Masala Chai Cake

It has been incessantly raining over the weekend and the only constant craving I had all day was chai. There is nothing more comforting than a cup of hot tea , a book to read and a seat by the window overlooking a rainy outdoor. 

What started off as a craving for tea evolved into yet another idea for cake with a desi twist – masala chai flavored cake with fresh cream frosting.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

All-purpose flour – 1 ½ cups

Almond meal flour – ¼ cup

Granulated sugar – ¾ cup

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Baking soda – ½ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp

Ginger powder – ½ tsp

Cardamom – ¼ tsp

Milk – 1 cup

Powdered Tea – 2tbsp

Eggs – 2

Plain Yogurt – ¼ cup

Vanilla extract – 1tsp

Butter – ½ cup melted

For the Frosting

Heavy Whipping cream – 1 cup

Tea – 1tbsp

Sugar – 2tbsp

Cardamom – a pinch or two

Cinnamon – ¼ tsp

PREPARATION

1. Grease and flour 2 9inch cake pans. Pre-heat the oven to 350F

2. In a saucepan , bring the heavy cream to a simmering state. Add the tea into the cream and stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat. Strain the tea-infused cream and refrigerate until needed.

3. In a saucepan , add 1 cup of milk and bring to a simmering boil. Add tea , cinnamon powder , ginger powder , cardamom to this and let it sit on heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat , strain the tea and set it aside.

4. In a mixing bowl , mix all dry ingredients together. In another bowl , add melted butter , 2 eggs , yogurt , vanilla extract and the tea mixture (cooled to room temp) and mix until well combined.

5. Add the dry ingredient mixture in parts to the wet mixture , gradually folding the contents together. Mix until a smooth batter is obtained. Do not overwork the batter. 

6. Divide the batter amongst the two pans and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Ensure that at the end of baking time , a cake tester/toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool the cakes on a wire rack until they reach room temperature.

8. To prepare the frosting , add the cold tea-infused heavy cream to a mixing bowl. To this , add cinnamon , sugar , cardamom and whip until stiff peaks are formed. Ice the cake as per preference.