As a Sri Lankan, it was a major point of contention that I never liked tea. During my postgrad thesis days, I expanded my palate to only accept two types of black tea and black tea with spice (there was only so much coffee I could handle).
The infusion of ginger or the tickle from spices in my cuppa brings me a sense of comfort. It’s like a hug wrapped in a cup! It was only natural that I wanted to recreate it in a dessert. I infused my Hot Milk Cake with Jaggery, a natural sweetener made from palm trees or sugar cane that has properties similar to brown sugar.
It was obvious that I could not choose just any tea blend for this experiment. In keeping with my philosophy of supporting small businesses and amazing humans, I finally purchased one of Uppma’s handcrafted blends. Her company, better known as Australia’s Chai Walli, is dedicated to nurturing Ayurvedic and age-old traditions. It transforms your ordinary cup of Chai into something new! I found her to be incredibly inspiring, and I wanted to incorporate some of her magical blends into my creation.
Grab your favorite chai blend, and try this cake. Share your creations with Me – send me a message or tag me on Instagram.
I let my Instagram tribe decide on the frosting. Toffee was the clear winner, beating brown butter. It’s a gorgeous combination! I was too lazy and didn’t want to buy the light brown sugar the recipe required. I used dark brown sugar instead. This was a bad mistake. It was too sweet. If I had to do it again, I’d use the right sugar or serve with a little cream and Chai. I hope you like this cake as much as I did.
If you don’t want to frost the cake, store it at room temperature. You can put it in the refrigerator, but you should let it come to room temperature for a few moments before you enjoy its pillowy texture.
Are you looking for new ways to improve your baking skills? Discover new recipes and techniques by joining my online Flavor Play Workshop!
Ingredients
Chai Cake
Yield: approx. 500g of batter will make a sandwichable 6″ cake.
- Two eggs
- 100g of white sugar
- You can substitute dark brown sugar for 75g of Jaggery
- 3 Tbsp Chai Tea – I used Chai Walli 11 Spice Chai (Caffeine Free)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Plain flour 125g, unsifted
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- Use a pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- Butter 57g
Toffee Cream
- 160g of soft brown sugar
- 110ml double cream
- Butter 87g
- Use a pinch of sea salt
Method
Chai Cake
- Mix the Jaggery and white sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the sugar gradually. Continue beating the eggs for at least five minutes until they are pale and light brown.
- Use a mortar to grind one tablespoon of the chai tea into a fine powder. Mix the chai powder, flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the vanilla, remaining two tablespoons of hai, and milk to a saucepan. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the butter and milk are melted. Bring the Chai to a rolling boil and stir constantly to release the flavors. Remove from the heat, strain it, and put aside.
- Add the flour mixture, spoonful by spoonful, to the egg mixture. Mix at low speed until the mixture is combined. Incorporate the hot milk mixture. Fold quickly to combine and pour into two tworeased six 6-inch cake pans lined in baking paper. Bake at 180degC for 25 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool down to room temperature.
Toffee Cream
- Put the cream and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. You will be left with a caramel-colored cream. Remove cream from heat and add salt to taste. Set aside until completely cooled.
- After your cream is cooled, whisk the butter (in a mixer or using electric beaters) to a light consistency. Add your toffee-flavored cream gradually. Continue adding cream until your desired consistency and flavors are reached. Whisk until the mixture becomes thick and spreadable.
- Place a layer on the serving plate. Spread toffee cream on top. Place the final cake layer and cover it with the remaining frosting.