This extra moist spiced chai cake is soaked with sweet chai milk and frosted with delectable brown butter cream cheese frosting. It’s so incredibly soft, packed full of warm autumn flavor, with the most irresistible texture from the chai soak, almost like a tres leches, but not quite as wet. The most perfect fall cake to exist!

What makes chai cake so good?

We’ve got a lot of amazing components working together here to bring this autumn cake to life:

  • Perfectly soft and fluffy chai cake– This cake is incredibly soft and full of warm chai spices, like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves, bringing all the fall flavors!
  • Chai milk soak- we’ll be making a very strong chai using two chai teabags and just 1/2 cup of milk, then mixing that with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. After the cake bakes, it will get poked with small holes, and this delicious mixture will get poured over the cake, allowing it to soak up all that chai goodness!
  • Brown butter cream cheese frosting- Elevating cream cheese frosting just a bit by browning the butter adds extra warmth and the most perfect “toasty” flavor to the frosting. It’s light and fluffy and makes each bite of cake just completely melt in your mouth!

For the full recipe, including measurements, step by step instructions, and bake time, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a brief overview!

Start by preparing the chai cake batter and baking the cake.
Make the brown butter while the cake bakes. Allow the butter to melt and come to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the butter is foamy, giving off a nutty aroma and has turned a deep golden brown. Then allow it to chill in the fridge until just soft.
Once the butter has cooled to the same consistency as regular softened butter, whip it with an electric mixer until fluffy. Then mix in the cream cheese, and add in the powdered sugar. Mix until very fluffy.

While the cake cools, make the chai milk soak by making the strong milky chai, then mixing it together with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract.
Once the cake has had ample time to cool, remove a thin layer off the top so that the chai milk can easily soak into the cake. Poke holes liberally in the cake then pour the chai milk over the top.
Frost the cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting and dust with extra cinnamon. Slice in 16 servings & serve!

Tips for baking a soft chai cake

Room Temperature Ingredients-  You’ll have the best textured cake if you use room temperature ingredients instead of cold. Cold wet ingredients, like eggs and buttermilk, can cause the cake to bake with more of gummy consistency, and we don’t want that. We want a moist and fluffy chai cake!

Mixing the Batter- You’ll want to cream the butter and sugar together until pale in color and fluffy, and the eggs should be mixed in until smooth. It’s okay at this point to mix a lot, as we’re adding air into the eggs, helping to give the batter a “lift”. However, mix the dry ingredients on low speed just until they are blended into the wet ingredients to avoid an overly dense cake.

Measuring Your Flour Properly- If you learn anything from making this recipe, please let it be this: measure your flour (and all other ingredients) with a digital kitchen scale. Please don’t bring me to tears; don’t scoop your measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to inaccurate flour measurements and therefore, a wonky bake.

Baking Pan- I recommend using a light colored metal baking pan. This will help to ensure that the chai cake gets baked evenly. A glass or dark colored baking pan can cause baking variations, like the cake baking too quickly, being over-baked in some areas, while not baked in others. 

Chai Cake FAQs

How do I store this chai cake?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, for three days. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before enjoying for the best texture!

Can this chai cake be made gluten free?

I have been on my own gluten free journey lately and have found that most of my recipes turn out great GF- Hooray! There is a caveat though, I can only say the recipe will come out good with Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour. This is not sponsored, but my true opinion. This is the only gluten free flour I use as it bakes most similarly to regular, all-purpose flour.

Can I use something else in place buttermilk?

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make it but mixing 1 cup (240 ml) of whole milk with 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar.

Do I have to make brown butter?

Nope! If you would rather just make regular cream cheese frosting, skip browning the butter, but do reduce the amount of butter to 1 cup (224 g) instead of 1 1/4 cups (280 g)!

If you make this cake please leave a star review! Also, tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see your creation! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!

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4.47 from 13 ratings

Chai Cake

Yield: 16 slices
Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook: 38 minutes
Total: 2 hours 8 minutes
This extra moist spiced chai cake is soaked with sweet chai milk and frosted with delectable brown butter cream cheese frosting. It's so incredibly soft, packed full of warm autumn flavor, with the most irresistible texture from the chai soak, almost like a tres leches, but not quite as wet. The most perfect fall cake to exist!
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Ingredients

For the Chai Cake

  • 2 1/4 cups (282 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 10 tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
  • 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 1/4 cups (280 g) unsalted butter
  • 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
  • 2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar

For the Chai Milk Soak

  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
  • 2 chai teabags
  • 1/2 cup (150 g) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

For the Chai Cake

  • Preheat the oven to  350°F. Grease a 9×9 inch light metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then set aside the flour mixture.
    2 1/4 cups (282 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
  • Add the softened butter, granulated white sugar and brown sugar to a large bowl. Cream together for 2 minutes with an electric mixer on high speed.
    10 tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, softened, 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
  • Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and smooth, about 1 minute.
    3 eggs, at room temperature, 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • Add in the buttermilk and dry ingredients a little bit at a time, mixing on low speed until all is combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
    1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
  • Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then pull up on the parchment paper to release it from the pan. Let the cake continue cooling on the cooling rack until completely cooled.

For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

  • While the cake bakes, start on the frosting. Add the butter to a large pot and heat it over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and come to a simmer. Simmer until the butter is foamy, giving off a nutty aroma and has turned a deep golden brown. The whole process should take about 10-12 minutes.
    Transfer it to a large bowl and allow it to cool in the fridge until solid but still soft. 
    1 1/4 cups (280 g) unsalted butter
  • Once chilled, whip the brown butter on high speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.
  • Then add in the cold cream cheese and mix on medium speed until fluffy.
    8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
  • Sift in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 1 minute until fluffy again
    2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar

For the Chai Milk Soak

  • While the cake cools, work on the chai milk soak. Add the milk to a small sauce pan and heat over low heat until steaming, then add in the teabags. Allow them to steep for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat, remove the teabags and let cool.
    2 chai teabags, 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
  • Once cooled, transfer the chai milk to a liquid measuring cup or something you can easily pour from. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Set aside until ready to use.
    1/2 cup (150 g) sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Assembling the Cake

  • When the cake is completely cooled, cut a very thin layer off the top of the cake off using a sharp knife. This will make it easier for the chai milk to absorb into the cake. Transfer it to a serving plate. Poke holes on the top of the cake using a wooden stick or the handle of a wooden spoon.
    (I used the handle of a honey dipper for smaller holes.)
  • Slowly pour the chai milk mixture on top of the cake. It is thin so it should absorb into the cake and the poked holes easily, but do be patient as it does.
  • Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of brown butter cream cheese frosting using an offset spatula. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the frosting, then cut into 16 slices and serve!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: autumn, autumn recipes, brown butter, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, cake, chai, chai cake, cream cheese frosting, fall recipes, pumpkin poke cake
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