chai tea cupcakes with brown butter frosting

How To Make chai tea cupcakes with brown butter frosting

• 1

  To make brown butter on purpose: for 4 oz., put one stick of butter (salted) in a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Stir constantly until butter melts and starts to turn a brown color. Remove it from the heat and let cool to room temperature. The butter will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat, so don't overdo it.
• 2

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave the 1 1/4 cups of water until boiling hot. Steep the two tea bags for at least 5 minutes. Throw away tea bags. In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and tea. Mix according to package directions.
• 3

  Line cupcake pans with liners of your choice. For the standard sized cupcakes, measure a scant 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake liner. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until done and when pressed in the center with index finger springs back instead of leaving an indentation.
• 4

  While cupcakes cool completely, mix frosting. Beat the brown butter and 3 cups of powdered sugar on low to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of milk or cream and beat well for 2 minutes. If the frosting is too runny and won't stand up to piping, add the more powdered sugar. If frosting is too stiff, add milk, 1 tablespoon at the time, beating well after each addition, until you reach the consistency you desire. The key to having a really good frosting is beating it at medium to high speed for at least 5 minutes and adding powdered sugar or milk, little by little, until you reach the desired consistency.
• 5

  Piping didn't really work for this frosting. The best bet is to do it the old-fashioned way. I used a small Wilton offset spatula and spread a thin layer of frosting to cover the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon to make them look pretty.
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