Perfectly sweet vegan chai cupcakes topped with a spiced buttercream. These cupcakes are soft and fluffy and infused with chai spices. Perfect for the holidays or any fall and winter occasion!

When my husband and I got married in September 2019, I planned and prepared our entire wedding menu with the help of a few family members. I made my own wedding cake and served a variety of cupcakes to go with it. These cupcakes were all recipes from Sally’s Baking Addiction, including her chai latte cupcakes, which were my favorites. Shortly after our wedding, I made the switch from vegetarianism to veganism and I knew that I wanted to create a vegan version of our favorite wedding cupcakes. And so today, I share with you these vegan chai cupcakes.

How to Make Vegan Chai Cupcakes:

How to Decorate Chai Cupcakes:

I love to decorate them with cinnamon sticks and a dusting of chai spice mix. You can of course leave them plain. Just make sure not to try and eat the cinnamon sticks… Yes, someone actually tried this at our wedding!

Tips to Make the Best Cupcakes:

• Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. It does make a difference!
• Bake only one batch at a time in the middle rack to ensure even baking.
• Let them cool completely before decorating or you’ll end up with a mess.
• Don’t over or under mix! Over-mixing will lead to tough and dense cupcakes. Mix until just combined. You don’t want any pockets of flour.
• Once cooled completely, store the cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container to keep them moist and fluffy. If you don’t decorate them immediately, you can keep them at room temperature for several days. If they’re frosted, place them in the refrigerator after 1 day.
• Avoid scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup to measure the flour or you’ll end up using too much. You’ll also want to avoid shaking the measuring cup for the same reason. To measure the flour in this recipe, use the spoon and level method (see recipe notes for details).

Vegan Chai Cupcakes FAQ:

More Vegan Cakes and Sweet Bread Recipes:

• Vegan Lemon Mug Cake
• Easy Pumpkin Mug Cake
• Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf with Streusel Topping
• Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
• Vegan Funfetti Birthday Mug Cake
• Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping

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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Chai Cupcakes

Perfectly sweet vegan chai cupcakes topped with a spiced buttercream. These cupcakes are soft and fluffy and infused with chai spices. Perfect for the holidays or any fall and winter occasion!

Course Dessert

Cuisine vegan

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 bag chai tea
• 1/2 cup oat milk, plain and unsweetened
• 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 1 3/4 cup white cake flour, spoon and leveled
• 3 1/2 teaspoons chai spice mix
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt, room temperature (see notes)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chai Spice Mix

• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Vegan Chai Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
• 5 cups confectioner's sugar, plus more as needed
• 2 teaspoons chai spice mix
• 1/4 cup oat milk, plain and unsweetened, plus more as needed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Start by making your flax egg. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of room temperature water. Set aside to let it thicken.
• Heat 1/2 cup of oat milk. I heat it in the microwave for 1 minute in a glass measuring cup. Add the chai tea bag to the warm milk and let it steep for 20 minutes or until it gets to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, mix all the chai spices together.
• Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix your flour, 3 1/2 teaspoons of chai spice mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer of hand mixer, beat the sugar and 1/2 cup of vegan butter together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flax egg, vegan yogurt, chai milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed.
• With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Don't over or under mix.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. It should make 12 cupcakes, filling each liner *almost* to the top (see photos).
• Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the Vegan Chai Buttercream

• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the icing sugar, chai spice mix, oat milk, vanilla and salt. Beat on high speed for about 2 minutes. Add more icing sugar if the frosting is too thin or more milk if too thick.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag. I used the Wilton 6B piping tip. Frost the cupcakes. Decorate with a cinnamon stick and a dusting of chai spice mix if desired.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from the Chai Latte Cupcakes from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I adjusted the recipe to make them vegan, but the credit for the original recipe goes to Sally!

It’s very important that your ingredients are all at room temperature before making the cupcakes or it will affect the final result. I recommend getting the vegan butter and yogurt out of the fridge approximately 1 hour before you start making the cupcakes. Don’t leave the yogurt at room temperature much longer than that.

I made this recipe with both white cake flour and white all-purpose flour. Both resulted in soft and fluffy cupcakes. I don’t have a gluten-free option at this time.

Use the spoon and level method to measure the flour. To do this, scoop the flour with a spoon and transfer it to the measuring cup. Level the flour at the top of the measuring cup using the back of a butter knife. Avoid scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup or you’ll end up with too much flour. You’ll also want to avoid shaking the measuring cup for the same reason.

I made this recipe with oat milk, but other plain and unsweetened plant-based milks should work.

I used Maison Riviera’s Oat based plain yogurt. Other plain vegan yogurts should work.

I used Becel’s vegan butter.

If you make these chai cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!