Vanilla Chai Spiced Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

I made these deliciously spiced cupcakes twice. The first batch I made with cake flour. They came out really light, and you have to be careful not to overbake them even the slightest so they remain moist and tender. Then, I made them again with all-purpose flour. They still came out light and fluffy, but I would say the perfect texture would be right in between these two. I modified the recipe below so that its half and half. If you don't have both flours, they still come out great when just using one. Just don't over bake these tender cupcakes!! I like how you can still taste a hint of vanilla and also the chai spices.

Vanilla Chai Spiced Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Adapted from: Taste and Tell Blog via Taste of Home
Yield: 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup milk

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Place cupcake liners in 16 muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine the ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and black pepper. Set aside.

 In another bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt and 1½ teaspoons of the reserved spice mixture. 

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, beating just until combined after each addition.

Fill the prepared cups ⅔ full of the batter. Bake for 16-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes the remove from the pans to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Cinnamon Buttercream
3 sticks + 3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups + 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon clear vanilla
Cinnamon, to taste (sprinkle it in alittle at a time, I probably used 1/8 - 1/4 tsp total)

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (I use "4" on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy.
Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 5 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy. Pipes the best if you use it right away. Yield: generously frosts 18 cupcakes.