Sweet and fluffy, spiced cupcakes dotted with tart cranberries! These simple Cranberry Chai Spice Cupcakes are topped with an EASY spiced frosting and glistening sugared cranberries. They’re perfect for your next holiday get-together, or, you know, Tuesday night.
Cranberry Chai Spice Cupcakes
Yield: 12 Cupcakes
Cranberry Chai Spice Cupcakes
Sweet and fluffy spiced cupcakes dotted with fresh, tart cranberries! All topped off with an easy spiced buttercream frosting and glistening sugared cranberries!
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
20 minutes
Additional Time
1 hour
Total Time
2 hours 20 minutes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- Big pinch of ground black pepper
- 1 cup plant-based milk
- 1/2 cup plant-based butter, softened
- 2/3 cup raw cane sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, washed and patted dry (see Note 1)
Frosting
- 1/2 cup plant-based butter, softened
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, or more butter (see Note 2)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 4-5 Tbsp plant-based milk
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- Pinch of ground black pepper
Sugared Cranberries
- 1/3 cup + 1 cup white granulated sugar (divided)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, washed and patted dry
Instructions
Sugar the Cranberries
- Add the water and 1/3 cup of sugar to a medium pot and mix. Bring just to a simmer and then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the fresh cranberries to the sugar mixture, coating each cranberry and then removing them to a wire cooling rack. It's easiest to use a slotted spoon to remove the berries.
- Add 1 cup of sugar to a shallow bowl or dish. Begin adding the sticky cranberries, a spoonful at a time, to the sugar, swirling them about to coat them in the sugar. Carefully remove to a baking sheet or plate to cool/set.
Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Prepare your cup of milk. Then beat ~1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add half of the milk and beat. Repeat once more and then, finally, beat in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
- Fill the lined muffin wells a little more than 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes (mine took 19) or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before gently removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- Once your cupcakes are totally cool, make the frosting: in a large bowl, beat together the butter and shortening. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add 3 cups of the powdered sugar and beat. Add the remaining 3 cups of sugar + 2 Tbsp of milk. Begin beating and add milk as you need. You want the consistency to be thick and stable to hold shape yet spreadable enough that the texture is smooth.
- Add frosting to a piping bag fitted with your favorite frosting tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip). Frost each cupcake and immediately top with a sugared cranberry, sprinkles, or whatever you'd like.
- Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Cranberries: you can use whole cranberries or slice/chop the cranberries into smaller pieces. I chose to slice the bigger berries and left the smaller ones whole.
- Shortening: this helps stabilize the softer plant-based butters. If you choose to omit it (and use more butter in its place), you may need to add less milk to your frosting.
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