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slices of spiced chai cake are arranged on a platter

spiced chai cake recipe

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This spiced chai cake features a buttery rich crumb peppered with flecks of real chai tea. After baking, this festive treat is soaked in chai tea syrup, then smothered with a spiced maple buttercream.

  • Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 16 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Syrup:

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 chai tea bags

For the Cake:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup oat milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Chai Buttercream Frosting: 

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup mascarpone
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Whole star anise pods and cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350℉. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan sheet pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang around the edges to help you lift the cake out later. a rectangular cake pan is lined with parchement paper
  2. First we’ll make the chai syrup. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan, then add the ¾ cup brown sugar and stir over medium heat until it dissolves. Turn off the heat and add the 2 tea bags. Let steep for about 15 minutes, then remove the tea bags and set them aside. We’ll be using them again! chai tea bags are steeped in the water and sugar mixture
  3. Now on to the cake batter. Start by creaming 2 of the sticks of butter and the remaining ½ cup brown sugar together for about 2 minutes until fluffy. I usually do this in a large stainless steel bowl with a hand mixer (a hand-me-down from my late great aunt!) but you could also use a stand mixer.butter and sugar are creamed together in a large bowl
  4. Add the eggs, sour cream, oat milk, vanilla, and the contents of 1 chai tea bag – just cut that sucker open and scrape the flecks out! eggs, liquid ingredients, and the contents from a steeped tea bag are added to the bowl with the butter mixture
  5. Beat until smooth and creamy. the mixture is beaten until it has a smooth texture with flecks of chai tea throughout
  6. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt. the dry ingredients are poured through a sifter set over the bowl of mixed liwuid ingredients
  7. Gently mix until the cake batter just comes together. It will be thick and sticky so that it can take plenty of the chai syrup we’re going to soak it in after baking. a large mixing spoon is used to fold the dry ingredients into the wet
  8. Pour your spiced chai cake batter into the prepared pan.the spiced chai cake batter is transferred to the prepared baking pan
  9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, then remove from the heat. I know it looks a little anemic at this point but that’s okay, because our chai syrup bath is going to give it lovely deep color. the baked cake has a pale coloring with light golden-browning around the edges
  10. While still in the pan, use a skewer or chopstick (I use a little sandwich pick, also a hand-me-down from my late great aunt) to poke lots of holes all through the cake. It’s okay if it looks sloppy, our maple buttercream will hide the mess! a small sandwich pick is used to poke lots of holes in the cake
  11. Use the parchment paper overhang to lift and transfer your chai cake to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Brush the chai simple syrup from earlier allllllll over the top of the cake. Let the syrup seep in and then drizzle more and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.  the cake is lifted onto a board and brushed with the chai syrup
  12. Once the cake is cool, make the frosting. Whip the remaining stick of butter with the mascarpone, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and the contents of the other soaked tea bag (cut it open and scrape out the flecks just like you did for the cake batter!) until light and fluffy. the frosting ingredients are whipped until light and fluffy
  13. Frost your cooked cake as desired. spiced chai frosting is spread onto the cake in long strokes going lengthwise with the cake
  14. Slice into pieces. For me the 9 x 13 pan makes 16 nicely sized portions! the spiced chai cake is sliced into 16 rectangular pieces
  15. Garnish as desired and enjoy! I like to put cinnamon sticks and whole star anise, but a dusting of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or turbinado sugar would look great too. each piece of spice chai cake is topped with a small cinnamon stick and a whole star anise pod, then arranged on a large platter

Notes

  • When baking something with a lot of eggs, like this spiced chai cake, I strongly recommend cracking the eggs one at a time into a separate bowl before adding them to the cake batter. This gives you the chance to make sure your eggs are good and check for bits of shell. 
  • Depending on your oven, you may want to rotate your cake pan about halfway through the bake time. It’s not uncommon for ovens to be hotter towards the back or one particular side, so keep an eye on things and adjust as needed to help your cake cook as evenly as possible. 
  • You’re probably only going to use about half of the chai syrup you make for this cake, but definitely hang on to the rest of it as it is lovely when poured over pancakes or waffles, drizzled on thick Greek yogurt, or to dress up some vanilla ice cream. 
  • Author: kelly@crescentmoonkitchen
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: desserts
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: cakes

Find it online: https://crescentmoonkitchen.com/spiced-chai-cake/