Chai Spice Cake Food

COFFEE CAKE WITH CHAI-SPICED CRUMB TOPPING AND BOURBON GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine the flour, brown sugar, chai spice and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Add the butter and mix thoroughly with your fingers or a fork until all of the butter has been evenly distributed and incorporated into the flour. Form into small to medium clumps with your fingers.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour, beating until just incorporated.
• Spoon the cake batter (it will be very thick) into the prepared pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle on the crumb topping.
• Bake until the cake and topping are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan 20 minutes, then invert onto a plate; invert again onto a rack to cool completely.
• When the cake is cool, whisk the confectioners' sugar and bourbon together in a medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set.

SPICED VANILLA CHAI CAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and cloves and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Place the chai tea bag into a mason jar. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the whole milk, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Pour the boiling milk over the chai tea bag in the mason jar and let steep for 20 minutes before removing the tea bag. Allow the mixture to cool completely to room temperature before moving on.
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, 4 teaspoons of the chai spice mix, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the (room temperature!) chai milk mixture slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it's creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
• Whisk 1 Tbsp of the Chai Spice Mix into the measured powdered sugar. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
• Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.
• Once the Vanilla Chai Cakes have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. To create the design pictured, add crushed Speculoos Cookies to the sides of the cake by placing them into the palm of your hand and gently pressing them onto the buttercream finish. Then, fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 4B and another piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M before filling each with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. Pipe rosettes and stars onto the top of the cake in a crescent moon shape, add some cinnamon sticks, and sprinkle more crushed Speculoos Cookies on top.

SPICED CHAI BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the chai and water in a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, milk, butter, vanilla and tea mixture in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
• Pour into a well-greased Bundt pan and cook for 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Invert onto a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Gently lift off the pan and allow to cool completely before serving.

CHAI-SPICED COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make the topping: In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the oats, brown sugar, chai, and salt. With your hands, rub the butter into the mixture until incorporated, pressing it into small clumps. Freeze until chilled, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the batter: Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners. In another medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 stick of butter with the granulated sugar and chai at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated.
• Using a 3- to 4-tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups; top with the chilled topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

CHAI BUTTERMILK SPICE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Pour boiling water over tea bags in a bowl; steep 5 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags; cool to room temperature.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk.
• Place the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes).
• Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in brewed tea and vegetable oil.
• Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.
• Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy.
• Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
• Gently stir one-third of egg whites into batter; gently fold in remaining egg whites.
• Spoon batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

COCONUT CHAI TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Grease a 20 x 30cm baking tin with a little oil, and line the base and sides with baking parchment. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Measure the coconut milk and oil into a jug. Crack in the eggs, add the vanilla and whisk with a fork to combine.
• In a large bowl, mix the sugar, flour, coconut, spices and a pinch of salt. Squeeze any lumps of sugar through your fingers, shaking the bowl a few times so they come to the surface. Pour in the wet ingredients and use a large whisk to mix to a smooth batter. Pour into the tin, scraping every drop of the mixture out of the bowl with a spatula.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If there is any wet mixture clinging to it, bake for a further 5 mins, then check again. Leave to cool for 15 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack and drizzle over the ginger syrup.
• To make the icing, mix the coconut milk with the icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the cake in squiggles, then scatter with the chopped ginger, pistachios and coconut flakes, if using. Eat warm or cold. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.