English Breakfast Spice Cake with Chai Buttercream

This is a treat I developed for a tea and olive oil tasting event at local-to-me The Quail & Olive. Though it wasn't my event, Anni had given me some of the components and I was inspired into the kitchen. Per usual. Then I shared the with the guests.

I also had the tasting notes from Josias of Split Tea Co., so I had a starting point that got my culinary creativity flowing. For the English Breakfast Tea, he had mentioned aromas of honey, hay, and wheat with flavors of guava and earthiness. I already knew that Anni's Doctor's Blend Olive Oil had notes of warm and peppery spice. So, I went with a riff on my usual gingerbread recipe.

Did you know that molasses is seasonal? Well, I wasn't able to locate any and was told it was stocked for holiday baking. Okay. I pivoted to a spice cake - made with maple syrup - instead of a gingerbread made with molasses. I will be re-making this as a gingerbread as soon as I can get my hands on some molasses. Also, since we were going to the tea-olive oil event as a belated birthday celebration for Jenn's mom, I made her a personal birthday cake that she didn't have to share with anyone else.

Everyone else got mini cakes!

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/2 cup olive oil (I used the Doctor's Blend from local-to-me The Quail & Olive)

• 3/4 cup maple syrup (I used the Salted Caramel Runamok that is in the pantry section of The Quail & Olive)

• 3 cups flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used Peni Miris from Diaspora Spice Co. on The Quail & Olive website)

• 2 teaspoons chai spices (I used Chai Spice from Diaspora Spice Co. on The Quail & Olive website)

• 1 teaspoon English Breakfast tea, slightly crushed  (on the Split Tea Co. website)

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup sour cream

Buttercream

• 5 large egg yolks

• 1/3 cup brewed masala chai

• 1 cup organic granulated sugar

• 2 cups (4 sticks salted butter)

• Also needed: more chai spice for sprinkling, star anise for garnish (optional)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a baking dish; I used a cake pan with 12 mini cake hollows and a couple of larger ramekins to make a two-layer personal cake. Set aside.

Place all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is moistened and just combined. Spoon the batter into the baking dishes. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place on wire cooling rack until completely cooled.

Buttercream

Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat on high until they are thick, pale, and ribbon off the whisks.

Combine tea and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook until the sugar is melted and the caramel thickens and turns slightly darker than golden brown.

Once the syrup is ready, remove it from the heat. While one hand hold the mixer, use the other hand to pour the syrup into the yolks. When all of the syrup is added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the yolks have doubled in size and have reached medium peak stage. The bowl should be cooled and just lukewarm to the touch. Mine took about 9 minutes.

Begin adding butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. The more butter you add, the more firm the buttercream will be.

Use a piping bag or just spoon the buttercream over the top. Decorate the cupcakes. Sprinkle with more chai spice. Chill to harden, but let it stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Another recipe down from the tea-olive oil event. Stay tuned for the full line-up.