Chocolate Chai Cupcakes With Buttercream Frosting

Total Time: 1 hr 19 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 19 mins

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 5 chai-flavored tea bags
• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup land o lakes butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons reserved prepared chai-flavored tea
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup land o lakes butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ground cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 350°f place paper baking cups into muffin pan cups; set aside.
• 2 combine all filling ingredients in medium bowl. beat at medium speed until creamy; set aside.
• 3 combine boiling water and tea bags in glass measuring cup, let stand 5 minutes. remove tea bags, squeezing out excess liquid. add enough water, if necessary, to equal 1 1/2 cups.
• 4 reserve 3 tablespoons prepared tea; set aside. place remaining prepared tea in large bowl; add cake mix, melted butter and eggs. beat at low speed 30 seconds. beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.
• 5 spoon about 2 tablespoons cake batter into each prepared muffin cup. top each with 1 tablespoon filling. spoon additional cake batter over filling until cups are about 2/3 full. (do not overfill.) (batter does not have to cover filling completely.) bake for 19 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool completely.
• 6 combine 3 tablespoons reserved prepared tea and milk in 2-quart saucepan. add flour and cocoa; whisk until smooth. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and just comes to a boil (4 to 6 minutes). remove from heat; cool about 15 minutes.
• 7 combine 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. beat at high speed until creamy. continue beating, gradually adding cocoa mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until light and creamy and sugar is dissolved. frost or pipe cooled cupcakes. sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. store refrigerated.