Chai Spice Cupcakes Inspired by Mindy Kaling

“I’m one of the few people who looks hot eating a cupcake” – Kelly Kapoor from The Office.

These cupcakes are inspired by Mindy Kaling, they are cute, delicious, and super easy to make. There are a lot of chai spice cupcake recipes out there already, but like Mindy, you probably don’t have a lot of time on your hands. This recipe cheats using boxed cake mix and store bought frosting (Betty Crocker ftw!) I recently finished her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? You can read my thoughts here. 

You basically follow the instructions on the box of cake mix, but where the recipe calls for water, you substitute for Chai tea. Use whatever brand you like. I personally love Tazo for its strong flavor. 

I normally add 2 tablespoons of milk just to give the batter a bit more of a creamy texture. You can also use almond milk, or leave the milk out all together. 

For some the chai tea alone is enough, but for those who want added spice, a mix of spices can also be added. 

The batter will be slightly thicker than usual if adding the spice mix, but the cupcakes still take around 15-20 minutes to bake at 350 degrees F. 

For the frosting, simply add one tablespoon of cinnamon to a can of vanilla frosting. I've always been terrible at frosting cupcakes and while this doesn't look like much I can assure you that it tastes delicious. 

Just ask Naomi!

Cupcakes

One box cake mix (Golden, French Vanilla, or White work best)

½ cup canola oil

1 cup brewed Chai tea

2 tablespoons milk (optional)

3 eggs (For a vegan recipe substitute eggs for applesauce) 

Spice Mix (Optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting

1 can Vanilla Frosting

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1.     Preheat Oven according to directions on Cake Mix box

2.     Boil one cup of water and add chai tea bag. Let steep for 5 minutes.

3.     If adding milk add 2 tbs to Chai tea.

4.     Add chai tea, oil, and eggs to cake mix and mix well

5.     Add spice Mix .

6.     Bake Cupcakes according to direction on Cake Mix Box. (Normally 15-20 minutes for cupcakes)

7.     Let cupcakes cool and frost with cinnamon frosting

J.B West - Upstairs at the White House and Apple Pie

Five Step Apple Pie

I recently read Upstairs at the White House, written by J.B West, a former butler who served at the White House during the presidencies of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. (You can read the full review here). While there are a number of White House cookbooks and websites that provide information about the favourite meals of various Presidents, in honour of American Thanksgiving I decided to make a traditional all-American apple pie.

All that’s needed for the filling is 7 ingredients, and prep takes less than half an hour (depending on how fast you can peel the apples)

I used Mackintosh Apples for the filling but you can use almost any kind. You may want to add/use less sugar depending on the kind of apples. Fuji Apples tend to be sweeter while Cortland Apples are more tart and crisp.

Die-hard pie makers will often make their own crusts, but I did not have the time or space to make my own. There are tons of recipes for perfect piecrusts out there, but I cheated a used Pillsbury’s pre-cut, pre-rolled crust. It’s not as flaky as a homemade crust would be, but it bakes up nicely and goes well with the filling.

Remember to spear the crust to let the steam out.

Enjoy

Filling

4-5 Mackintosh apples, peeled and thinly diced.

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flower

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon Salt

1.     Place the peeled apples into a large bowl and add lemon juice.

2.     Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and coat well

3.     Pour filling into your pie curst (either homemade or store bought)

4.     Cover with remaining crust and spear top to let out steam

5.     Bake at 350 degree (F) oven for 45-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Notes

Brush top with egg wash (beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk) to get an even crisper and golden top.

Welcome

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog. Reading and cooking are my two favourite things and so I thought, why not combine the two? Here I will be posting recipes for things that I find relate back well to what I've been reading about. I hope you all enjoy.

For more info about the books I review, you can check out my wordpress blog.