November 24, 2010

Gratitude

Chai Latte Cupcakes.


I have a lot the be thankful for. No, I'm not a prodigy in any area. I'm not famous. I don't drive a Bentley or have spare homes in exotic lands. I'm not dripping with jewels and my closet is surprisingly small. There are mornings I wake up and sigh at the potential monotony of life. There are days I argue with my husband on purpose. I get impatient with my little guys at times. I'm a regular girl/wife/mom with regular problems.

Yet I look around me every day and drink in thankfulness. With every breath, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for all of life's experiences, high and low.

There are moments in life that seem so painful, it's a wonder you make it through...but you do. You DO make it through and you can be thankful for that! It's amazing how you start to notice all the little things you should have always been thankful for, when bigger distractions are out the way.

I'm thankful for sunshine. I'm thankful for the aroma of freshly baked bread. I'm thankful for butterfly kisses and homemade gifts made of yarn and twigs. I am thankful my husband and I still look at each other the way we did 15 years ago.

In fact, thankfulness itself, is something to be thankful for. Gratitude is the oar the keeps your raft in delicate balance on the raging river of life. 

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. ~Oprah Winfrey

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting. ~Author Unknown


I wasn't planning to post this recipe, so I didn't focus on a photo-shoot. Sorry about that! I made them for a dear friend's baby shower. They had such rave reviews, I thought I better share them with plenty of time for your December gatherings!

I opted to use 'instant chai powder' in the batter, instead of combining all the spice myself, because I felt that flavor would benefit from the dehydrated milk added to the powder. It gave the cupcakes the creamy quality of good chai. This was a rare first-attempt success. The flavor was spot-on, after I added a touch of cardamom for extra kick. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Sommer


Chai Latte Cupcakes

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup instant chai powder
¼ tsp. cardamom (optional)
2 eggs
½ milk
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour (They don’t make a measuring cup for that!)
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

For the frosting:
½ cup unsalted butter
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. cinnamon
3 Tb. milk
¾ tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 large or 48 mini cupcake cups with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Then add the chai powder and extra cardamom if desired.

Mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Mix the baking powder and salt with the flour and add to the wet mixture a little at a time.

Fill the liners 2/3 of the way full and bake. 10 minutes for minis, and 15-20 for regular cupcakes.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, cream the butter and sugar together for the frosting. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. If the frosting is too soft add ½ cup more powdered sugar.

Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes and ENJOY!

Make 12 regular or 48 mini cupcakes!

49 comments:

  1. I look forward to making these :) Thank you..

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  2. I bet they were a hit at the shower. The photos are wonderful and tempting. What a lovely post. I hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

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  3. Happy Thanksgiving Sommer! And thanks for the wonderful post and the wonderful cupcake recipes (those are always to be thankful for!)

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  4. First of all, I love your philosophy on life, and be happy with what we have. Thanks for reminding me :) Then, I love your cupcakes as much, I think I can eat a dozen of them with my tea, I would definitely be thankful to have those on my table :) Happy Thanksgiving!

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  5. These cupcakes are lovely. I've not made anything with chai but I know they are good in baked goodies.

    Indeed there is much to be thankful for. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  6. I love that these cupcakes are so different - I've recently been introduced to gorgeous chai lattes and can only imagine what these cakes must be like - will have to try them!

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  7. Oh Sommer...I just LOVED your words, your thoughts...it set me thinking too! You seem to be such a wonderful person!!! AND I loved your cupcakes!! I'm not planning to have another baby, but I would if you promise to bring me those cupcakes ;D
    Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

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  8. The photos are really beautiful, though you say they weren't planned. I love the idea of chai latte cupcakes. Your words here are wonderful. The quote by Oprah sums it up nicely.

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  9. I'd be thankful to have one of those cupcakes too!!
    I loved reading your post, it's so true.
    Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  10. Lovely and heartfelt post. I'm very fond of quotes and luv the ones you've shared at the end.

    Another thing I luv...chai. You had me at Chai and I'd want to whip these up tomorrow. Where does one find instant chai powder? McCormick Schilling used to carry a chai spice blend, but has since discontinued it. I'll be on the lookout for that powder.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. :)

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  11. When I was younger I used to ask for more from life. Now as years go by I learned to be satisfied with what I have. This makes me feel more peaceful and happy. These cupcakes look fantastic.

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  12. These are definitely something to be thankful for. Lovely sentiments. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. looks awesome and happy thanksgiving!!:)

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  14. Sommer, you are so good at expressing your thoughts. I was recently thinking along the same lines. Those things I've endured (good & bad), all the insignificant, and significant things I have to be thankful for. It's all relevant. Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  15. Cristina~ I found the instant chai at the supermarket next to the hot cocoa and chocolate milk mixes. Our grocery had 3-4 different brands available. I hope you find it!

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  16. I'm so glad you shared these lovely photos and recipe for your cupcakes. I like the mini cupcakes for a party or a small bite that's just the right amount. Thanks for the words on gratitude, just the thing to pay a tribute to Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful day:)

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  17. Happy Thanksgiving, Sommer! I'm glad you decided to share these cupcakes after all, as they look wonderful!

