Cardamom Chai Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spice cake gets a major revamping with the addition of Chai-tea infused milk, in this Chai Cardamom Layer Cake! This gorgeous cake features 3 thick and fluffy layers of cake that are heavily spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, and every other heart-warming spice you could think of! As mentioned above, a strong chai-tea infused milk is added to the batter to further amplify those cozy, spicy flavors. Finally, the layers of Chai Cake are sandwiched together and smothered with a classic cream cheese frosting!

What is Chai Tea?

Chai tea, otherwise known as masala chai, is a black tea that has been flavored with a mixture of Indian spices. The spices used can vary from tea to tea, but usually include cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, or black pepper.

Infusing the Milk with the Chai Tea

The first step in creating this Chai Cardamom Cake is infusing the milk with the tea. This process starts by heating up the milk in a small saucepan until it just barely gets to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and place 4 Chai Tea bags into it. It may seem like a lot of tea for such a small amount of milk, but the flavor has to be extremely concentrated to properly flavor the cake! Next, place a piece of plastic over the surface of the milk (to prevent a skin from forming), and place the saucepan into the fridge to cool down and infuse, for at least 2 hours. After the milk has cooled and infused, remove the tea bags and press on them to release any milk that is still within the tea bags, then discard the tea bags.

MAKING THE Chai Cardamom Cake

1.Infuse the milk: As written above, add the tea bags to hot milk and allow to steep for 2 hours.

2. Beat eggs and sugar: Add the eggs, vanilla, and sugar, to your stand mixer, then beat the three together for about 3-4 minutes. By the end, it should be fluffy, and be tripled in volume.

3. Add oil: Turn the stand mixer down to medium speed, then slowly drizzle the oil into the stand mixer while it continues to beat. After all the oil has been added, beat the mixture for another 30 seconds.

4. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, ground ginger, cloves, and salt, then whisk them together to combine.

5. Alternate add the dry & wet to stand mixer: First add the 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then beat until just combined. Add ½ of the cooled chai-steeped milk,  and beat until just combined. Continue adding the wet & dry in this order, until all of the ingredients have been added (you’ll finish with the dry).

6. Add to pan & bake: Pour the Chai Cardamom Cake batter into three 7”  cake pans, then place into the oven to bake! When done, allow the Chai Cardamom Cake to cool completely before stacking and frosting!

TOPPED WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

This Chai Cardamom Cake is, of course, frosted with the king of all frosting – cheese cheese frosting! The cream cheese frosting, although sweet, provides a beautiful tart contrast to the warm flavors of the chai cardamom cake, truly rounding out the flavors of this chai layer cake! To make a perfect cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high until they begin to look slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then, add in the confectioners sugar in batches, continuing to beat on low, until well-combined. Add in the vanilla, mix to combine, then beat the frosting on high for 2-3 minutes. The frosting should look creamy and light.

Get the Recipe: Chai Cardamom Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

4.91 stars (10 reviews)

Boring spice cake gets a revampiing with this Cardamom Chai Spice Cake thanks to the addition of Chai-infused milk in the batter!

Prep Time: 40 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings: 1 cake

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Ingredients

 

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Chai Cardamom Cake

• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 4 Chai Tea Bags, (or 2 ½ tbsp loose leaf chai)
• 540 g (18.6 oz) All Purpose Flour, , (about 4 ½ cups measured properly)
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Table Salt
• 2 ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Cardamom
• 1½ tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Allspice
• 1 tsp Cloves
• 3 cups White Sugar
• 6 Large Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 ½ cup Vegetable Oil

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup Cream Cheese,, at room temperature
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature
• 6-7 cups Confectioners Sugar
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 tbsp Heavy Cream,, plus more if needed

Equipment

• Stand mixer

Instructions

 

Making the Chai Cardamom Cake Layers

• Add milk to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer then immediately remove from heat. Place the tea bags into the milk and gently stir. Place a piece of plastic over the surface of the milk and place into the fridge to cool and steep for about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare three 8” springform cake pans with oil and parchment rounds. In a large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, and cloves, then whisk together to combine.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
• On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer in 3 additions, alternating in between with the tea-infused milk, mixing until just combined and smooth. Add the batter evenly to the cake pans, then bake in the oven for around 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before stacking and frosting.

Making the Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a stand mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add in the confectioners sugar in small additions, beating on low between each addition, scraping at the sides between. After all the sugar has been added, add in the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream, and beat on low to combine. Turn stand mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes. The frosting should look creamy and light, and should be very easy to work with.

Frosting & Finishing the Cake

• Level off each of the cake layers to remove any doming from the cakes.
• Place one cake layer onto your serving plate or onto a cardboard cake circle. Spread an even layer of frosting, about ½” – 1" thick, across the top of the layer.
• Add the second layer on top, then repeat step 2.
• Add the final layer onto the cake, then frost the outside and top with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top with anything you’d like!

Notes

† to measure flour correctly, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level off with a straight edge. Do not pack the flour into the cup, or scoop with the measuring cup straight from the bag/container. Alternatively, weigh the flour (1 cup = 120g or 4oz)

Cuisine: American, Indian

Course: Baking

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