Brown Sugar Chai Cake

Looking for a unique, decadent dessert to wow the guests at your Thanksgiving dinner this year? Look no further! This brown sugar chai cake is soft, rich, sweet, and pretty irresistible, made with super moist cake layers filled with brown sugar and chai spices, and topped with a smooth, flavorful cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect blend of sweet and spiced, and it's going to be a huge hit at your holiday feast!

For more cozy fall cake recipes, try Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Fudgy Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake, Mini Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, and Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake.

Why you'll love this brown sugar chai cake

• Soft & Moist Texture: These cake layers bake up so soft & moist, making it hard to not eat more than one piece!
• Warm Chai Spices: This cake is made with a mixture of the best autumn spices (cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger) to create the ultimate cozy dessert!
• Sweet Cream Cheese Frosting: Everything is better with cream cheese frosting, and my recipe results in an extra sturdy frosting, so your cake tastes amazing and looks beautiful!

Ingredient Notes

• Brown Sugar: Since this is a brown sugar cake, this is the only sugar you need! I used dark brown sugar for a deeper molasses flavor, but you could also use light brown sugar.
• Neutral Oil: I recommend using a neutral oil, such as light tasting extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. 
• Cream Cheese: Use cold block cream cheese for the frosting.
• Whole Milk: Use a high quality whole milk for best flavor.
• Chai Spices: Use a store-bought blend of chai spices, or make your own using ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and cloves.
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this brown sugar chai cake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix dry ingredients and butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and chai spice mix. Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.

STEP 2: Add wet ingredients. Add the oil, milk, large eggs, and vanilla, and mix on low to medium speed or whisk until just combined.

STEP 3: Pour and prep. Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans, being sure to scrape all the batter from the bottom of the bowl. Wrap the cake strips around the outside of the pans.

STEP 4: Bake and freeze. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Immediately turn the cake layers out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to decorate. (Frozen cake layers will be much easier to frost!)

STEP 5: Make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until smooth. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed until fully combined. Once all of the powdered sugar is added, continue beating on low speed until no more lumps or pockets of air remain and the frosting is smooth.

STEP 6: Decorate. Secure the first cake layer on the cake stand with a small amount of frosting on the bottom. Using an offset spatula, spread on an even layer of frosting, then place the second cake layer on top and just barely frost the sides of the cake. Finish decorating the cake as desired (I used star anise and cinnamon sticks). Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon on top, and serve!

Expert Baking Tips

• Use cake strips to create flat cake layers. Soak these wilton cake strips in ice water before starting the cake batter. Just before baking, wrap the cake strips around the pan. The cold temperature on the outside of the cake will prevent the edges from baking faster than the center, resulting in an evenly baked flat cake.
• Freeze the cake layers before decorating. Since this is such a moist cake, I highly recommend freezing the cake layers for at least two hours before decorating. This also helps the frosting firm up as it comes in contact with the cold cake layers. 
• Use cold cream cheese & room temperature butter. In order to create a sturdy, pipeable cream cheese frosting, pay close attention to the temperature of the ingredients. Cold cream cheese will ensure it's thick enough, while room temperature butter will ensure all of the ingredients cream together properly. 
• Sift the powdered sugar. I know it can be a pain, but trust me, sifting your powdered sugar before adding it to the frosting is so worth it! If you don't sift it, you'll need to mix the frosting on low speed for a long time to smooth it out. This also runs the risk of agitating the milk solids, creating a grainy frosting. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x