This is a great everyday rustic cake made rich with tea, spices and apples, one you can certainly eat at anytime of the day, just like tea (you can even eat this with a cup of coffee). Instead of adding the spices to the tea (which is what one would do to make masala chai traditionally), I added freshly ground spices directly to the cake batter and prepared a reduction of the tea to concentrate the each of the flavors of the ingredients. Granny Smith apples are tart and they hold their shape during the baking process and you can taste the apples in every slice of cake that you bite into. Tea and apples are a wonderful combination in this cake and I am sure you will enjoy it.
As an option, you can also fold in 1/2 cup of raisins or walnuts to the cake batter towards the end when you add the apples.
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Apple Chai Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Tart flecks of granny smith punctuate this sweet, spicy cake that pairs perfect with a mug of tea or coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) tea leaves
- 1 cup (240 ml) plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (240 ml) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp dried ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds, ground
- 1/4 tsp black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 2 cloves, freshly ground
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick, freshly ground
- 1/4 tsp star anise, freshly ground
- 1 tsp butter for greasing the pan
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) brown sugar, packed
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) plain non-fat greek yogurt
- 2 large granny smith apples, grated
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1-2 tsp of confectioner's sugar, for dusting the cake
Instructions
- Center a wire rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325F.
- In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the tea leaves to the water and continue to boil for one minute. Remove the saucepan from the stove and allow the tea leaves to steep in the water for 5 minutes. Strain the liquid through a tea strainer into a clean cup and discard the leaves. Rinse the saucepan clean (to make sure there are no residual tea leaves left behind). Transfer the tea back into the saucepan and bring it back to a boil on a high flame. Reduce the flame to a gentle simmer and reduce the liquid volume to approximately 1/4 cup. At this stage remove the tea and leave to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk and blend all the ingredients from the flour to the star anise and keep aside.
- Line a round 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and grease evenly with the butter.
- Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for 7 minutes on medium speed. Beat in one egg at a time to get a smooth and creamy cake batter. Add the cooled concentrated tea prepared earlier to the batter and mix completely.
- Add half of the whisked dry ingredients to the cake batter. Combine completely into the batter until no more flecks of flour can be seen. Stop the mixer and add the yogurt to the batter and beat gently on low speed until combined completely. Beat in the remaining flour until no more flecks of flour can be seen.
- Gently squeeze the liquid out of the grated apples between the palms of your hands and reserve two tbsp of the juice. Toss the apples in the extra flour and fold in the grated apples and the reserved juice into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the surface with an offset spatula and bake for 50-60 minutes in the oven. Half-way through the baking process, open the oven and rotate the cake pan to ensure even baking. The cake is completely baked when the center is firm to touch or when a skewer comes out clean from the center. Remove the baked cake and allow it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife between the edges of the cake and the pan and transfer the cake to a wire rack. Cool the cake completely to room temperature for at least 1-2 hours. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 350
Find it online: https://honestcooking.com/apple-chai-cake/
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the recipe reduce the brewed tea down to 1/4 cup before adding it to the batter?
The recipe steeps 4 tbsp of tea leaves in 1 cup of boiling water, then simmers the strained liquid until it reduces to approximately 1/4 cup. The article explains this is done to “concentrate the flavor of each of the ingredients” — a small, intense reduction delivers far more tea character to each slice than adding a full cup of diluted brew would. The concentrated tea must cool to room temperature before going into the batter.
Why does the recipe call for freshly ground spices instead of pre-ground?
The article notes that instead of adding spices to the tea (traditional masala chai method), they’re ground fresh and added directly to the cake batter. Freshly ground cardamom seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, a cinnamon stick, and star anise release volatile oils that lose potency once pre-ground — using them fresh ensures you taste each spice distinctly in the finished cake.
Why do the instructions say to squeeze liquid from the grated Granny Smith apples?
Grated Granny Smith apples release a significant amount of juice. The recipe has you squeeze the liquid out between your palms, reserve 2 tbsp, toss the grated apple in 1 tbsp of flour, then fold both the apple and the reserved juice into the batter. Removing the excess prevents the batter from becoming too wet and helps the cake bake evenly over 50–60 minutes at 325°F.
This is a delicious cake. We loved iit with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. It would also be good with whipped cream or just plain.
Be sure to read carefully the order of mixing and have everything prepared before you start putting it all together. It takes a little time to make but it is well worth it! I give it top stars!