
I’m such a big fan of Chai. I am still working on my own perfect blend so until then I will be inspired by all the spices that go into which can be a lot. The best way to get the authentic taste is to try some at your favorite Indian restaurant. You will find that it taste a lot different than some of the pre-blended drinks on the market.
For baking purposes, you can achieve a close taste with a blend of ground spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and black pepper. you pretty much need all of these so don’t forgo any one of them.
For this recipe, I tried a new chai spice blend from King Arthur. It worked very well. I also like the fact that is was ground very fine.
The espresso glaze really sets off the ‘dirty’ in this muffin. There is also espresso in the muffin as well.
I dare you to have it with your favorite chai to have an explosion of flavor!
Dirty Chai Muffins with Espresso Glaze
- October 18, 2018
- 30 min
- Print this

Ingredients
- For the Muffins
- 5 tbsp room temp butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 3 tsp King Arthur Chai Spice
- or
- This spice blend: 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 3/4 cups AP flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup very strong espresso coffee made from espresso powder ( set aside 2 tbsp for glaze )
- For the Gaze
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp reserved espresso liquid
Directions
- Step 1
- Preheat the oven to 425F
- Step 2
- Prepare a muffin tin by greasing or non-stick spraying a muffin tin. You can also use muffins papers.
- Step 3
- In a standing mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high until fluffy about 4-5 minutes.
- Step 4
- Add the egg and beat for another minute.
- Step 5
- Add the vanilla and all of the spices and combine well.
- Step 6
- In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Step 7
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the espresso liquid until just combined.
- Step 8
- With a cookie scoop, scoop batter equally into the prepared muffin tin.
- Step 9
- Bake for about minutes at the 425F. The turn the oven down to 375F and bake for another 15 minutes until muffins are golden brown and spring back when pressed on top.
- Step 10
- Let cool.
- Step 11
- For the glaze
- Step 12
- Combined the powdered sugar and reserves coffee liquid and combine into a smooth glaze.
- Step 13
- Drizzle onto the cooled muffins. Sprinkle with espresso powder or ground coffee.
- Step 14
- Enjoy!
Omg wow I absolutely love the sound of the espresso glaze!!
Nothing like another layer of caffeine! Think of all the stuff you can drizzle this on to give an extra kick. Let me know if you make these and if you use the glaze for other baked goods.
Thanks for stopping by!