This Apple Chai Cake, filled with chai spices and crisp apple and wrapped in a smooth, naturally-sweetened maple frosting, will fill your kitchen with the heady, warming scent of fall.
It was my birthday last week, so it’s only appropriate that we celebrate with a slice of cake. And what better way to dine than on a deliciously moist and autumnal Apple Chai Cake!
Although I’m a little concerned that I’m moving slowly (or not so slowly as it seems nowadays) towards the big 3-0, I had an amazing birthday this year. Not only did my family very thoughtfully send me a range of gifts from Canada, but Chris also had a large surprise in store for me.
You all know that I have a big thing for cinnamon rolls of any variety, but the classic cinnamon swirl roll will always be my favourite. Last year for my birthday, Chris and I stopped by the Cinnabon in Piccadilly Circus so I could indulge in my favourite treat. I hadn’t had a Cinnabon bun in a long time– we don’t have any in my hometown– and I marvelled at the soft squidginess of the roll, the punch of spicy sweet cinnamon sugar, and the smooth cream cheese icing. So you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the Piccadilly Circus Cinnabon closed down earlier this year.
Flash forward to my birthday this year and my giddiness when I discovered Chris in the kitchen pulling out a tray of fluffy, freshly baked cinnamon rolls from the oven. To fully understand how thoughtful this gesture was, I must explain that Chris does not bake. The man doesn’t even really cook. For him to even consider baking cinnamon rolls from scratch, let alone finding a recipe, gathering the ingredients, preparing them the night before, and then waking up at an ungodly hour to let them rise in the morning while I slept in? That’s love, friends.
And you know what? They tasted damn good too.
But enough about me, let’s have a chat about this gorgeous Apple Chai Cake.
I wanted to make something a little bit different for myself this year. Pumpkin spice, cinnamon, or coffee tend to be my go-to’s for my own birthday cake, so I decided to step outside the box just a little bit and choose flavours I wouldn’t normally pick. I had a ton of apples going off in my fridge and a bunch of chai tea in the cupboard– it’s true when they say that necessity is the mother of invention.
What I love most about this Apple Chai Cake is how moist and flavourful it is, especially when you leave the cake layers to develop overnight in the fridge. It’s a bit on the denser side, like a spice cake, but not overwhelmingly so; the apples lend the cake a ton of moisture and the heavy amount of chai spices give the cake layers incredible autumnal vibes. Not to mention the intoxicating aroma that will fill your kitchen for days.
How to Make Maple Frosting
I chose to pair the cake with a maple syrup-sweetened swiss meringue buttercream frosting. The maple syrup brings out the spices in this Apple Chai Cake, and I love the silky smooth texture famous to swiss meringue buttercream.
I don’t like heaps of frosting on my cakes– I feel like it detracts from the flavour and texture of the cake itself. This maple frosting recipe makes enough to ice one 6-inch layer cake; however, if you love frosting, feel free to scale the recipe up by 50% or even double it.
Don’t panic about making Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It’s surprisingly easy to do and you’ll be greatly rewarded for your extra effort! A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. Ensure all of the utensils that will touch the meringue are squeaky clean. I always give the bowls and beaters an extra scrub down with soap and lemon juice before I start. If there’s a speck of grease on anything, your meringue won’t whip.
2. Make sure your maple syrup and egg white mixture does not exceed 71°C (160°F). You’ll definitely want to get yourself a thermometer if you don’t already have one because if you overheat the egg whites at this stage, they won’t whip up into meringue.
3. Don’t use carton egg whites. It might be tempting to try and cut back on waste by using them, but they don’t carry the same structure as regular egg whites, and I’ve never had success whipping them up. Save yourself the agony and just add the spare yolks to your morning scramble or make some lime curd!
4. Add the butter slowly and at the side of the bowl. Once your meringue is all whipped up, you don’t want to knock out the air by plopping the butter into the centre or too quickly. Always add it at the side of the bowl and count to ten in between pieces.
5. Finally, if it looks like it’s curdling at any stage, just keep beating the maple frosting on high speed. This will fix things 97% of the time. No joke.
I hope you love this Apple Chai Cake with maple frosting as much as I do! It’s sweet, spicy, moist, warming, and flavourful. What better way to celebrate a crisp fall day?
If you try this Apple Chai Cake out for yourself, don’t forget to take a photo and tag me on Instagram @naturallysweet_kitchen. It makes my day to see these bakes come to life in your kitchen!
5 from 1 vote
Apple Chai Cake
This Apple Chai Cake, filled with chai spices and crisp apple and wrapped in a smooth naturally-sweetened maple frosting, will fill your kitchen with the heady, warming scent of fall.
Category Cake
Keyword Apple Chai Cake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves 8
Author Amanda | Naturally Sweet Kitchen
Ingredients
Apple Chai Cake
- 250 g unbleached plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 240 ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
- 150 g coconut sugar
- 90 g raw caster cane sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 200 g shredded baking apples
Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- 170 ml pure maple syrup
- 3 large egg whites
- 226 g cubed unsalted butter room temperature
Optional: Chai Streusel
- 93 g unbleached plain flour
- 50 g coconut sugar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 2 tsp bagged chai tea
- 42 g unsalted butter
Method
Apple Chai Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease, line, and lightly flour two 6-inch baking tins.
Shuffle the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices through a mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Give it a little whisk to disperse the spices and set aside.
Beat together the oil, sugars, and vanilla until well combined.
Crack in each egg one at a time, beating for 30 seconds in between each addition.
Fold in the dry ingredients in two parts, making sure not to overmix the batter.
Gently fold in the shredded apples.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared tins, tap the tins on the counter to let loose any trapped air, and then bake the cakes for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Set a small saucepan filled with an inch of water over a hob on high heat. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to a low simmer.
Pour the maple syrup into a large, clean bowl along with the egg whites, taking care to avoid the yolks. Even a slight trace of yolk will ruin the meringue.
Whisk the egg whites and syrup together until foamy, then place the bowl over the simmering saucepan and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and registers 65-71°C (150-160°F) on a thermometer.
Remove the bowl from the heat and beat the mixture on high using the balloon whisk of a stand mixer or an electric hand whisk.
Once the meringue reaches stiff peaks and the bowl is cool, swap out the balloon whisk for the paddle attachment and begin adding the cubed butter, one piece at a time, on a medium speed. Do not rush this step; it helps to count to ten slowly before adding another pat of butter.
Once all of the butter has been added, turn the mixer to a high speed and whip the buttercream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Optional: Chai Streusel
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and chai tea.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the dry ingredients and whisk together to form streusel nuggets. Stop whisking when you have your desired amount of large and small nuggets.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before decorating.
Assembly
Once the cakes have cooled, level the tops if necessary, then slice each cake into two layers.
Place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with ¼ cup frosting and smooth it out to the sides. Repeat with the other three layers.
Use the remainder of the frosting to frost the sides of the cake.
Decorate with the Chai Streusel, additional chai tea, cardamom pods, thyme leaves, or anything else your heart desires.
Notes
This cake will keep covered and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
