Chai Cake with Spiced Chai Buttercream

A cake that has been cut showing the layers inside.

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5 from 3 votes

Chai Cake with Spiced Chai Buttercream

A soft and fluffy chai cake with a spiced buttercream!

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time35

Total Time1 55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 721kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Equipment

2 8-inch cake pans

Ingredients

Chai Cake

½ cup whole milk
1 bag chai tea
⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 ⅔ cup white sugar
¼ cup neutral oil
4 large eggs room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup sour cream room temperature

Chai Spiced Buttercream

1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
4 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make Cake

Place the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Place your chai bag in a mug and pour the milk in. Let steep for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the tea bag out and let the milk cool down. You can do this the day before and place the mug in the fridge!
½ cup whole milk, 1 bag chai tea
Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃. Grease and line two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter with the oil and sugar until creamy on medium speed. This will take about 2-3 minutes, and it'll look a bit grainy and fluffy.
⅓ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup neutral oil, 1 ⅔ cup white sugar
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition.
4 large eggs
Mix in the vanilla extract and sour cream
3 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ cup sour cream
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour with the baking powder, salt and the spices.
2 teaspoons ground cardamom, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then mix on low. Add ½ the chai milk. Repeat once more, then end with the flour mixture.
Pour the smooth cake batter into the prepared pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before removing and letting them cool completely on wire cooling racks.

Make Frosting

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar on low speed.
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, 4 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar
Once combined, turn the speed to medium-high and beat until it becomes very thick.
Stop the mixer and add the vanilla extract, salt, and spices. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Turn the mixer on your lowest speed and slowly pour in the cream until the frosting becomes creamy and spreadable - you might not need all the cream!
¼ cup heavy cream

Assembly

Frost the cooled cake layers with the chai buttercream and enjoy!

Video

Notes

My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. Just click on ‘metric’ above ingredients.

Room Temperature: I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.

Butter: I use European style butter in my recipes. This will make your frosting much creamier and richer.

Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. I am using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not Morton Salt which is much too salty!

Storage: Keep tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating.

Making Ahead: You can make the cake layers ahead of time. Bake them and then once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, allow to defrost and come to room temperature before frosting the cake.

Nutrition