Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream

This highly-addictive recipe for Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream brings the familiar, warm-spice taste of a coffee house into the bake house.

For years, I was hesitant to share my recipe for Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream recipe. I had two primary reasons for this:

At one time, I had contemplated opening a bakery in the town where I live. Vanilla Chai Cake was one of the most popular items we offered at the local farmers market. And we even had our bakes featured on the dessert menu of a Lansing-area restaurant. Things were ticking along and I didn’t want to give away one of my star recipes.

But in 2006, Michigan found itself in a recession, and we decided not to make the leap to a brick and mortar business. We had a young family and it simply didn’t make a lot of sense financially. It ended up being a smart decision. Fast forward to today, and I still don’t regret that decision. But there’s no reason to not share this recipe for Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream now.

The second reason I didn’t want to share the recipe was because it was ridiculously easy…to the point where it was almost embarrassing.

I use the Keurig Cafe Escapes Chai Latte pods to give this buttercream it’s familiar coffee house Chai flavor. There’s no complicated spice blend or process. It’s a pretty straight-forward, easy recipe that anyone can make. So, now my big secret – and highly-addictive buttercream recipe – is also yours.

“It’s ‘Crack Cake’, not Chai Latte Cake!”

So why is it called “Crack Cake” in some Mid-Michigan circles? Apparently, there’s some highly-addictive compound that’s released in the brain when people eat this chai spice buttercream frosting. Don’t get me wrong, I like it. But it doesn’t trigger quite the same reaction for me.

Case in point: I used this buttercream to finish the wedding cakes of two separate friends. At both events – after the cake was served – guests were returning to the cake table for seconds….and thirds. When there was no more cake to be had, children were found running their fingers along the cake board to scrape up every last smear of chai buttercream.

A sugar-fed frenzy of wedding dancing and laughter ensued, followed by good natured questions of what I had put in the frosting to make it so addictive. And that’s when the name “crack-cake” was bestowed.

And it stuck. Oh, how that name stuck! To this day, I’m the one who gets corrected when I try to call it Easy 10-Mintue Chai Latte Buttercream. So, just like I gave up trying to shake-off the name, I’m giving up the recipe!

What cake goes best with this Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream? Vanilla Cake, please….

This buttercream goes great with my recipe for Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes, but a good vanilla cake is my absolute favorite. You may be wondering what vanilla cake recipe works best with this buttercream. The answer is, all of them.

I have used this Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream with everything from a heavier pound cake to a box mix. However, my “go-to” vanilla cake for everyday baking is the Swans Down Cake Flour recipe for 1-2-3-4 Cake. You can find it on the back of the box. It’s the most reliable vanilla cake recipe I have come across – delivering a moist, light, delicate crumb that comes out perfect every time. If you have a favorite vanilla cake recipe, use it. You simply can’t go wrong topping it with this buttercream.

In terms of yield, a single batch of this chai buttercream makes enough to finish two 8″ cake layers or two 6″ layers and approx. 12 cupcakes. If you’re making just cupcakes, you can frost 24 cupcakes (depending on their size) or 5 dozen cookies (depending on their size).

Finally, a single batch will also serve one person if you’re eating it straight out of the mixing bowl. No, seriously. I’m not joking.

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Easy 10-Minute Chai Latte Buttercream

Recipe by Maria Ostrander Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Recipe Yield

5

cups

This recipe yields 5 cups of buttercream. A serving is slightly less than 1/4 cup of buttercream.

Ingredients

• 1 block Kerrygold Irish butter, unsalted (1 cup), at room temperature

• 1 stick (1 cup) vegetable shortening (original Crisco)

• 5 Chai Latte pods

• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

• 2 Tbsp. boiling water

• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

• Empty 5 Chai Latte pods into a small bowl. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 2 Tbsp. of boiling water. Make sure the powder is completely mixed – ensuring there are no lumps or undissolved crystals. Allow the Chai paste to cool to room temperature.
• Whip together the butter and shortening until completely smooth – approximately 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
• Add the Chai paste to the butter and shortening mixture. Scrape down the bowl and whip on medium-low speed until completely incorporated.
• On low speed, add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until all the sugar has been incorporated. Scrape down the bowl between each addition of sugar.
• When all the sugar has been added, increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high and whip for approximately 5 minutes. The color of the buttercream will begin to lighten and the volume will nearly double.
• Use to frost your favorite vanilla cake, cupcakes or sugar cookie cut-outs for a fun, holiday cookie twist.

Notes

• Can I use any butter? Kerrygold Irish Butter has a higher fat content than the regular American-style butter. I’ve used both types to make this buttercream, but the added richness and flavor of the Irish butter delivers a better result.