chai cake with honey-ginger cream
Chai is an Indian spiced black tea served with steamed milk. It’s usually sweetened with honey; hence the filling and frosting for this delicately flavored cake.
MAKES AN 8-INCH TRIPLE-LAYER CAKE; SERVES 12 TO 16
- 1 ⅓ cups milk
- 6 chai tea bags without added sweetener, such as Tazo
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Honey-Ginger Cream
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the tea bags, being careful not to let the paper tags dip into the milk. Remove from the heat and allow the tea to steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, carefully squeezing the milk from them back into the pan. Let the chai milk cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and ⅓ cup of the chai milk. Whisk to blend.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a large mixer bowl. Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds to blend the dry ingredients. Add the butter and the remaining chai milk and, with the mixer on medium-low, beat to blend well. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 prepared pans.
- Bake the cakes for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks. Peel off the paper and let cool completely.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with ⅔ cup of the Honey-Ginger Cream. Spread to the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Finally, top with the third cake layer and the remaining Honey-Ginger Cream. Spread this all the way to the edge, allowing small portions to drizzle down the sides like icicles.