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  18. Beautifully written sentiments! Happy Thanksgiving and thanks!

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  19. Shame on you for making me cry! The cupcakes sound amazing - thankful to have reconnected with you, Sommer - Happy Thanksgiving!

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  20. Hi Sommer,
    What a lovely post. This was such a perfect thing for me to read on Thanksgiving morning. I need to appreciate both the good and hard times...such change and such growth should be celebrated. Thank you for sharing, my dear. Happy Thanksgiving!
    PS Your cupcakes look AMAZING

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  21. These look great! Cannot wait to make them. I'm 'gluten free' and they seem easy to convert. Thanks for the delicious, and seasonal post.

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  22. Hi Sommer,
    What a delicious blog ;) I love your Chai Latte Cupcakes...They look absolutely mouth-watering:)

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Cheers,

    Aldy.

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  23. These cupcakes look great! I love the chai flavor. This was such a lovely post, too! Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving! :)

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  24. Sommer, I love these cupcakes, simple, but definitely flavourful with chai and and spiced frosting!

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  25. very inviting cupcakes---the use of chai powder just stumped me ! u have truly listed those things for which each one of us must be thankful----hope u had a wonderful Thanksgiving :)

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  26. Such a sweet post. Stay-at-home motherhood can be monotonous, and then my little ones do something funny and I fall in love all over again!
    The flavour of these cupcakes sounds delicious!

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  27. These sound so delicious! I love first-try attempts that work out for the best! And I love those inspirational quotes!

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  28. Hey Sommer! This is a very sweet and honest post-I loved it actually, so don't worry about the photos:) Plus, the lighting in them is kind of mystical and cool. Witchy, no?! Oh, and the cupcakes look very delicious. I love frosting like that...!

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  29. Even if you weren't planning on taking pictures they still turned out wonderful! I love the flavor of a chai latte and in a cupcake I can only imagine how good they are! What a lucky friend :)

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  30. Yum. I LOVE chai. I'm a bit f a chai fanatic. Or snob, I guess, but I prefer fanatic ;) I've never been able to get my baked chai goods to taste strong enough. These look beautiful, great job!!

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  31. Happy thanksgiving to you and family Sommer
    delicious chai cupcakes cardamom in it flavourful

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  32. A beautiful post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

    And of course another delicious recipe for us to try. Thanks so much.

    Joanne

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  33. Thanks for sharing Sommer! The baby shower was wonderful, as were the cupcakes. A friend made your cranberry relish yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful with the turkey and dressing! Keep these great receipes coming!!!

    Talli

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  34. Beautiful comments, Sommer! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying a beautiful weekend, Kate

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  35. These cupcakes sound and look so good! I love chai. In fact, I am drinking some chai tea right now!

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  36. I love your list of simple things to be thankful for. It made me step back and look at the bigger picture...thank you for that :) These cupcakes look fantastic! I just made chai pancakes and loved the flavor!

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  37. You have got the right idea when it comes to being thankful. Love that Oprah quote--she's got some good ones! Chai has such good flavor--so creative for a cupcake. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

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  38. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, there is an award waiting for you.http://thelonelyradish.com/2010/11/27/thanks-and-giving/

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  39. I think you're a rock star, Sommer! And I'm thankful for awesome recipes such as these :) I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving!

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  40. Sommer
    those little cupcakes are gorgeous!! and I know they had to be delicious too! As for not a photo shoot, you certainly got some great images......
    Thank you for reminding us all how much we have to be thankful for, we all need to stop and think..we take too much for granted!
    Cheers
    Dennis

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  41. These look awesome! Im posting a link to your post on my cupcake blog! www.OnlyCupcakes.net!

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  42. Very cute! I love the idea of the chai flavor.

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  43. Your post is so lovely and a great reminder to us about all that we have to be thankful for. Oprah's quote is so true and beautiful! Your cupcakes I'm sure were a super hit at the shower. What a delicious recipe:)

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  44. Sommer, your post almost has me in tears. Thank you for the timely reminder of how much worse our lives could be, and for making me feel that I'm not twisted because sometimes I actually WANT to argue with my husband! Sunshine IS breathtakingly beautiful and right now, I could hug you till you begged for mercy! Hope you had the very best Thanksgiving possible :)

    P/S your cupcakes are inspired, and beautiful, but you already knew that ;)

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  45. Chai is the only latte I'll drink, so I'd love these cupcakes! And I don't know about not being a photo shoot, but those cupcakes look pretty darn awesome to me.

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  46. I know you are super busy, but we are doing a holiday blogging event and would love if you could join! let me know if you are interested... i will be doing a post with more details this week.

    claireamberson@gmail.com

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  47. I love these kinds of posts. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts (and the cupcakes).

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  48. What a wonderful post...and I love the quotes you have chosen.
    Beautiful as are you lovely cupcakes :)

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  49. Those are adorable cupcakes, and I can almost taste the spice in them. It's making my mouth water!

    Your post really made me smile and I enjoyed reading all of the things you are thankful for. I took a few minutes to reflect on my life and I am thankful for a lot too. Thank you for reminding me to remember that.

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I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for taking the time. If you have a question, I'll get back to you ASAP!