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Masala Chai Cake

A fluffy cake spiced with masala chai that is easy, delicious and fragrant. All you need is one bowl to make it and a few pantry ingredients. Perfect for the festive season of Diwali. 

Two of my favourite things, cake and masala chai. So it only seemed fitting to bring them together. The beauty about the recipe apart from the flavor is its simplicity. We need a bowl to make it but more importantly we don’t need any fancy ingredients as well. The cake is soft and fluffy, packed with chai and a very yummy tea cake recipe that is perfect for the celebration of Diwali. 

What is Masala Chai Cake? 

To understand masala chai cake we need to understand masala chai. Chai is tea, specifically black tea brewed in an indian style with milk and a little sugar. Masala chai is chai filled with spices, either whole or powder. Commonly used spices are cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, ginger, saffron, cardamon. The cake uses brewed masala chai with the tea powder. We don’t taste the powder once the cake is baked but the chai flavor certainly comes through. 

What ingredients do you need to make the Masala Chai Cake?

Chai –

To make the chai I prefer using tea powder/tea leaves. We need black tea to make this cake. We also need water and milk to brew the powder. For the masala we need a combination of cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, saffron, fresh ginger and a little salt. You can check out my masala chai recipe and masala chai spice mix recipe here. 

Wet ingredients for cake –

We need butter, eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, almond extract and the masala chai. To make this cake eggless you can use a flaxseed egg (1 tbsp flaxseed powder mixed with 2 tbsp water, stir and let it sit for a few minutes until it forms a gel). If you want to make this recipe dairy free replace the milk with any vegan milk you like, substitute the yogurt for a vegan yogurt and same goes with the butter.

Dry ingredients for cake –

We need flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and white sugar. I also like making this cake with half brown sugar as well for a deeper flavor. I add more spices into the cake batter for more masala flavor, such as cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, fresh ginger (grated) and cardamom powder. I use almond flour but you can grind any nuts like pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts into a powder until fine. 

What equipment do you need to make Masala Chai Cake?

To make the masala chai we need a stock pot and spoon. To make the cake we need a large mixing bowl, whisk and rubber spatula. I baked the cake in a 9 inch round tin in an oven. The tin is lined with baking paper. You can strain the chai if you don’t want to add the ta powder into the cake but I like to add half of the tea powder into the cake for a more robust flavor. 

How to make Masala Chai Cake?

To make the masala chai we start by brewing the tea powder in water, milk and spices. Let this come to a boil and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for a few minutes until you can smell the chai. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 180℃, line a 9 inch round with baking paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl add the melted butter/browned butter, grated ginger, sugar and mix with a whisk. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Add the chai (either strained or with the tea powder – I like to add half the tea powder mixture into the cake) and stir together. Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt and stir together.  Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for 38-40 mins. Let it cool down, dust with cardamom icing sugar and slice. 

How to store this Masala Chai Cake?

Once the cake is baked, you can store the leftover in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 days. If you are storing it longer, wrap each slice in cling wrap, place in a zip lock bag and freeze for 2 weeks. This cake tastes better the next day as the flavor mingles with eachother and intensifies. 

Looking for more Diwali recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this Masala Chai Cake, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration. 

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.  

Masala Chai Cake

A fluffy cake spiced with masala chai that is easy, delicious and fragrant. All you need is one bowl to make it and a few pantry ingredients. Perfect for the festive season of Diwali.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Cake, Celebration, Dessert
Cuisine American, Indian
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • Mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • Rubber spatula
  • Sauce pot
  • Spoon

Ingredients
  

For the chai:

  • 100 ml water
  • 80 ml milk
  • 30 gm tea powder (2 black tea bags)
  • 2 tsp masala chai powder check notes*
  • Pinch of salt

For the cake:

  • 100 gm castor sugar
  • 50 gm brown sugar
  • 113 gm melted butter (or browned butter)
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
  • 2 eggs
  • 62 gm yogurt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 180 gm flour
  • 112 gm almond flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • To make the masala chai we start by brewing the tea powder in water, milk and spices. Let this come to a boil and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for a few minutes until you can smell the chai. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
  • Preheat the oven to 180℃, line a 9 inch round with baking paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl add the melted butter/browned butter, sugar, grated ginger and mix with a whisk.
  • Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Add the chai (either strained or with the tea powder - I like to add half the tea powder mixture into the cake) and whisk until smooth.
  • Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and stir together. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for 38-40 mins.
  • Let it cool down, dust with cardamom mixed into icing sugar and slice.

Notes

  • This recipe is the perfect make ahead dessert, as the flavors are better the next day.
  • Do not over bake this cake as it will dry out.
  • You can use your leftover chai to make this cake too.
  • Masala chai powder recipe*

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