Sweet flavors of spices infuse this Chai Cake through and through and it’s all covered in a malted milk buttercream that makes this feel like a chai latte in cake form. Have you ever tried a chai flavored baked good friends?
Also, cake is supposed to be fun so we are going freestyle with the piping here and then tossing a little ground cinnamon over, but you can decorate these cakes however you wish. Make them your own!
Making this cake was in celebration of this blog being six months old today, though we know this means nothing in life, when you’re young it kinda does and in this case it means it’s time for a slice of chai cake all frosty and ready to take on the world.
Why you’ll love this
Delicately spiced
The layers of spice are beautiful and even thanks to infusing with tea and ground spices.
Malted milk buttercream
The malted milk flavor is like adding a toasty latte flavor to the chai tea, its complimentary but also comforting.
Ingredients and substitutions for Chai Cake
- Butter: Room temperature unsalted butter was used here, but salted is fine as a substitute too. You could try substituting with non dairy butter, but I cannot guarantee the result.
- Sugar: The best sugar here is a mix of light brown sugar which results in a depth of flavor alongside the chai tea and the superfine or caster sugar which adds the sweetness to the cake resulting in our cake having a balanced flavor.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs, add structure to our cake, the egg helps to bind everything together so are essential.
- Chai tea: Stepped chai tea is helps infuse the spice flavors in the cake without simply relying on the ground spices.
- Milk: Whole milk was used here and helps add moisture giving our dish the light result without becoming stodgy. You could substitute with creamy non dairy milk.
- Greek yogurt: The thick yogurt helps soak up some of the light tea and keep the cake moist without being stodgy. It also adds a richness, but you could substitute in equal measure with sour cream.
- Flour: Plain or all purpose flour adds a light texture to the cake and you’ll keep a light crumb by only mixing until combined.
- Baking powder: These help the cake rise for a light crumb and avoid a stodgy result.
- Ground spices: The spices help add a depth of flavor alongside the chai tea. If you prefer one or two bolder flavors in one of the ground spices, add more to bring that flavor more forward within the cake here.
Equipment needed to make this
Greaseproof paper: Lining your tins will make getting the cakes out a breeze!
Mixing bowls: A medium mixing bowl is needed for the cake batter. A heatproof large mixing bowl is needed for the buttercream.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the cake batter and buttercream, this is best done with an electric beater to give your cake the light airy texture and whip your buttercream best. If you only have a stand mixer, do prepare to be mixing the buttercream for almost 30 minutes.
Cake tin: Two 18 centimeter or 7 inch cake tins were used here for a higher cake due to the batter not being a large recipe, the smaller your tin the higher the cakes will be. If your cake tin is any larger then 23 centimeters or 9 inches, your cakes will be much flatter than they appear here.
Saucepan: A small saucepan is needed to heat the egg whites for the Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Offset spatula: This will help smooth out your cake batter in the tins and spread out the buttercream nicely between the layers and on the exterior.
Piping bag: This one is completely optional as you do not need to pipe the buttercream onto the cake, however, this does create a beautifully visual and takes up a step.
FAQ's for the best Chai Cake
Can I make chai cake ahead?
Yes, you can bake the cakes and buttercream separately up to 2 days before frosting. If you are planning to frost more than 24 hours post baking the cakes, simply combine 2 teaspoons and 1 tablespoon chai tea (set this aside at the time you steep the tea for the cake) and brush over the tops of both cakes as a cake wash to ensure they remain nice and moist. You can leave the cake frosted and covered at room temperature for 24 hours before it’s best to cover and place in the fridge.
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How to make:
Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and greaseproof 2 cake tins of equal size.
To make the cake, place the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
Add 1 egg and beat until well combined, approximately 1 minute and repeat with each egg until pale and fluffy.
Add the chai tea, milk, Greek yogurt and extract to your mixture and beat until well combined and smooth.
Place the flour, baking powder and ground spices into a separate bowl and stir to combine.
Toss into the dry mixture into your chai batter and beat on the lowest setting until no dry portions remain in the edges or base of your bowl.
Divide evenly into your 2 cake tins and smooth out.
Place into the oven and bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool in the cake tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.
Allow to cool fully.
For the buttercream, place a small saucepan on low heat with enough water not to touch the base of a heatproof bowl.
