Chai Spice Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grease and flour muffin tins OR use cupcake liners (24 count).

3. Boil 1 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and steep teabags in it for 5 minutes. Remove bags, squeezing excess liquid, and cool tea completely. You can just pop the whole saucepan in the fridge while you mix the next ingredients.

4. In a small bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, salt, and baking powder, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

5. In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.

6. Beat in eggs and vanilla until all is smooth and well-mixed.

7. Gradually beat in flour mixture and cooled tea, alternating each, until all is incorporated and batter is fluffy.

8. Fill each cupcake cup a little over half-full of batter. You should be able to get at least 24 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill them!

9. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

10. Cool COMPLETELY before icing.

11. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, spread with the brown-sugar icing. (Recipe follows.) I like to top the cupcakes with a few bits of candied ginger, but that’s optional! They’re wonderful even without!

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FOR THE ICING:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add brown sugar and mix well. Turn heat to high and cook the mixture about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sugar has melted completely and incorporated with the butter.

3. Remove from heat and add milk. (Add the milk SLOWLY, as it is very prone to spattering at this stage and you could be burned if you’re not careful!)

4. Return to heat and bring to a boil, which should not take long!

5. Remove from heat and cool until just about lukewarm, not cold–between 5 and 10 minutes.

6. Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing with a whisk or fork to smooth out any lumps before adding more. Continue to mix until smooth. This will take some real arm-strength!

7. Use immediately.

(Note: If the frosting sets up too quickly while you’re adding the powdered sugar, add a tiny bit of milk and mix well until frosting spreads easily again. If you add too much milk, balance it with a bit more powdered sugar. It’s a bit trial-and-error to get everything just right, so don’t be discouraged!)