Chai cupcakes filled with dulce de leche and topped with a chai dulce de leche buttercream.
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chai cupcakes with dulce de leche filling
Hello hello! It’s been a while since I’ve added cupcakes to the blog so I’m back with some *super* delicious ones. It all starts with a super light and fluffy brown sugar vanilla cupcake. We’ll swirl a chai brown sugar mixture into the cupcakes, and then bake them. After baking, we’ll make a hole in the center of the cupcakes and fill them with a generous amount of dulce de leche. To top it all off is a super delicious chai dulce de leche buttercream.
why you’ll love these chai dulce de leche cupcakes:
- They’re perfectly spiced: a mixture of chai spices creates the perfect warm flavor in these cupcakes.
- They’re super moist: milk and sour cream make these cupcakes *super* moist and delicious.
- They’re small batch: like a lot of recipes you’ll see on my blog, these are small batch – yielding 6 delicious cupcakes
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Be careful when mixing the cupcake batter:
It is super important to not over-mix the cupcake batter or you will end up with tough and chewy cupcakes. Using the reverse creaming method makes it more difficult to over-mix the batter, but it’s still good to be aware of how much you are mixing it. Only mix just until all of the ingredients are cohesive.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cupcakes while they bake:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 15 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for chai dulce de leche cupcakes:
Chai cupcakes:
- All purpose flour: gives the cupcakes their structure.
- Baking powder: for helping the cupcakes rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the batter.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cupcakes and adding that nice buttery flavor to them. You can substitute salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt in the batter.
- Vegetable oil: for tenderizing the cupcakes. If you don’t have vegetable oil on hand, you can use another neutral oil such as canola.
- Light brown sugar: for adding sweetness, flavor, and moisture. We’ll also use some for the chai swirl in the cupcakes.
- Egg: for binding the batter together and adding moisture.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Sour cream: for moisture and for tenderizing the cupcakes
- Whole milk: for moisture.
- Chai spice: for flavor! Feel free to buy a pre-made blend or use a blend of your favorite chai spices.
Chai buttercream and dulce de leche filling:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the buttercream. Feel free to use salted butter here as well.
- Powdered sugar: sweetens and thickens up the buttercream. If you are looking for more of a melt-in-your-mouth texture, use organic powdered sugar!
- Heavy cream: helps to thin out the buttercream a little bit so that it’s pipeable. You can use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk here as well.
- Chai spice: for flavor! Feel free to buy a pre-made blend or use a blend of your favorite chai spices.
- Dulce de leche: you’ll need some for filling the cupcakes, and some for the buttercream. I used and recommend the squeezable dulce de leche rather than the canned for ease of filling.
how to make chai dulce de leche cupcakes:
Here’s a basic rundown on how to make these chai cupcakes. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.
- Beat together the dry ingredients with the butter, then beat in the wet ingredients.
- Swirl the chai brown sugar into the batter.
- Distribute the cupcake batter between six parchment liners.
- Beat together the dulce de leche buttercream ingredients.
- Use a piping tip to carve out a hole in the center of the cupcakes.
- Fill the cupcakes with dulce de leche, top them with the buttercream, then enjoy!
chai dulce de leche cupcakes recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – just double all the ingredients and distribute the batter between 12 cupcake liners. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cupcakes ahead of time?
Definitely – you can make the cupcakes and keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days before filling and frostin them. I’d recommend waiting to make the frosting until the day you want to frost them to avoid having to refrigerate it and re-whip it.
How to store chai cupcakes
Like most baked goods, these cupcakes will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked. Because these cupcakes are filled with dulce de leche, they do need to be stored in the fridge. You can store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Chai Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Chai Cupcakes
- 90 g light brown sugar (scant ½ c.)
- 100 g all purpose flour (¾ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 41 g unsalted butter room temperature, cubed (3 tbsp.)
- 32 g vegetable oil (2 ½ tbsp.)
- 1 egg white room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 45 g sour cream room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- 55 g whole milk room temperature (¼ c.)
Chai Swirl / Filling
- 1 ½ tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. chai spice
- 120 g dulce de leche (6 tbsp.)
Chai Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- 141 g unsalted butter room temperature (10 tbsp.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 250 g powdered sugar (2 c.)
- 2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
- 40 g dulce de leche (2 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. chai spice
Instructions
Brown Sugar Chai Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with 6 parchment liners.
- Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and cubed butter to a medium sized mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the mixture together until the butter has completely combined with the dry ingredients and no large lumps remain.
- Add the oil, egg white, vanilla, sour cream, and milk to the flour mixture. Whisk the ingredients together just until a cohesive batter has formed.
Chai Swirl
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and chai spice.
- Place dollops of the chai mixture on top of the cupcake batter, then gently swirl it into the batter so that there are streaks of chai throughout the batter.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the liners. Bake for 16-18 min., or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Chai Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the butter with the salt for 1 minute to remove any lumps.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until all of it has been used.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream, dulce de leche, and chai spice. Beat the mixture for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, use a spoon or a piping tip to carve a hole out in the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with ~1 tbsp. of dulce de leche.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with your piping tip of choice (I used Wilton 1M.)
- Generously frost each cupcake, then garnish with more dulce de leche and half of a cinnamon stick if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.