My chai tea cake came about as a result of an experiment gone right. I was working on developing a blondie recipe and wanted the blondie to have a balance of a chewy and cakey texture. Yes, I was internally going through a chewy verses cakey debate inside my own head. I love blondies as much as I love brownies. I’ve been making brownies a lot over the years. Most of the time, I just use a boxed brownie mix when I’m short on time and want a chocolatey treat. I’ve done this quite a bit for office potlucks. Whenever I brought my boxed brownies to an office potluck, I am always surprised by how many people really love them and can’t tell the brownies are from a box. The boxed brownies typically have a good balance between a chewy and cakey texture. It may have been because I’ve eaten so many boxed brownies, but I actually enjoy a brownie with a balance of chewy and cakey texture. This preference for a balance of chewy and cakey texture may have spilled over to how I want the texture of my blondie to be. Unlike in brownies where the chocolate is the star, in blondies, the brown sugar is the star. I love the butterscotch flavor of blondies where the brown sugar really shines. Over the weekend, I played with different ratios and proportions of wet and dry ingredients in an attempt to create a blondie with the texture I was looking for. To elevate my blondies to the next level, I wanted to fold in some chai tea into the blondies. Well, the chai tea blondies didn’t exactly turn out to be how I envisioned them to be. Instead of blondies, I ended up with a pretty fantastic chai tea cake. The chai tea added a wonderful flavor and a ton of moistness to the cake. I love the flavors of chai tea and often drink chai tea during the colder months. I had a box of chai tea bags sitting in my pantry, so I thought why not add the chai tea directly into my batter. As if a piece of chai tea cake wasn’t enough, I ended up serving it with a cup of chai tea. The double dose of chai tea definitely helped me stay alert as I study for midterms next week.
Chai tea cake:
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
· ½ cup light brown sugar
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· 2 large eggs
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ cup chai tea
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a loaf pan.
2) In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir until the butter and sugar are blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the chai tea and stir all ingredients until you have a smooth batter.
3) Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes. Test doneness of cake by inserting a knife into the center of the cake and checking to see if the knife comes out clean. Serve immediately or let the cake cool a bit before serving.
Takeaways: If you want a more decadent tea cake, you can fold in some dried fruits such as raisins or cranberries, or some of your favorite chocolate chips such as semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. If you are feeling adventurous, you can add in both. Serve with your favorite cup of tea or coffee for the ultimate cold weather comfort dessert.