Chai Cake

My engineering friend Jazz and I have recently discovered a love for chai, something that has much to do with a coffee shop over the road from Lincoln College called The Missing Bean. They do the most fabulous coffee, but my favorite is a milky chai latte. To save a few calories though, we both invested in real leaf chai tea to indulge in on our (many) tea breaks!

So when this cake caught my eye in The Clandestine Cake Club Book, I simply couldn't resist baking it to take back to Lincoln with me.

Ingredients:
For the cake:
200g butter
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
200ml soured cream
1tsp vanilla extract
200g self raising flour
2tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the soaking milk:
200ml double cream
200ml sweetened condensed milk
100ml evaporated milk
100ml chai syrup (or use 4tbsp caster sugar mixed with 4tbsp strong chai tea)
Topping:
250ml whipping cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan 160). Grease and line a 23cm round, loose bottomed cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add two of the eggs and half the soured cream and beat well to combine. Add the other two eggs, the rest of the soured cream and then the vanilla, and beat well.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda. Sift over the cake mixture and fold in gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture to the greased tin, spreading it evenly. Bake for 40 minutes. Leave in the tin to cool.

When the cake is completely cool prick the surface all over with a fork. Wrap the base of the tin in cling film so that the base is liquid proof. Mix the cream, milks and chai syrup in a jug, then pour over the cake and place in the fridge for atleast four hours or overnight.

Turn the cake out onto a serving plate with a rim, reserving any of the milk and syrup mixture that hasn't soaked in.

Whip the cream, sugar, and icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of the cake.

 Lightly dust with cinnamon, and serve with a drizzle of the reserved soaking liquid.

Here is the finished cake! It truly was delicious, ridiculously moist and the frothy cream ontop was just like the top of a scrummy chai latte! The cinnamon wasn't too overpowering either, even if I did get a bit carried away with the topping. Here is my beautiful Jasmine sitting in the sun on Lincoln's Grove Quad enjoying a slice: 

If you enjoy this, you'll probably also fancy this fragrant Plum and Cardamon Cake.