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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners enough to make at least 24 cupcakes (you may end up with more cupcakes depending on how much you fill each one).
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Place the unbroken eggs in a bowl of warm water to bring them to room temperature, set aside.
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Heat the milk over low heat or in the microwave for about a 1-1:30 minutes to warm it slightly.Immediately add the tea bags to the milk and stir. Set the milk aside with the tea bags to cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
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Measure out the all-purpose flour using the dip and sweep method or by weight. Sift the flour, baking powder, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and whisk well to combine, set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute. If your butter is cold you can bring it to room temperature by microwaving on half power for 20-30 second intervals until soft. Check the butter often to prevent it from melting completely.
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Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the sugar to the butter. Beat for a few seconds to incorporate the sugar then add the vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high for 3 minutes .
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Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Remove the eggs from the warm water and add them to the bowl one at a time, mixing on low speed for about 30 seconds after each addition. Be sure to scrape the bowl in between additions.
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Squeeze as much milk as possible out of each tea bag back into the measuring cup, discard the tea bags. You should have just under a cup of milk tea. Since the tea bags absorbed some of the milk fill the measuring cup back up to 1 cup with more milk.
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Add the flour mixture in 3-4 batches alternating with the milk tea mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix well (about 30-40 seconds) after each addition.
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Fill each cupcake liner with about 1/4 cup of batter. I like to use a #16 disher/scoop to portion out my cupcake batter. You can find them in restaurant stores or online
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Tap the pans on a counter a few times to even out the batter and eliminate any air bubbles. Bake @ 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.
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Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto a cooling rack. Once cool frost with chai buttercream.