Growing up, I was not an avid tea drinker, which was certainly a source of contention, for I was a Sri Lankan. But, in my postgrad days, I was able to allow only two types of tea. Black tea and the black variety with spice (there was a limit to the number of cups of coffee that I could get).
For me, the scent of fresh ginger and the aroma of the spices within a cup creates a sensation of comfort, as if you were hugging the coffee mug! Naturally, I needed to record it in cakes. I re-imagined the Hot Milk Cake recipe by adding CChaias as well as Jaggery (a naturally, unrefined sweetener made from palm trees, which have similar characteristics to brown sugar), and voila. This Hot Milk Chai Cake was made.
Naturally, I wouldn’t select any flavor of tea to test this idea. In keeping with my philosophy of supporting small-scale businesses and amazing humans, I decided to purchase one of Uppma’s unique blends. More popularly known as Australia’s very own Chai Walli, her company is focused on keeping old-fashioned traditions alive and Ayurvedic principles and transforming the ordinary cup of Chai into something completely different! I find her to be incredibly inspiring and wanted to include some of her magical family blends to create my own.
Go ahead and get your favorite chai blend. Give the cake a try. Please share your creations on my blog – send me a message or share it on Instagram to see what I think.
I CONFESS
I let my Instagram group pick the frosting for this recipe. Toffee cream was a clear choice over brown butter. It’s an amazing combination! I did not want to go out and buy that light brown sugar that was required in the recipe and substituted the dark brown sugar I already had. This was a blunder. The resultant toffee-flavored cream was a bit too sweet for me. If I had to do the same thing and over again, I’d get the right amount of sugar or serve it with a spoonful of cream and the coffee cup Chai. I hope you like Chris’s cake. I enjoyed it.
Tips: If you don’t use the frosting, keep the cake at room temperature in an airtight container. If you put it into the refrigerator, take it out for some time to cool to room temperature so that you can experience the soft and pillowy texture to the max.
Are you looking for ways to increase your baking skills? Take part in my Flavour Play Workshop and discover ways to improve your desserts!
Ingredients
Chai Cake
Yield: approx. 500g of batter to make the size of a 6″cake, which can be sandwiched.
- Two eggs
- 100g white sugar
- 75g Jaggery (you could use dark brown sugar in place)
- 3 Tbsp Chai Tea – I used Chai Walli 11 Spice Chai (Caffeine Free)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Unsifted Plain Flour 125g
- 1 tsp baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 57g of butter
Toffee Cream
recipe from Tassy Bakers
- 160g of soft, light brown sugar
- 110ml double cream
- Butter 87g
- pinch sea salt
Method
Chai Cake
- In a bowl, make a mix of white sugar with the Jaggery to put aside.
- With a mixer bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually mix in the sugars. Keep beating for at least 5 minutes or until the mixture is light and light brown.
- With a pestle and mortar, use a mortar and pestle to grind a tablespoon of chai tea into an extremely fine powder. Mix ground chai flour, baking powder, flour as well as salt.
- In a saucepan, mix two tablespoons more of the chai vanilla, milk, and butter. The mixture should be heated until the milk is warm and the butter melts while stirring continuously. Bring the mixture to a boil to let the Chai and make sure that the Caraivours release into the mix. Then, take it off the stove and strain it before putting it aside.
- While the mixer is running at a low speed, mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture with small spoonfuls until the mixture is incorporated. Mix in warm milk mixture. Mix quickly until it is combined, and then pour into two greased 6-inch cake pans that are lined with baking parchment. Bake in an oven at 180°C (356degF) for about 25 hours or so until a toothpick inserted in the center is clean. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
Toffee Cream
- Combine the cream and sugar in a pot and slowly simmer until the sugar has dissolved and you’re left with a silky caramel-colored cream. Remove from the heat, add some salt (to be tasted), and let it cool thoroughly.
- Once the cream is cool, mix the butter (in an electric mixer or an electric mixer) until it is an even, light consistency, and then slowly add the toffee cream. Continue adding cream until you achieve your desired texture and flavor, mixing until the mixture is thickened and easy to spread.
- To put it together, spread the cake on a serving platter. Layer a layer of chocolate cream. Then, place the last layer of cake on top and then decorate the cake with the remaining frosting.