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Chai Spice Pound Cake

A rich, dense pound cake with warm chai spices, and a vanilla chai icing.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Resting Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Indian
Keyword: bundt, cake, chai, chai spice, coffee cake, pound cake
Servings: 20
Author: The Elegant Economist

Ingredients

For the Chai Spice Cake:

  • 1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar)
  • 2 black tea bags I use Yorkshire Gold
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp chai spice blend to taste (to make, see recipe above)
  • 6 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Chai Vanilla Icing:

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 Tbsp whole milk
  • 1 tsp chai spice blend to taste (to make, see recipe above)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Chai Spice Cake:

  • Preheat your oven to 325° fahrenheit. Grease a 10" bundt tin, two standard loaf tins, or four mini loaf tins.
  • Warm your milk or buttermilk in a heat-proof measuring cup, for about a minute - until warm. Place your tea bags in the milk and allow to steep for five minutes. If you are using whole milk instead of buttermilk, once the tea is steeped remove the bags and add 1 Tbsp white vinegar, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
  • Measure your flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl - whisk to combine and set aside.
  • In your stand mixer bowl, add your butter and sugar and beat until combined. Add the chai spice to the mixture, and the vanilla extract. Then add the buttermilk, and eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  • Slowly add your flour mixture until just combined. Do not over-mix.
  • Bake in the 325° oven for 90 minutes (bundt tin), 60-65 minutes (loaf tin), or 45-50 minutes (mini loaf tin). Allow to cool for at least two hours on a baking rack before icing.

For the Vanilla Chai Icing:

  • Mix the confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla, and chai spice until blended and a thick but pourable consistency.
  • Once cake has cooled, pour the icing over the cake and serve.

Notes

This makes enough cake for either one full ring / bundt pan, two standard loaf tins, or four miniature loaf tins (as shown in my photo). The recipe can easily be halved if only one loaf is desired, or make the full recipe and give one to a friend!
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