubled the recipe and tripled the frosting recipe! Definitely will be making these again.
Thank you so much Becca! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
I subbed the all-purpose flour for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour, and they were AMAZING!!
Thank you Allison! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
looking forward to making these for my friends Birthday, luckily she loves pumpkin chai as much as I do! 😉 I know a good recipe when I see one and im pretty good with knowing how to substitute when making GF or vegan but I think this one looks good to go for this occasion! The only thing I was thinking was adding a bit of coffee flavor into the batter or icing??…..latte makes me think of coffee and even tho im not a coffee drinker I love the flavor! Not sure if adding that would b too much for these?
Hey Diana,
You could certainly do that, although I don’t think it’s complete necessary. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Another hit! I couldn’t even tell there was coconut oil. So moist and tasty. My 15 year old son couldn’t even wait for the frosting! He ate a few before they were cool enough for the frosting and he loved. Thank you!
Wow I am so happy you both loved these cupcakes, Teresa!! Thank you so much for trying them! xTieghan
This looks and sounds delicious! I know this may not be possible, but is there anything I can substitute for the pumpkin? I’m not a fan pumpkin flavors (I know I’m a minority) but I LOVE chai flavors, so would love to know if its at all possible.
Hey Sarah,
I would recommend trying one of these recipes:
https://fett-weg.today/chai-spiced-maple-sugar-cookies/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/strawberry-glazed-chai-doughnuts/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/eggnog-frosted-chai-snickerdoodle-snowmen/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/vanilla-chai-lemon-ricotta-muffins/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope you love the recipes, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! Wondering what you think about making this into a layered cake instead of cupcakes… would I need to double/triple??
Hi Eileen! You just need to double the recipe. That will be delicious I am sure! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Made these for the residents of our assisted llving resident, and they loved them. They appreciated they were not cloyingly sweet. I appreciated their deep fall flavors and ease of prep. We will definitely be making these again.
Thank you so much for trying this one, Carole! I am really glad it turned out well for you all! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan
If I decided to make these not in cupcake form, how long long do you think in the oven for two round cakes? 40-50 minutes?
Hey Olivia,
Yes, I would start checking for doneness at 40 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These are a super yummy fall treat, and as decadent as they sound. I found that cooking the cupcakes through more than suggested in the recipe worked for me. A few things I would cut back on: sugar for the topping (my mixture was way too sugar heavy and way more than I needed), and powdered sugar for the frosting. The frosting is soo sweet, *almost* sickeningly sweet. I added one cup of powdered sugar and debated adding the last half cup. I added it and realized I definitely could’ve skipped it. I subbed in evaporated milk for heavy cream, and the texture of the frosting was still great.
Hi Emily! I am sorry these were a bit too sweet for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! xTieghan