Drink your chai and eat it too with this perfectly flavored, supremely moist chai cake topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting!
Chai Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
When I was 13, I remember going to Starbucks and seeing Iced Chai Latte on the menu. My mother has always been a tea drinker and she loved chai tea. So I thought Oh ok… I mean I don’t want a frappuccino or whatever so let’s give it a try.
I had one sip and was hooked. It was like a symphony in my mouth: the warmth of cinnamon, the folds of ginger, and that floral and exotic combination of black tea and cardamom dancing across my taste buds.
From then on, every time I went to Starbucks, I would order an iced chai. I would even bite the straw with my front teeth and make the straw’s hole smaller just to enjoy it longer.
A few years later I spent a summer in northern India. There they do Masala Chai from scratch with hot milk, lots of sugar and in a saucepan as big as your arms can form a circle. Only there is the cardamom even stronger.
I must have drunk it by the liter it was so good.
So yes, I love chai spices. Pretty much.
This recipe combines those gorgeous chai spice flavors into a soft and moist cake that’s almost too good. This spice chai cake is then topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting, which brings out the spice even more and adds a little extra pizzazz to the cake.
Side note: is it just me, or when someone sees a recipe for vanilla frosting, they substitute cream cheese frosting instead because it’s so much better? No, just me? Oh no you too? ok cool
anyone. I’m super into these chai spice cakes. And if you’re a chai fan, I think you will be too.
Have fun, friends, and a happy almost-weekend!!!
Perfectly flavored, supremely moist, and an absolute crowd pleaser, this Chai Spice Cake is the layer cake of your dreams!
-
Preparation time:
20 minutes -
Cooking time:
30 minutes -
Total time:
3 hours -
Yield:
16 portions 1x -
Category:
Dessert -
Method:
oven -
Kitchen:
American
-
Preparation time:
20 minutes -
Cooking time:
30 minutes -
Total time:
3 hours -
Yield:
16 portions 1x -
Category:
Dessert -
Method:
oven -
Kitchen:
American
Units:
Scale:
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Cooking time: 30 minutes
- Total time: 3 hours
- Yield: 16 portions 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Kitchen: American
ingredients
for the cake
- 3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Cinammon
- 2 teaspoons Ginger
- 2 teaspoons cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Cup buttermilk
for the glaze
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces Cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Cup blackberries
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
- 2 tablespoons glazed ginger
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- edible gold leaves
instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans* and line with parchment paper. Put aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions. Continue beating until the batter turns a pale yellow color. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Fold in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, stirring just until combined.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before freezing.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and beat to combine, about 1 minute longer.
- Place the first cake on a plate, then top with a large dollop of frosting. Layer the second and third layers, glazing between each. Finally, brush the outside of the cake with the remaining glaze. I used a cake scraper to give my cake this unfinished, bare look!
- Finally, decorate your cake with toppings. I used blackberries, chopped pistachios, candied ginger, cinnamon sticks, black sesame, and edible gold leaves!
Keywords: Chai Cake, Spice Chai Cake
Remarks
*You can also use two 8-inch cake pans.
