Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chai powder, ginger, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. (If this mixture is looking a little lumpy, that's okay. Everything will smooth out as you add the dry ingredients.)
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two additions, beating until just combined. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, mix for 1 more minute at medium speed until the batter is smooth.
Portion the batter into each cupcake liner, filling the cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to completely, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Frosting:
Once the cupcakes are cooled, make the frosting.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar mixture until smooth and well combined. If the frosting seems too thick add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
Frost the cupcakes and refrigerate until ready to serve to help set the frosting. (You can also chill your frosting for 30 minutes before piping it if you prefer.)
Notes
If you don't have powdered instant chai mix available, you can use liquid chai latte concentrate instead. Substitute 1/2 of the chai latte concentrate for the milk and increase the total flour used to 1 cup. This ingredient change will yield 12 cupcakes instead of the listed 18.