Brown Sugar Chai Cake
This Brown Sugar Chai Cake combines rich, spiced chai flavors with the deep sweetness of brown sugar, creating a cozy and delicious dessert. Topped with chai-spiced cream cheese frosting, it's a must-try for fall!
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Electric Mixer
- 9" Cake Pan
- Cake Strips
Ingredients
For the brown sugar chai cake:
- 390 g 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 320 g 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 15 g 1 tbsp + ¾ tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 140 g 10 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp
- 100 g ½ cup neutral oil
- 283 g 1 ¼ cups whole milk, room temp
- 2 eggs room temp
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 227 g 16 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp
- 12 oz 1 ½ blocks cream cheese, cold
- 340 g 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
For the brown sugar chai cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Soak cake strips in ice water.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
- Add the oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans. Wrap the cake strips around the outside of the pans.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Immediately turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to decorate. (Frozen cake layers will be much easier to frost!)
For the cream cheese frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until smooth. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed until fully combined. Once all of the powdered sugar is added, continue beating on low speed until no more lumps or pockets of air remain and the frosting is smooth.
For assembly:
- Secure the first cake layer on the cake stand with a small amount of frosting on the bottom. Using an offset spatula, spread on an even layer of frosting, then place the second cake layer on top.
- Finish decorating the cake as desired. Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon on top, and serve!
Notes
- Use cake strips to create flat cake layers. Soak these wilton cake strips in ice water before starting the cake batter. Just before baking, wrap the cake strips around the pan. The cold temperature on the outside of the cake will prevent the edges from baking faster than the center, resulting in an evenly baked flat cake.
- Freeze the cake layers before decorating. Since this is such a moist cake, I highly recommend freezing the cake layers for at least two hours before decorating. This also helps the frosting firm up as it comes in contact with the cold cake layers.
- Use cold cream cheese & room temperature butter. In order to create a sturdy, pipeable cream cheese frosting, pay close attention to the temperature of the ingredients. Cold cream cheese will ensure it's thick enough, while room temperature butter will ensure all of the ingredients cream together properly.
- Sift the powdered sugar. I know it can be a pain, but trust me, sifting your powdered sugar before adding it to the frosting is so worth it! If you don't sift it, you'll need to mix the frosting on low speed for a long time to smooth it out. This also runs the risk of agitating the milk solids, creating a grainy frosting.