These ginger cupcakes blend the cozy flavors of chai’s warming spices. Think ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of star anise—all the good stuff for the holidays. For a little something special, it has sweet candied ginger bits for that perfect balance of sweet and spicy with a frosting that is not cloyingly sweet.

About this Recipe

This is a cupcake recipe I first published here eleven years ago. I came up with it on a rainy day when I was sipping a warm cup of chai. As I inhaled the spicy aromas, my thoughts drifted toward something festive to do, and I was really into cupcakes then. I thought of how I could punch up a cupcake with chai and ginger flavors.

Mascarpone Frosting

I am very particular about the frosting on a cake. I do not like overly sweet frostings, so I often gravitate toward light and creamy frostings. I love mascarpone because it whips up nicely and takes flavoring so well. The frosting I use here is mostly mascarpone, with a little cream cheese for structure and that hint of tanginess.

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• All Purpose Flour – your basic, everyday flour for baked goods.
• Ginger – uses both fresh ginger and candied ginger, adding a lot of flavor and a delicious, chewy texture.
• Cardamom Powder – a traditional Indian spice for sweets, pairs beautifully with chai.
• Milk – I like to use whole milk, but any kind of milk will work, including plant-based milk.

For the Cream Filling

• Milk and Tea – steeping the tea in milk forms the chai base.
• Mascarpone Cheese – a mild, creamy cheese provides the thickness for the filling
• Chai spices: cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, saffron. You can use a teaspoon of premade chai spice mix, or even store-bought.
• Bourbon – optional, gives it a bit of oaky flavor enhancement. Replace with the same amount of milk if you do not want to use bourbon.

Mascarpone Frosting

• Mascarpone Cheese and Cream Cheese – mascarpone whips up very light and mild, while the cream cheese gives it some structure and a hint of tanginess.
• Powdered Sugar – the sweetener stiffens the frosting to hold shape.
• Vanilla – rounds out the flavor of the frosting.
• Ground Ginger – gives it that extra gingery kick
• Salt – Adding salt to sweet things helps enhance the flavors.

Chai Ginger Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

By Puja

5.00 from 2 votes

Chai Ginger Cupcakes have the comforting warmth of chai spices, a masala chai cream filling, and a velvety ginger-mascarpone frosting.

Prep Time15mins15 minutes

Cook Time30mins30 minutes

Total Time45mins45 minutes

CourseDessert

CuisineIndian

Servings12

Calories535 kcal

5.00 from 2 votes

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Ingredients

Scale:1x2x3x

Ginger Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp ginger (ground)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup candied ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp ginger (fresh grated)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (ground)
• 3/4 cup milk

Chai Cream Filling

• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp black tea leaves ( or 2 black tea bags)
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (ground)
• 1/4 tsp ginger (ground)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)
• 1 pinch black pepper (ground)
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1/2 tsp bourbon (optional)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more if you like it super sweet)

Mascarpone Frosting

• 12 oz mascarpone cheese
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ginger (ground)
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Ginger Cupcakes Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. (I made 16 cupcakes from this recipe so I lined 4 sections of a second muffin pan also)
3. Whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Toss in the chopped candied ginger and use your fingers to separate the pieces stuck together and coat with flour so that you don’t get huge clumps of ginger. Doing this also gave the flour a delicious gingery aroma.
5. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter with an electric beater (or a whisk but that will take some serious muscle).
6. Beat in one egg at a time making sure to combine it well with the butter and sugar before adding the next egg.
7. Add the fresh grated ginger and cardamom and beat for a few more seconds.
8. Beat in a third of the flour followed by half of the milk.
9. Then beat in another third of the flour, the last half of the milk and finally add the last of the flour.
10. Beat until well combined.
11. Using a 1/4 cup measure as a scoop, pour 1 scoop full into each section of the lined muffin pan.
12. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
13. Let cool completely on a rack before adding the filling and frosting.

Chai Cream Filling Instructions

1. Heat the 3 tbsp of milk in the microwave for 40 seconds or bring to a simmer in a small saucepan on the stove.
2. Add in the tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes. Then strain.
3. In a small bowl, beat together the mascarpone with the spices using an electric beater.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of the strained milk tea to the cheese and beat well. (Feel free to add more of the milk tea if you like a stronger chai flavor)
5. Add the bourbon and beat well.
6. Beat in the powdered sugar.
7. Take a cooled cupcake, carve out a hole from the top with a pairing knife (check out picture 2).
8. Pull out the little circle cut out, pipe in the filling either using a pastry bag or a teaspoon, and place the circle back on top. Don’t worry about pushing it back in all the way. We’ll cover up the uneven top with the frosting.

Mascarpone Frosting Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, beat together both cheeses with an electric beater.
2. Add in the vanilla, ginger and salt.
3. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat until all the powdered sugar is mixed in and the frosting is smooth.
4. Frost the cupcakes and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Calories:535kcal

Carbohydrates:60g

Protein:7g

Fat:30g

Saturated Fat:18g

Polyunsaturated Fat:1g

Monounsaturated Fat:3g

Trans Fat:1g

Cholesterol:111mg

Sodium:196mg

Potassium:113mg

Fiber:1g

Sugar:46g

Vitamin A:983IU

Vitamin C:1mg

Calcium:110mg

Iron:1mg

(Originally published 12/14/2012; major updates 12/9/2023)