Masala Chai Tres Leches
This eggless masala chai tres leche tastes like a cup of sweet milky indian chai aka tea - it's indulgent, soft and has a wonderful taste of spices in every bite. So perfect for festivals and celebrations.
Ingredients
For the Chai Masala (makes ¼ cup masala, we won't use the whole thing)
- 1 tablespoon green cardamom powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon ground dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4-5 black peppercorns, fine ground
For the Sponge
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (245g) whole milk plain yogurt (not too sour) I use greek yogurt, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup(120ml) vegetable oil
Dry Ingredients
- 1+½ cup(195g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1+¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon chai masala (recipe below)
For the Chai Infused Milk (This will make extra for serving)
- 4-5 orange pekoe black tea bags
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- ½ cup condensed milk adjust to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon chai masala (recipe below)
For the dulce de leche Whipped Cream
- 1.5 cup heavy whipped cream , super cold
- 2-3 tablespoon dulce de leche or use powdered sugar
Instructions
Grind the Chai Masala
- Add all the spices to a bowl. Mix well. Chai Masala is ready for baking.
Make the Chai Infused 3 Milk Mixture
- Warm up the evaporated milk. Add the tea bags and let infuse for 10-12 minutes. Lift the tea bags and squeeze using tongs to catch all the flavor and the milk they absorbed. Discard the tea bags.
- In a large jug or measuring cup with spout, mix the tea infused evaporated milk with condensed milk and heavy cream. Add 1 teaspoon of chai masala and combine well. Reserve ¾ - 1 cup for serving. Keep ready.
Bake the Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 180 C. Brush a 8 inch square pan with 1 tablespoon oil.
- Wet Ingredients - In a large bowl, add the yogurt, sugar and oil. Whisk for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved. Add 1.5 -2 teaspoon of chai masala that we made earlier and mix well.
- Dry Ingredients - Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder in two batches over the wet Ingredients. After each batch, gently fold using a spatula until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Smoothen the top with a spatula.
- Place to bake in the middle rack for 28-32 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine was done at about 31 minutes. Pull the cake out and let cool for about 30 minutes.
- Poke holes all over the cake using a fork or back of a wooden spoon. Reserve 1 cup(to use while serving) and pour the rest of the 3 milk mixture all over the cake.
- Cover the cake with cling wrap and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours or preferably overnight so the cake can soak up all the flavors.
Make the dulce de leche whippedcream
- Pour the heavy cream in a large chilled bowl. Beat for 4-5 minutes or until soft peaks form.
- Add the dulce de leche(or powdered sugar) and beat until medium peaks form and the cream is spreadable.
Assemble the cake
- Remove the chilled soaked cake. Add a generous amount of whipped cream to the cake and using a spatula spread it out as evenly on the top part as possible. Sprinkle with silvered pistachios, rose petals, edible gold etc or decorate as you wish.
- Serve sliced with the reserved milk mixture. Store the leftovers refrigerated.
Notes
- Cake Batter : - The cake batter is made in one bowl.It is one of the most easy cakes to bake. Fold the batter with a spatula just until it is well incorporated then stop. Keep in mind to not overmix the batter. You can bake the cake in a round pan, however I like square pans.
- Dairy : - The cake uses a lot of dairy products like many kinds of milk and yogurt. Always choose whole milk and full fat yogurt for this recipe.
- Make Ahead :- You can bake and soak the cake on one day and then next day just make the whipped cream and slather it on top. The cake needs to soak for at least 12 hours for best flavor.
- Serving Suggestions :- Reserve a bit of the soaking milk and serve it with the cake slices. Cake with extra milk is truly heavenly.
- Variations : - You can bake this cake batter into 12 cupcakes and bake for about 18 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes, poke and individually soak them in milk. Then you can pipe the whipped cream just like you would decorate cupcakes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!