Place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl and put over the simmering water.
Beat on low until your egg whites reach 73C/165F (if you don’t have a thermometer, the best test is to put a clean finger into the egg whites and you feel no sugar granules between your finger or can’t keep your finger in the mixture for more than 3 seconds).
Remove the egg whites from the heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Beat on medium speed with a whisk attachment until stiff and the bowl is tepid to the touch.
Toss in all the cubed butter and whisk on the lowest setting to incorporate, approximately 3 minutes.
Increase the speed to medium and beat until your buttercream is smooth, approximately 10 minutes.
Place the hot milk, malted milk powder and salt into a small bowl and stir together until smooth.
Pour into your buttercream and change to a paddle attachment, beating for a further 10 minutes.
Place your first cake layer onto a plate and evenly spread a portion of the buttercream on top and smooth out to a ⅓ inch thickness.
Lay the second layer on top and press down lightly to ensure the layers are evenly stacked.
Place approximately 6 tablespoons of the buttercream on the cake and smooth out over the entire surface to form your crumb coating.
Smooth out and ensure you do not mix the crumb coating portion into the remaining buttercream.
Place the cake into the fridge to set for 30 minutes or set at a cool room temperature for 1 hour.
Finish with the remaining Swiss meringue buttercream, decorating how you prefer.
Serve up and slice.
Dig in!
Chai Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: Serves 10 1x
- Category: Cakes
Description
Layers of chai cake are frosted in a malted milk swiss buttercream for an all round cake that will impress your loved ones.
Ingredients
Chai Cake
125 grams / 4.4 ounces butter, room temperature
125 grams / ⅔ cup superfine/caster sugar
70 grams / ⅓ cup brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
45 grams / 3 tablespoons chai tea
28 grams / 2 tablespoons milk
71 grams / ¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
320 grams / 2 cups plain flour
8 grams / 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Malted Milk Swiss Meringue Buttercream
100 grams / 3.5 ounces egg whites
200 grams / 1 cup superfine/caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225 grams / 7.93 ounces butter, room temperature
40 grams / 2 tablespoons malted milk powder
10 grams / 2 teaspoons hot water
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and greaseproof 2 cake tins of equal size.
- To make the cake, place the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add 1 egg and beat until well combined, approximately 1 minute and repeat with each egg until pale and fluffy.
- Add the chai tea, milk, Greek yogurt and extract to your mixture and beat until well combined and smooth.
- Place the flour, baking powder and ground spices into a separate bowl and stir to combine.
- Toss into the dry mixture into your chai batter and beat on the lowest setting until no dry portions remain in the edges or base of your bowl.
- Divide evenly into your 2 cake tins and smooth out.
- Place into the oven and bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool in the cake tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool fully.
- For the buttercream, place a small saucepan on low heat with enough water not to touch the base of a heatproof bowl.
- Place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl and put over the simmering water.
- Beat on low until your egg whites reach 73C/165F (if you don’t have a thermometer, the best test is to put a clean finger into the egg whites and you feel no sugar granules between your finger or can’t keep your finger in the mixture for more than 3 seconds).
- Remove the egg whites from the heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Beat on medium speed with a whisk attachment until stiff and the bowl is tepid to the touch.
- Toss in all the cubed butter and whisk on the lowest setting to incorporate, approximately 3 minutes.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat until your buttercream is smooth, approximately 10 minutes.
- Place the hot milk, malted milk powder and salt into a small bowl and stir together until smooth.
- Pour into your buttercream and change to a paddle attachment, beating for a further 10 minutes.
- Place your first cake layer onto a plate and evenly spread a portion of the buttercream on top and smooth out to a ⅓ inch thickness.
- Lay the second layer on top and press down lightly to ensure the layers are evenly stacked.
- Place approximately 6 tablespoons of the buttercream on the cake and smooth out over the entire surface to form your crumb coating.
- Smooth out and ensure you do not mix the crumb coating portion into the remaining buttercream.
- Place the cake into the fridge to set for 30 minutes or set at a cool room temperature for 1 hour.
- Finish with the remaining Swiss meringue buttercream, decorating how you prefer.
- Serve up and slice.
- Dig in!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 556 calories per serve
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