Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

I made these spicy babies for my vegan co-worker's birthday. Turns out, there are 2 other vegans in the office! Who knew that so many health-conscious people worked for the government! I swiped this recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and tweaked it for the spices I have in my cabinet:




Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
4 chai tea bags
1/4 cup veggie oil
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated veggie shortening
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F
Spray/line cupcake tins

Heat almondmilk until almost boiling, add tea bags, cover and turn off heat. Allow it to steep for about 15 minutes. Stir and squeeze to gently extract soymilk from bags and discard.

Mix together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla and tea mixture until smooth. fold in flower, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Small lumps are alright.  Fill tins and bake for about 22 minutes, or until spongy and a toothpick comes out clean.

Mix together all ingredients for the buttercream frosting with an electric mixture until peaks form.  Wait until cupcakes are cool before spreading it on top!