Chai Tea Cake with Parle-G Streusel

Ingredients

• 120 ml Water (For brewing the chai)
• Loose black tea (Enough to make a strong, kadak chai)
• Ginger (For the chai; amount to taste)
• Cardamom (For the chai; amount to taste)
• Cinnamon (For the chai; amount to taste)
• Cloves (For the chai; amount to taste)
• Black pepper (For the chai; amount to taste)
• 60 g Parle-G biscuits (Roughly crushed)
• 30 g All-purpose flour (For the streusel)
• 25 g Brown sugar (For the streusel)
• Salt (Listed in streusel method; amount not specified)
• 35 g Cold butter (For the streusel)
• 100 g Brown sugar (For the cake)
• 60 g Caster sugar (For the cake)
• 120 g Yogurt/curd (Room temperature)
• 90 ml Neutral oil (For the cake)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 160 ml Milk (For the cake)
• 120 ml Prepared kadak black masala chai (Brewed and strained; use the chai prepared above)
• 275 g All-purpose flour (For the cake)
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 0.5 tsp Baking soda
• 0.25 tsp Salt (For the cake)

Steps

1. 1

   Put the water, loose black tea, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, or other preferred chai masalas in a saucepan.

2. 2

   Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer until it becomes a very strong, aromatic black masala chai.

3. 3

   Strain the chai well and set it aside; measure 120 ml for the cake once brewed.

4. 4

   In a bowl, mix the roughly crushed Parle-G biscuits, 30 g flour, 25 g brown sugar, and salt.

5. 5

   Rub the cold butter into the biscuit mixture until chunky crumbs form.

6. 6

   Refrigerate the streusel until ready to use.

7. 7

   Whisk the cake's brown sugar, caster sugar, room-temperature yogurt, neutral oil, and vanilla extract together until smooth.

8. 8

   Add the milk and 120 ml prepared masala chai, then whisk until combined.

9. 9

   Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the wet mixture.

10. 10

    Fold gently until just combined. Do not overmix.

11. 11

    Pour the batter into a lined loaf tin.

12. 12

    Generously top the batter with the chilled Parle-G streusel.

13. 13

    Air-fry at 160°C for 35–45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

14. 14

    Let the cake cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Notes

The streusel method includes salt, but the streusel ingredient list gives no quantity; the cake separately specifies ¼ tsp salt. The audio transcript mentions baking at 170°C for about 35 minutes, while the written recipe specifies air-frying at 160°C for 35–45 minutes; the written recipe was followed. The amounts of tea and chai spices are not specified.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cake
• air-fried
• masala chai
• vegetarian
• contains gluten
• contains dairy
• rainy-day