Glazed Chai Loaf Tea Cake

32

PREP TIME

15 min

TOTAL TIME

1 h 10 min

Serves

8

* PLUS Cooling Time
Glazed Chai Loaf Tea Cake

Photo, Carmen Cheung. Prop Styling, Catherine Doherty. Food Styling, Michael Elliot.

Milky, fragrant and extra-warming with its infinitely customizable blend of spices, masala chai hits all the high notes of comfort food. Try a double hit at your next at-home tea time with one of our editor’s family recipes for masala chai and this loaf that concentrates the spicy-sweet flavours in a dense, moist and totally dippable tea cake.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup boiled water
  • 1 chai or black tea bag

Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , (180 g)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp finely ground chai or black tea , (the leaves from about 1 bag)
  • 1 tsp chai masala spice blend
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Glaze

  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1/2 tsp chai masala spice blend

Instructions

  • Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Spray an 8 × 4-in. loaf pan with oil. Add tea bag to boiled water. Steep 10 min.
  • Cake: Whisk flour with sugar, baking powder, tea leaves, 1 tsp chai masala and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs with oil and vanilla in a medium bowl.
  • Set aside 2 tsp steeped tea in a small bowl. Whisk remaining tea into egg mixture. Whisk egg mixture into flour mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake until top is browned and a tester inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 min. Transfer to a rack. Cool in pan 10 min, then remove from pan.
  • Glaze: Whisk icing sugar and 1/4 tsp chai masala into reserved 2 tsp tea until smooth. Spread glaze all over top of warm loaf, letting excess drip down sides. Let cool completely.

Nutrition (per serving)

  • Calories
  • 310,
  • Protein
  • 5 g,
  • Carbohydrates
  • 44 g,
  • Fat
  • 13 g,
  • Fibre
  • 1 g,
  • Sodium
  • 148 mg.

Where Does Masala Chai Tea Originate?

There are many chai origin stories, including remnants of ancient Ayurvedic rituals that used spices for their medicinal properties. More-recent history includes the colonial British, who set up tea plantations in India in the 1800s. Hoda Paripoush, a tea sommelier and founder of Sloane Fine Tea Merchants, says chai methods differ based on the history of the region. For example, in agrarian Punjab, where she was born, chai has a higher milk-to-tea ratio. This is my sister’s recipe, but masala chai offers infinite possibilities. Some use tea bags; others, loose leaf. Your spices can be simple, or you might add fennel, cloves and ginger. “It always hits the spot for me because it’s not a tea that you can whip up within a minute,” says Paripoush. “It requires a lot of simmering, a lot of love.” —Radiyah Chowdhury

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