Chai Masala Apple Dumplings Spice Up a Classic Dessert
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What says comfort better than a gooey, spicy, apple filling wrapped up in a buttery, half-crispy, half-melt-in-your-mouth crust? Today, we’re going to make chai masala apple dumplings to turn a classic up a notch.
The first thing I ever baked all by myself was a batch of apple dumplings. We learned the recipe in sixth grade Home Economics. It used a can of biscuits for the base, and then, we made the filling with a simple mix of apples, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. I took this recipe home and proudly made it time and again for my parents.
Now that I know how to make homemade biscuits, though, we’re going to turn this recipe up a notch. We’ll make gorgeous flaky biscuits using my favorite recipe, and then, we’re going to season our classic apple dumpling filling with a fragrant masala spice blend. So, let’s get baking!
What are Apple Dumplings?
Apple dumplings are a comforting dessert made with large chunks of apples in a simply spiced sauce wrapped in a buttery crust. Depending on your region, family apple dumpling recipes may involve baking, poaching or even boiling. In any case, the crust will remain at least partially soft, thus distinguishing dumplings from hand pies or turnovers.
For our masala apple dumplings, we will be baking them in a muffin pan for easier leftover storage. The interior of the biscuit dumpling will remain soft and dumpling-y thanks to the self-saucing nature of the apples, butter, and sugar.
What is Masala?
Masala translates to “spice blend.” Not to be confused with garam masala, chai masala is the spice blend used to turn black tea into chai. Masala spices include ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, green cardamom, and black pepper. It is warming, fragrant, and sneakily spicy.
Tea masala is not only for chai, either. It’s wonderful as an alternative to pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice in your Thanksgiving bakes. It can also be used in gingerbread cookies to create a much more complex flavor profile. And of course, you can use it in your coffee, golden milk, or tea.
Where to Find Chai Masala
Head to your local Asian market, and go to the aisle with teas. You’re looking for a little glass jar labeled “tea masala,” “chai masala,” or something similar. Keep in mind that chai means “tea.” Check the ingredients label. If you see cumin or garlic, you’ve got the wrong thing. You do not want garam masala. This is something totally different.
If that’s not working out for you, you can buy it on Amazon from Spicewalla. This blend is really yummy.
And, of course, you can make your own masala. This recipe comes from Piping Pot Curry, and you can use what you already have in your cupboard. Her post is also very informative about the spices that go into the blend and how to optimize your flavors.
How to Make Chai Masala Apple Dumplings
Once we have our masala, we’re going to peel, core, and dice our apples. I like mine in 1-inch cubes, but I’m never super precise about it. Place all those cubed apples into a bowl with brown sugar, tea masala, and cornstarch. Cover and fridge the mixture for an hour.
The brown sugar draws out the liquid in the apples, so you’ll notice a lot of juice at the bottom of your bowl. That’s normal, and that’s also why we add cornstarch. Cornstarch will help thicken that liquid into a sauce once the dumplings go into the oven.
Making Biscuit Dough
While the apples chill, we’ll make our biscuit dough. We’ve made a lot of biscuits and scones together, so by now, you know that you need to keep everything really cold. So, I start with frozen butter and a mixing bowl that’s spent 30 minutes in the fridge.
Measure in your dry ingredients, and then, using the large holes on your box grater, grate in the frozen butter. Use your fingers to toss the butter shreds into the flour. You do want to break them up a little bit, but you don’t want to overheat or overwork the butter. So, just aim for pea-sized butter bits.
To that, you’ll add milk and fold it all together until it’s mostly incorporated. Dump the bowl out onto your work surface. Now, I use a cold, metal bench scraper to scoop under the dough and fold it in half. I do this about 15 times, turning it 90 degrees between folds. It should start to smooth out, but it should not feel tough.
Roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick and cut into 12 equal squares.
Assembling the Masala Apple Dumplings
Spray the cups of your muffin pan with non-stick spray. I use a Misto filled with olive oil. Set a biscuit into the first cup, forming it down into the sides. Fill with about a 1/4-cup of apple filling and half a pat of butter. Fold the corners of the dough into the center, pinching them together. Top with the other half a pat of butter.
Repeat until you have all 12 dumplings in the muffin pan. Now, all that’s left is to bake them!
Shortcut Using Canned Biscuits
The best way to shortcut this recipe is using canned biscuits. Since there are usually 8 in a can, you’ll want to get two cans. Go ahead and make extra filling, or just bake the other biscuits up for breakfast.
Roll each biscuit out to about 1/4-inch thick, press it into the muffin cup, fill, and bake just as noted in the make-you-own-biscuit recipe. It’s pretty easy!
How to Serve Masala Apple Dumplings
Once your dumplings come out of the oven, you can serve them almost right away. I like to give them about 5 minutes to cool just so the filling stops bubbling. This is more about safety and not burning the tar out of my fingers and tongue.
These are best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I put one or two dumplings in a bowl, top with ice cream, and try to get a bite with everything on it every time. What’s more classic than hot spicy apples and cold vanilla ice cream? Yum!
The Tools You’ll Need to Make Masala Apple Dumplings
To make your chai masala apple dumplings, you’ll need:
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Masala Apple Dumplings
Equipment
- 12 cup nonstick muffin pan
- Small mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Peeler
- Box grater
Ingredients
Chai Masala Apple Filling
- 4 small honeycrisp apples
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp chai masala
Dumpling Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp pure cane sugar
- 1 tspWhis baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter frozen
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 8 ½-tsp sized pats of butter for assembly
Instructions
Chai Masala Apple Filling
- Core and dice the apples into 1-inch cubes. Place in a small bowl, and toss together with the brown sugar, corn starch, and chai masala.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Dumpling Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using the large holes on a box grater, grate in the frozen butter. Toss the shreds into the flour mix and work it in just a little. Stop when your butter is about pea-sized.
- Fold in the buttermilk until the dough begins to come together.
- Dump the dough out onto the counter and fold it in half 15-20 times until it's almost smooth but with visible chunks of butter still.
- Roll the dough out to just a little over ¼-inch thick. Cut into 8 equal squares.
Chai Masala Apple Dumpling Assembly
- Press all 8 squares of dough into cups of your muffin pan (I leave the corner spaces open for an even spread).
- Toss the apples in the liquid that has collected at the bottom to make sure they have flavor. Then, spoon about ⅓-cup of the apple mixture into each of the 8 dough cups.
- On each dumpling, fold the corners into the center. Set a ½-tsp-sized pat of butter on top of each dumpling.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are lightly golden.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and gently remove them to a cooling rack.
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
