If you’re looking for a sumptuous tea cake , you’ve certainly stumbled upon a keeper of a recipe with this eggless walnut & rose chai cake!
As you know tea cakes typically don’t have any tea in them but instead are traditionally served as an accompaniment to afternoon tea. Well, this recipe changes the equation entirely, with a heady infusion of spices from a freshly-brewed pot of masala chai! It’s every bit as exquisite as it is comforting, with a soft and tender crumb foiled by the gentle crunch of toasted walnuts. A garnish of dried rose petals is entirely optional, but highly recommended for a floral finish perfect for the festive season.
Key Steps For Making This Eggless Walnut Chai Cake
- Brewing the masala chai: we start by brewing the masala chai with milk, powdered tea leaves and your favourite spices. Feel free to adjust the quantity of tea leaves and add-in’s according to preference. For instance, I added cardamom, cinnamon and saffron; you could also stir in grated ginger and/ or cloves!
- Dissolve the sugar with the chai and other wet ingredients: once the chai is brewed, we will add it (once lukewarm) to a bowl along with soft brown sugar, oil and vinegar, whisking vigorously until the sugar has entirely dissolved. This is what will help ensure a soft and moist texture of our final cake.
- Add the dry ingredients: next, we will sift in the flour and leaving agents (baking powder and baking soda), gently folding until combined and no visible streaks of flour remain,
- Fold in the walnuts: finally, we stir in the walnuts – I have used California Walnuts for this recipe.
- Bake: the batter is poured into a prepped 6″ cake tin (greased and lined with parchment paper beforehand); and then baked at 180C in a pre-heated oven for 22-24 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Eggless Walnut Chai Cake
Ingredients
- 128 gm all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 100 gm brown sugar (alternatively, use jaggery)
- 180 ml chai (brewed with milk, tea leaves and your favourite spices – see below)
- 60 ml neutral-flavoured oil
- ½ tbsp vinegar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 50 gm chopped walnuts
- rose petals for garnish
Instructions
Brewing the masala chai
- Combine 220-250ml of milk in a pan with 1-2 tsp black tea leaves and your favourite spices. Adjust the add-in’s according to preference. I added cardamom, cinnamon and saffron; you could also stir in grated ginger and/ or cloves!
- Bring the chai to a boil and let it gently simmer before straining and measuring out 180 ml of chai. If you fall short of this level (due to evaporation during boiling), just add more milk until you have 180ml.
- Set aside to slightly cool.
Preparing the cake batter
- Preheat the oven to 180C and prep a 6” round cake pan with parchment paper , greasing well.
- Add the brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Pour in the oil, vinegar , vanilla extract and lukewarm chai. Whisk well the sugar has dissolved.
- Now sift in all the dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined and no visible streaks of flour remain.
- Stir in the walnuts.
- Pour into the cake tin, smoothen the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool down before serving with more walnuts on top and rose petals for garnish!
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