Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

A recipe for Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting! These chai-flavored cupcakes are packed with warming spices and covered with a fluffy brown butter frosting.

I can’t believe my blog is three years old today! Thank you so much for all of your support. To celebrate, I made these Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting.

For the Chai Cupcake base, tea-infused milk is blended with sugar, butter, vegetable oil, eggs, flour, and warming spices to create a batter. The batter is then transferred to liners and baked in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven just until set.

Once cooled, the cupcakes are covered with a fluffy brown butter frosting packed with even more spices to bring everything together.

These Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting are best the day they are assembled. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

A Few Chai Cupcake Tips

After infusing the milk with the tea, make sure it is completely cooled to room temperature before mixing with the other ingredients. Strain if using loose leaf tea.

For the strongest flavor, use freshly ground spices.

Fill each prepared muffin tin about 2/3rds full (do not overfill). I like to use a standard ice cream scoop for a consistent size in each cupcake.

Bake the cupcakes just until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a couple of crumbs. Over-baking may cause the texture to become dry.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature before topping with the brown butter frosting. Otherwise, it will melt and soak into the cake.

Brown Butter Frosting

Browning the butter before mixing into the frosting adds a wonderful nutty flavor and fragrance that pairs beautifully with the warming spices.

Start by melting the butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. I recommend using a stainless steel pan so you can see the butter change colors as it cooks to avoid it becoming too dark.

As the butter melts, it will start to foam and bubble. This is normal. Continue to swirl the pan or lightly stir until the overall color becomes a light golden with browned flecks throughout. Do not step away from the pan since this happens quickly.

Remove from heat immediately when it gets to this light golden brown stage. Butter will quickly go from golden to burnt. If the butter does burn, discard and start over. The flavor will be too bitter and beyond saving.

Allow the butter to cool completely to room temperature before beating with the powdered sugar.

Sift the powdered sugar before using to help keep out any lumps.

Add just enough milk as needed to the frosting to create a light and fluffy texture. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a splash more milk at a time.

Either transfer the frosting to a piping bag (I used a large star tip) and pipe over each cupcake or use a spatula to spread the frosting over each cupcake.

For a fun presentation, I topped each cupcake with a piece of a cinnamon stick and star anise. You could also dust a little cinnamon over the top or even sprinkles. If doing so, add the garnishes immediately after piping on the frosting so they stick.

Looking for more cupcake recipes?

Try my:

• Maple Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream
• Unicorn Cupcakes

This recipe was originally posted in October 2015 and updated in November 2025.

Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting Recipe

Adapted from Taste and Tell

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Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

A recipe for Chai Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting! These chai-flavored cupcakes are packed with warming spices and covered with a fluffy brown butter frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine N/A

Keyword brown butter, butter, cake, cinnamon, cupcake, dessert, frosting

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Chai Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) whole milk
• 1 bag black tea or 1 teaspoon loose leaf tea
• 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons (58 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brown Butter Frosting:

• 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter
• 4 cups (480 grams) powdered sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch ground allspice
• pinch ground nutmeg
• pinch ground cloves
• 3-4 tablespoons (44-60 milliliters) milk

Instructions

To make the Chai Cupcakes:

• Pour the milk into a small saucepan and place over medium heat.
• Once steaming, but not yet at a boil, remove from heat and add the tea bag. Set aside for 5 minutes, then discard the tea bag and allow the milk to cool to room temperature. If using loose leaf tea, strain before using.
• Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line 12 muffin cavities with muffin/cupcake liners or lightly grease with vegetable oil.
• Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir until evenly combined and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy.
• Beat in the vegetable oil until completely combined, then the granulated sugar and brown sugar.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until mixed in.
• Beat in the vanilla extract, followed by the room temperature chai-infused milk.
• Add the flour mixture, beating just until no streaks of flour remain.
• Transfer the mixture among the 12 prepared liners, filling them about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven just until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 16-18 minutes.
• Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

To make the Brown Butter Frosting:

• In a small skillet or saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.
• Swirl or lightly stir the butter as it melts, starts to foam, and brown flecks form across the bottom of the pan.
• Once the butter becomes lightly golden and fragrant, immediately remove from heat.
• Pour into a metal mixing bowl (or allow to cool for a few mixtures before pouring into a glass mixing bowl) and cool completely to room temperature.
• Once cooled, beat the brown butter with a whisk attachment or hand mixer until fluffy.
• Beat in the sifted powdered sugar, following by the vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.
• Slowly beat in the milk, one tablespoon at a time, to create a smooth frosting.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large star tip to pipe over each cooled cupcake or use a small spatula to spread the frosting over each cupcake.
• These Chai Cupcakes are best the day they are assembled. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.