Chai Spiced Apple Cake

Sara's Tiny Kitchen
by Sara's Tiny Kitchen
9 pieces
1 hr

So, I know what you’re probably thinking. You’re probably thinking: Sara, it’s January and you’re trying to give me an apple forward dessert? What’s up with that? Well, hear me out. I know that it’s January and we’re staring down the barrel of that long slog of time between New Years and Memorial Day that means no breaks (unless you’re lucky/brave/wonderful enough to be a teacher). But isn’t that the perfect time for a break in the monotony? We’ve all been overwhelmed with cookies and Santa and cheer for the past month, and it’s nice to just throw all that aside for the next 11 months and throw some ingredients into a bowl and have it come out as this moist(sorry), tender, spicy cake full of apple-y chai deliciousness.


If you’re a person who doesn’t like Chai spices, you can totally leave that out and just cook the apples in either apple cider or apple juice and you’ll still have a wonderful apple cake. If, on the other hand, you want MORE Chai spice, you can add extra spices to the batter. So yes, this cake as written is totally a celebration of fall flavors, but it’s also super adaptable. It also makes your whole house smell divine while it’s baking.


Traditional Chai Spice Mixture:



CINNAMON, CARDAMOM, CLOVES, GINGER, BLACK PEPPER


If you added a ¼ teaspoon of each, or just mixed and matched your faves, you would get an even chai-ier chai. If you do that, add the extra spices at the same time as the salt and baking powder.


Best Baking Apples

The best apples for baking are almost always going to be something crisp that will keep its structure when baked, so:



GRANNY SMITH, BRAEBURN, HONEYCRISP, JONAGOLD, PINK LADY


Are the go-to apples. Here’s my issue with that. I can never find Braeburn apples where I live. Jonagold – same thing. Pink Lady apples aren’t my favorite. Honeycrisp are amazing, but they’re also expensive and almost never go on sale. I prefer to eat them rather than bake with them unless it’s in a real showstopper of a dessert. I actually used Gala for this cake, because it’s what I had on hand the day I made it and it turned out fine. For something like a pie or a crisp where the apple is the real star, you definitely want to use a traditional “baking” apple, but for this cake, literally any apple you have on hand will work. It honestly wont stick around long enough for the apples to get soggy.

Recipe details
  • 9  pieces
  • Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 50 Minutes Total time: 1 hr
Show Nutrition Info
Hide Nutrition Info
Ingredients
Chai Spiced Apple Cake
  • 2 cups of apples, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Chai Concentrate
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (chop, then measure out 1/2 cup)
  • 1/8 cup of sugar*
Instructions
To Make
In a small saucepan add the apples, chai concentrate and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until apples are easily pierced with a fork. Set the apples aside in a bowl to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350, and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes, or until butter no longer feels grainy when you rub it between your fingers.
Add the egg and stir to combine.
Add the salt and baking powder and stir to combine.
Slowly add the flour and stir until combined.
Add the apples and chopped nuts.
Spoon the cake batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the 1/8 cup of sugar over the top of the cake. Bake 40-50 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Tips
  • *you can use a fancy finishing sugar here like Demerara, or you can just go with regular granulated sugar. Either will be delicious.
Sara's Tiny Kitchen
Want more details about this and other recipes? Check out more here!
Go
Comments
  • Normandie Lyon Normandie Lyon on Jan 08, 2021

    What is chai concentrate and is there a substitution for this? Thanks!

    • See 4 previous
    • Thank you! My daughter loves Chai Coffee so I will make this for her birthday this weekend. She is vegan so I am also going to try using vegan butter and JUST egg substitute.

Next