Chai Cake Recipes

CHAI CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Bring milk and tea to a boil in a small pot over med-high heat. Turn heat off and steep for 10mins. Strain and measure out 1 cup. Top up with milk if needed.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds and line with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, spices, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins).
• Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and Chai milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
• Bake for 35-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
• Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer beat butter until pale and creamy.
• Reduce speed to low. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix on low until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and continue to beat on medium for 1 minute.
• Slowly add chilled cream cheese one cube at a time (about 1 tablespoon at a time). Beat well until blended and ensure no lumps of cream cheese remain.
• If needed, add cornstarch or meringue powder 1 tablespoon at a time to stiffen the frosting (I didn't but this is an option).
• Run mixer on low for a couple of minutes to remove any air bubbles.
• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 2/3 cup of frosting and spread evenly. Repeat with remaining layers and apply a thin coat of frosting all over the cake. Chill for 20mins.
• Use the remaining frosting to frost the cake and do a rustic swirl on the sides and top with a large offset spatula if desired.
• Decorate top with whole spices and gooseberries if desired.

SPICED VANILLA CHAI CAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and cloves and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Place the chai tea bag into a mason jar. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the whole milk, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Pour the boiling milk over the chai tea bag in the mason jar and let steep for 20 minutes before removing the tea bag. Allow the mixture to cool completely to room temperature before moving on.
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, 4 teaspoons of the chai spice mix, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the (room temperature!) chai milk mixture slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it's creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
• Whisk 1 Tbsp of the Chai Spice Mix into the measured powdered sugar. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
• Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.
• Once the Vanilla Chai Cakes have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. To create the design pictured, add crushed Speculoos Cookies to the sides of the cake by placing them into the palm of your hand and gently pressing them onto the buttercream finish. Then, fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 4B and another piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M before filling each with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. Pipe rosettes and stars onto the top of the cake in a crescent moon shape, add some cinnamon sticks, and sprinkle more crushed Speculoos Cookies on top.

CHAI CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F/170°C
• Grease and flour a round cake pan (8"/20 cm).
• Stir hot water into Chai Latte until blended. Measure 1/2 cup/125 mL of the chai latte for the cake and set aside 2 tbsp/30 mL for glaze.
• Mix flour, baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set aside.
• Beat sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth and blended.
• Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with 1/2 cup Chai Latte until smooth.
• Pour into pan.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Spread Chai glaze over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon.
• For glaze, melt butter in 1-quart/litre saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Drizzle glaze on cake. If desired, grate cinnamon on top as garnish.

CHAI TEA CAKE WITH GINGER CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
• Begin cake by combining water, 3 tea bags, ginger root, cardamom pods, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; mix well.
• Mix flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt with remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cloves in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, one half at a time; stir to combine. Strain hot tea and slowly pour into the batter and stir until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.
• While the cakes are cooling, combine water, sugar, and tea bags for simple syrup in a small pot over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar has dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
• Brush simple syrup over cooled and leveled cakes until the majority of the cake has absorbed the syrup. Do not oversoak the cakes; you want enough syrup to soak in and keep cakes moist and flavorful without flooding them. Place cakes in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until ready to decorate.
• Combine cream cheese, butter, and ginger for frosting in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and blend until smooth. Frost cake.

CHAI CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and side of round pan, 8x1 1/2 inches, with cooking parchment paper. Grease paper with shortening; lightly flour. Place tea bags in boiling water in measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing liquid into measuring cup. Add enough water to tea to measure 2/3 cup. Measure 1/2 cup tea for cake; reserve 2 tablespoons tea for glaze.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, the salt, ginger, cardamom and cloves; set aside. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Beat in eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with 1/2 cup tea until smooth. Pour into pan.
• Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in all remaining ingredients until smooth. Spread Chai Glaze over top of cooled cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon.