Preheat oven & prepare muffin tin: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it lightly. Set aside.

 

Steep the tea: Use 2-3 chai tea sachets or bags, steep them in ¾ cup of boiling water for 5 minutes or longer. The longer you steep the stronger the tea, and that will enhance the flavor of your muffins. After steeping the tea, reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of the tea to be used in the sugar glaze later.

 

Prepare the crumble topping: In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

 

Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.

 

Combine the melted butter with the sugar: In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until well combined.

 

Add the eggs: Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

 

Add the remaining wet ingredients: Stir in the cooled chai tea, half and half, and vanilla extract. Make sure you reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of the tea to be used in the sugar glaze later.

 

Combine the dry into the wet: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.

 

Fold in the apples: Gently fold in the diced apples.

 

Fill the muffin tin and bake: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, leaving about ½ inch from the top of the paper liner. Generously sprinkle the crumble topping over each muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Check for doneness at the 20 minute mark, to prevent overbaking and drying the muffins.

 

Make the Chai sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar to remove any lumps. Add the ground cardamom and cinnamon and mix them into the powdered sugar. Mix the half and half with 1 tablespoon of the reserved tea and gradually add to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the melted butter until smooth and pourable. If your glaze is too thick add in more of the tea 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.  If it’s too thin add in more powdered sugar. The glaze should be smooth and pourable but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

 

Cool, glaze and serve: Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins and allowing them to cool completely. Drizzle the chai sugar glaze over your cooled muffins. Serve and enjoy!