Weigh the whole milk in a saucepan and the loose tea leaves (if using) in a small bowl.

Heat the whole milk on low heat till just boiled.

Stir in the loose tea leaves or steep in a tea bag.

Let the chai flavours infuse into the milk till the milk becomes completely cool or overnight.

Make sure that the milk has a strong tea flavour. You can even taste a small quantity of it.

If you find that the tea is not strong enough heat the milk again and add in more tea.

Let it cool completely and strain the tea before using it in the cupcake batter.

Weigh 200g of milk powder in a non-stick pan.

Once the milk powder is amber in colour, turn off the heat and transfer it into a bowl to cool.

Once cool, sift the milk powder to get rid of any lumps.

Store in an air-tight container or glass jar.

Bring out the butter and let it come to the right temperature & texture. Weigh & chop the butter into even-sized cubes before using. See notes

Weigh the chai-infused whole milk and set aside.

Weigh the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Sift well and set aside.

In another bowl, weigh the castor sugar and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Weigh the eggs in a bowl and whisk till combined.

Weigh and sift the icing sugar well. Add in the roasted milk powder and set aside. No need to mix

Weigh the softened unsalted butter into a bowl of a stand mixer or a big bowl.

Weigh the chai-infused milk and set it aside.

Weigh the salt & set aside.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or handheld mixer, cream the butter on low-medium speed till pale and fluffy.

Add the castor sugar and brown sugar. Cream till fluffy on medium-high speed. scrape the bowl completely from side to side and top to bottom. Cream for 10 seconds to mix well.

With the mixer running, add the egg mixer in three batches, mixing well till the mixture forms peaks before each addition without turning off the mixer.

Turn off the mixer, and scrape the bowl well and cream for 10 seconds.

Add the sifted dry ingredients and roasted milk powder into the cupcake batter and mix well till just combined on low speed.

Add the cool chai-infused milk (check the quantity in the recipe) and mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing. The batter will be thick.

Gently fold the cupcake batter using a spatula just in case any of the ingredients haven’t mixed well.

Put the bowl with the cupcake batter onto a weighing scale.

Bring the weighing scale to zero.

Scoop 60g of batter into each cup scraping the spoons well before zeroing out the weighing scale and scooping more cupcake batter for the next cupcake.

Bake the cupcakes for about 25 minutes or till the centre of the cupcake springs back when touched.

Allow them to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes.

After that transfer them to a cooling rack or tray to cool completely before frosting.

With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter till pale and fluffy for about 3 minutes on medium speed.

Add icing sugar in three batches and beat on a low speed of 30 seconds increasing to medium speed and beat till combined well before each addition.

Add about a teaspoon of the chai-infused milk one at a time till the frosting is not too thick. When the frosting reaches its right consistency, it will be fluffy yet hold its shape well when scooped.

Use immediately or store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about two weeks.

Thaw the frosting till it reaches pipeable consistency.

Transfer the frosting into a piping bag. You can even use a piping tip to decorate the cupcakes. Avoid overfilling.

You can sprinkle either brown sugar, cinnamon sugar or a cinnamon stick on the cupcakes to decorate.