Spiced Chai Pumpkin Cake
The ultimate Fall cake: layers of delicious chai tea-infused pumpkin cake and chai flavored buttercream, decorated with pretty piped pumpkins to look extra festive!
Servings 15 slices
Ingredients
Chai Spice Mix
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Chai Pumpkin Cake
- 1 Cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1 chai tea bag
- 2 3/4 Cups (290g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tsp chai spice mix (recipe above)
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 Cup (140g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (340g) canned pumpkin purèe
Chai Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp chai spice mix (recipe above)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Make the Chai Spice Mix
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and cloves and set aside.
Make the Chai Pumpkin Cake
- Place the chai tea bag into a mason jar. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the whole milk, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Pour the boiling milk over the chai tea bag in the mason jar and let steep for 20 minutes before removing the tea bag. Allow the mixture to cool completely to room temperature before moving on.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it or weighing with a food scale. Place it into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chai spice mix. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), beat the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and creamy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla, turn the mixer to medium-high, and beat for one minute. It will look slightly curdled at this point but don't worry – it will come together as a smooth cake batter by the end of the recipe.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the (room temperature!) chai milk mixture in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour the batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for ten minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.
Make the Chai Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk 1 Tbsp of the Chai Spice Mix into the measured powdered sugar.
- With the mixer on low, add the chai powdered sugar mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add the vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.
Assembly
- Once the cake layers have cooled completely, level them to your desired height. Fill and stack the cake layers with chai buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with more chai buttercream. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
- To create the design pictured, use the chai buttercream to create a smooth finish on the cake. Refrigerate the cake for an additional 10-15 minutes to let the frosting firm up while you prepare the buttercream for decorating.
- Color the Buttercream: Divide the remaining chai buttercream between four separate bowls. In the first bowl, add several drops of burnt orange food color gel (or orange with a small drop of brown) to create a dark burnt orange color. In the second bowl, add some of the burnt orange colored buttercream to create a lighter burnt orange color. In the third bowl, add several drops of brown food color gel. Keep the fourth bowl uncolored.
- Pipe the Pumpkin Design: on the frosted cake, use the uncolored buttercream to pipe a few rosettes diagonally up the side and around the top edge of the cake using Wilton Tip 1M. Fill in some of the gaps in the cascading rosette design with pumpkin shapes piped with the dark burnt orange buttercream and Wilton Tip 4B. Fill in even more of the gaps with smaller piped pumpkins using Wilton Tip 32 and the lighter burnt orange buttercream. Use the brown buttercream and Wilton Tip 2 to pipe stems on all the orange pumpkins, then accent the cascading design with more open star shapes using Wilton Tip 16 and the remaining uncolored buttercream.
Notes
*DIY cake flour recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need.
Make Ahead Tips:
- The chai pumpkin cake layers can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature.
- The chai buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your mixer on low speed until smooth and creamy.