One, two chai chai chai...

Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream

America is celebrating Thanksgiving next week and though most matriarchs will have planned the food, tablescape and nap intervals months ago, in the off chance you find you're a last minute invitee here is a sweet treat to add to feast: Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream.

As I said last year American Thanksgiving is not to be taken lightly. There are rules of engagement. You are expected to eat, watch college football, eat more, nap, eat again, caffeinate and line up for Black Friday. I offer these tips as a foreigner who experienced five American Thanksgivings:

1. Wear stretchy pants. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you're lucky enough to have maternity pants in your wardrobe consider those you're most prized possession.
2. Wear empire waist shirts that fall loosely and hide the stretchy waist band in your pants. 
3. No button up collar shirts...though your boobs will not grow bigger eating this much food your stomach inevitably will, pushing your boobs up and out of the designated boob area of this type of shirt. This can only end badly with the buttons pulling at the buttonholes like a pre-green Incredible Hulk moment...exposing cleavage or worse: the belly/boob squidge...where the gut and boobs meet. This goes for men too.
4. Forget shapewear...otherwise you'll be digesting your food in your esophagus.
5. If you don't know anything about football, don't pretend you do. Trust me. Pick a pretty colour and cheer. 
6. Pace yourself with both food and cheer. Nobody likes a drunk glutton by the end of the salad round.
7. Rehearse and remember for what and why you are thankful. You will be tested.
8. Bring a change of clothes, comfortable walking shoes, camp chair and blanket for Black Friday lineups. DO NOT bring a guitar. Some other cheeseball already has.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my American friends!

Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream

You will need:

Cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup heavy cream or milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon White Chocolate  Buttercream
adapted from Anna Olson

 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
20 ounces good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 1/3 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Directions

Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners. Should yield at least 12 cupcakes.
• In a large bowl whisk dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate dry ingredients with cream in three additions beginning and ending with the dry. Scrape down bowl. Don't over mix.
• Fill cupcake liners two thirds full.
• Bake for about 18 minutes, until the tops barely bounce back when lightly pressed
• Let cool

Buttercream

• In a stand-up mixer or in a large bowl with electric beaters, beat butter until fluffy. 
• Beat in cooled melted chocolate on medium speed. Reduce speed and beat in icing sugar and vanilla.
• Chill for about an hour to set before using.
• pipe on to cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon on top. (if you mix cinnamon into the buttercream it changes the color to almost the same as the cupcakes. For texture and color variation I just sprinkle it on top)

Sugar and Spice and Vanilla Chai Nice

Vanilla Chai Latte: homemade vanilla chai concentrate

I love LOVE the fall season. The sun is still warm but the air is cool... the leaves are turning red, orange and yellow. It's the perfect weather to sit on the porch and sip warm, spicy chai.

I love making chai concentrate. My whole house smells like the Spice Market in Istanbul. It's not hard to do and it's considerably more economical than buying the concentrates at the grocery store. And this way you can manage you're quantities of sugar, caffeine, tea strength, etc.

This recipe was adapted from one sent to me by the lovely Dana VanVeller (who got it from her friend Jess, who got it for our friend Marcia Siggelkow, who got it from her friend Jen)...recipe origin unknown at this point, but I will keep you posted when I find it.

What you'll need to do:
Get a stock pot that will hold 5 liters of water, but don't fill it up just yet...

Toss in a blender and blend just to break them up, or use a mortar and pestle:
15 cinnamon sticks

 Then add:
(Again, blend just to break them up)
Or if you're using mortar and pestle crush each spice one at a time and put in pot as you go.

1/4 cup coriander seeds

 1/2 cup whole allspice

 1/4 cup cardamom pods (or just the seeds if that's what you can find)

 1/4 cup peppercorns

 Add 2 vanilla beans sliced lengthwise (or I use 4 left over vanilla bean pods - the guts have been scraped and used in something else)
1 tsp whole cloves (not crushed)
Add 6 inches of sliced ginger.

Add 5 liters of water.
Simmer for 2 or more hours.
Remove from heat

At this point you can add 1 cup of loose black tea (in cheese cloth or tea bags so you can take it out easily). Steep for 2-3 minutes. The longer you steep the tea the more bitter it gets.

I choose not to add tea at this point. I prefer to add a sachet of black tea when I make myself a cup of chai. That way I can choose whether or not I'd like caffeinated or decaffeinated tea.

Pour concentrate through strainer into a pitcher, or I use mason jars so I can store it in my fridge a little easier. Should be good for up to 3 weeks in a sealed jar.

There are many ways to make your cuppa chai. Here is one suggestion:

• Fill your mug half way with the chai concentrate and warm it up (either stove top in a saucepan or in the microwave...this is when I also add my tea sachet)
• Put about the same amount of milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, whisking the whole time...it should froth a little. Add to your chai.
• Add honey to sweeten if desired

 Enjoy!