Chai Latte Cake

Chai tea infused cake with warming spices, topped with spiced buttercream

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 25

Decorating time 15

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 691kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the chai tea infused milk

300 ml Milk any kind
8 Chai tea bags I used Tesco's Finest

For the cake

180 ml Chai tea infused milk
275 g Butter or baking spread softened, unsalted
275 g Light brown soft sugar
4 Eggs large
2 tsp Vanilla extract
400 g Self raising flour
½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Ground ginger
½ tsp Ground cloves
½ tsp Ground cardamom
½ tsp Ground nutmeg

For the buttercream

225 g Butter softened, unsalted
450 g Icing sugar
3 tbsp Chai tea infused milk
¼ tsp Cinnamon
⅛ tsp Ground cardamom
⅛ tsp Ground cloves

For the cinnamon sugar

¾ tbsp Demerara sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon

For decoration (optional

2 Cinnamon sticks cut in half
4 Star anise

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the chai tea infused milk, warm up the milk until it is hot but not boiling, take it off the heat and add the chai spiced tea bags. Leave to brew for 10-15 minutes. Before removing them, squeeze them out as much as possible
Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line two 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
Make the sponge by mixing the baking spread and light brown soft sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy (around 3 minutes), ideally using an electric mixer. Or mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and mix until fully incorporated
Add the self raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground cloves and the chai tea infused milk, and whisk or fold in gently
Divide the mixture between the tins, use scales for accuracy if you like. Bake them for 35-40 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or remove from the tins and place on cooling racks
To make the buttercream mix the butter on it's own until it's smooth and creamy, for 2-3 minutes. Use an electric whisk or stand mixer with the paddle attachment for best results
Add the icing sugar, chai tea infused milk, cinnamon, ground cloves and ground cardamom. Mix until smooth. If the buttercream is too stiff then you can add a little more of the chai tea infused milk
If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller or a sharp knife
Put one of the sponges on your plate or cake stand and pipe some of the buttercream onto it
Add the other sponge on top and pipe the remaining buttercream on top
To make the cinnamon sugar, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl
Decorate the cake with the cinnamon sugar, cinnamon sticks and star anise
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for 3 days

Notes

- Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.

- I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can, as it gives the cake a lovely caramel flavour. But if you can't get hold of it, you can use golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar (superfine sugar) instead.

- I used unsalted butter for the buttercream, for the cake I used a baking spread (I like Stork).

- The chai tea bags I used were the Tesco's Finest brand, but use any brand you prefer or like the taste of.

- If you don't want to use all of the individual spices I have used, you can use the same amount of mixed spice (NOT allspice).

- The star anise and cinnamon stick decorations are optional (and although technically edible, you won't want to eat them!), you can decorate with the cinnamon sugar only if you prefer.

- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).

- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition