Chai Latte Cupcakes- From Julie at White Lights on Wednesday

Hi everyone! I’m Julie from White Lights on Wednesday.  

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be guest posting for Zoe today!!

I met Zoe through Trading Blogs, a blog swap put on by Melissa at Serendipity and Spice.

First things first, how much does Zoe look like Gwyneth Paltrow?

{Gwyneth photo source}

They totally look alike.

Ok.  I’m better now.  After seriously stalking Zoe’s blog and trying to figure out what I wanted to share with her and all of her lovely readers I realized I should stick to what I’m good at.  Food.  I cook and bake A LOT.  When I saw Zoe’s list of likes and dislikes {you should always know these things about your friends} it hit me, Chai Cupcakes! Yes.  Zoe likes Chai Latte Frappuccinos, exclamation points, and scrabble.  I like Caramel Macchiatos, exclamation points, and scrabble.  She’d be a great coffee and Scrabble date friend to have.  BTW, my Wordfeud and Words with Friends ID is julerybox, hit me up.

And since I’m baking for Zoe, I figured some old school country music was in order.  I love to listen to music while I cook and bake and since Zoe lives in the country I figured why not!

Chai Cupcake Baking Music

Johnny Cash - I'm Gonna Sit on my Porch and Pick on my Ol' Guitar
Marty Robbins - El Paso
Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
June Carter - Times a Wastin'
Loretta Lynn - You Ain't Woman Enough to Take my Man
Hank Williams - Move It On Over

Chai Latte Cupcakes with Vanilla Chai Buttercream

Cupcakes from A Spicy Perspective    ][    Buttercream from The Novice Chef

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Chai Latte Cupcakes

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

2/3 cup instant chai powder**

¼ tsp ground cardamom, optional  {you could also substitute ground ginger}
2 eggs

½ cup milk  {it’s a latte people}

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Vanilla Chai Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted   {don’t skip the sifting!}

Chai Spice Mix (see below)

1 to 2 tablespoons cold milk, if needed

Ground cinnamon for dusting

Half cinnamon sticks for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer.  Add the chai powder and extra cardamom is desired.
4. Mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 3 additions.  Mix until just moistened after each addition; scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Fill prepared liner 2/3 full and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream

1. Using a mixer, beat together butter until it is creamy, about 2 minutes.  On low, mix in the vanilla and chai spice mix.  Carefully beat in the powdered sugar, about ½ cup at a time. 
   
   If the buttercream is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of cold milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached.  If the buttercream is too thin, add some more powdered sugar.   {I didn't need to add milk or extra sugar, the frosting came out just right the first go round.}

Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon.  Garnish with half a cinnamon stick, if desired.

Yum!  These frosting gives these cupcakes some extra spice.

Chai Spice Mix

Ingredients:

¾ teaspoon ground cardamom (or substitute ground ginger if you’re cheap like me)

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix ingredients together until well combined.

**If you have any instant chai mix at home.  I found this recipe from Southern Plate so you can make your own.

I hope these cupcakes make you feel all cozy and snuggly and special, because you are special.  Zoe, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know you.  I’m so glad we met and are now bloggy friends.  I’d love to trade blogs or have your guest post over at White Lights on Wednesday any time you’d like Zoe. 

Thanks so much for having me today!  Bye everybody!  Muah!

Gust Post on Toddler Nutrition- Check it out!!

Just writing a quick post to wish everyone a happy weekend and let you know I am posting over at Through the Eyes of the Mrs. today. I am talking about Toddler Nutrition Tips, so if you have a toddler it would be a great thing to check out!

I have a few more projects ready to post on, just haven't found the time to sit down and write them! Hopefully this weekend! Have a great day!

Guest Posting and New Food Friday #7!

First off, I am guest posting over at T-Shirt Diaries for Stashbusting September. Check it out to see how to make cute homemade Christmas Ornaments out of your stash! Plus Robin has great projects listed all month long to help you get rid of your stash!

Second, it is New Food Friday. This week isn't anything too groundbreaking- but it sure was easy, and good!!

I don't usually cook a lot of hamburger but we had some leftover from a BBQ last weekend and also had some left over buns. So the easiest thing that came to my mind was Sloppy Joe's. I had never made them before, so I looked up a recipe.

I modified this recipe at AllRecipes.com. The main modification I made was to add a whole onion and a whole pepper. It was a very quick, very yummy recipe!

Sloppy Joe's
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp prepared mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Saute green pepper and onions until tender.

Brown hamburger.
Drain liquids.

Add all seasonings and let simmer 15-30 minutes.
Enjoy!