Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

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)

Whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

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.

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter with an electric beater (or a whisk but that will take some serious muscle).

Beat in one egg at a time making sure to combine it well with the butter and sugar before adding the next egg.

Add the fresh grated ginger and cardamom and beat for a few more seconds.

Beat in a third of the flour followed by half of the milk.

Then beat in another third of the flour, the last half of the milk and finally add the last of the flour.

Beat until well combined.

Using a 1/4 cup measure as a scoop, pour 1 scoop full into each section of the lined muffin pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely on a rack before adding the filling and frosting.

Heat the 3 tbsp of milk in the microwave for 40 seconds or bring to a simmer in a small saucepan on the stove.

Add in the tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes. Then strain.

In a small bowl, beat together the mascarpone with the spices using an electric beater.

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)

Add the bourbon and beat well.

Beat in the powdered sugar.

Take a cooled cupcake, carve out a hole from the top with a pairing knife (check out picture 2).

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.

In a medium bowl, beat together both cheeses with an electric beater.

Add in the vanilla, ginger and salt.

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.

Frost the cupcakes and refrigerate until ready to serve.