CHAI MASALA APPLE STREUSEL CAKE

Crunchy, juicy, sweet, tart, red, green, rosy – so many adjectives to describe the humble apple. Fall is the season for apples – all kinds! I am seeing apple tarts, apple pies, pop tarts, crumbles, you name it! Ofcourse I was feeling FOMO, so I came up with an apple cake recipe!

I recently did a huge feature for S.F Chronicle, for their Food & Wine Section –showing a Vegetarian Thanksgiving. It was an honor to put together a whole vegetarian spread for Thanksgiving. Did I think that 23 years ago when I first stepped foot into this country, that I would have the opportunity to put together a whole Thanksgiving spread for a leading media in the United States of America? It was truly a fun experience to put it all together and a shit ton of hardwork! You can read the story and get the recipes for this awesome spread here!

The point of this story was that I made a Chai Masala, Bourbon, Halvah Apple Crumble as THE dessert for Thanksgiving. The combination of chai masala, apples, halvah and bourbon is just fantastic together! So I decided to make a cake out of the same ingredients!

EASE of this cake:

This cake is a ONE BOWL recipe – OK well 3 bowls 😉 – One for the wet ingredients, one for mixing the dry ingredients and one for the streusel. That makes it 3 bowls. BUT, you do NOT require a stand mixer, and you can whip it up simply with a rubber spatula, IN ONE BOWL. It is THAT EASY. 

Ingredients of the Apple Cake:

The ingredients of this amazing cake are:

• All purpose flour

• • Almond flour – I love adding almond flour to my bakes for flavor and texture!
  • Corn starch – makes the cake have a smoother texture, and makes it light.
  • Unsalted melted butter – Butter adds flavor to the cake
  • Good quality olive oil – The olive oil makes it super moist and it will not dry out even in a few days, as long as it is kept covered.
  • Granulated and Brown sugar – I add both, one for the caramely taste and one to add the sweetness.
  • Chai Masala – I add my own homemade chai masala, but feel free to add a store bought one if you prefer

• Baking powder

• Table salt – It is saltier than kosher salt and I prefer adding it to my baked goods, to balance out the sweetness
• Grated apples – I do not like chunks of fruit in my cakes, so I prefer adding grated apples, along with all the juice!
• Orange zest – this is completely optional. My husband does not like orange in his desserts, so I make it without. But I personally prefer orange zest with apples – it brightens up the cake!
• Vanilla extract – I love adding a good amount in my baked goods. It always enhances the flavor of the cake.

Ingredients of the Streusel:

• All purpose flour 

• Oats – love the texture of oats on top of the cake

• • Sliced almonds – I love a good bite and taste of almonds in this cake

• Brown sugar 

• Cold butter – you want to add cold butter and break it down into pea sized pieces, so that when the butter melts in the oven, it creates that streusel texture on the top.
• Salt – its a must to balance out the flavors
• Halvah – I cannot say enough about my love for halvah. It add that nuttiness, depth, sweetness, and creaminess to the top of the cake and it goes fantastic with apples!

After adding the streusel on top of the cake batter, in the pan, bake for about an hour in the oven at 350 degrees C. You must check the cake for doneness by poking the middle of the cake with a bamboo stick or a sharp knife. If the knife comes out clean you know that the cake is done. Remove it immediately.

Bourbon Glaze:

The bourbon glaze is just 3 ingredients – come together in 2 minutes and adds so much flavor to the cake! Garnish with edible rose petals to give it the prettiest finish!

This cake is perfect with a cup of coffee. My husband has been a happy camper ever since I made the cake. His dessert at night is coffee with this coffee cake. This coffee cake is perfect to share with family, friends, or even have it at your Thanksgiving table, as the finale dessert with coffee or tea!

I hope you enjoyed this easy peasy recipe and hope you get a chance to make it for Thanksgiving or otherwise!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

XO

Amisha

Chai Masala Apple Streusel Cake

November 15, 2022

by Amisha

Category Cakes Fall Thanksgiving

Persons

12

Ingredients

• Chai Masala:
• (Makes about ¾ cup)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 1½ tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 3 tablespoons cardamom pods
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• Chai Masala Apple Cake:
• (Makes a 9 inch cake)
• 6 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream
• Zest of one orange
• 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
• ½ cup (66g) almond flour
• 2 tablespoons (32g) cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon Chai Masala
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 ½ cups grated apple (with skin)
• Streusel:
• ¼ (20g) cup rolled oats
• ⅓ cup (40g) all purpose flour
• ½ cup (65g) packed light brown sugar
• ⅓ cup (50g) sliced almonds
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup edible rose petals (optional)
• 6 tablespoons, cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
• ½ cup halvah
• Bourbon Glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• Garnish:
• Edible rose petals

Instructions

1. Chai Masala:
2. Grind all the spices except the ginger in a blender on high speed for 2 minutes. The mixture should form a fine powder. Add the ground ginger and stir to combine. Transfer to an airtight glass jar and store in a cool place for up to a year.
3. Chai Masala Apple Cake:
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch spring-form pan with baking spray, add a parchment paper at the bottom.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, add the all purpose flour, almond flour, cornstarch, chai masala, salt and whisk to combine.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, olive oil and sugars. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
7. Add the eggs one by one and whisk to combine. Next goes in the vanilla and sour cream. Whisk until combined.
8. Add the flour mixture in two batches, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Add the grated apples and stir to mix gently.
9. Streusel:
10. Add all the ingredients, except the butter and stir with a rubber spatula to combine.
11. Add the cold butter and using a pastry cutter, combine the mixture, until the butter is pea sized. You can also use a food processor to combine the ingredients, until the butter is small.
12. Assembly:
13. Top the cake with the streusel by evening distributing it.
14. Next crumble the halvah on top of the streusel.
15. Bake for about an hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown on the top and the inside is done. Poke a knife or a bamboo stick in the middle to check for doneness.
16. Bourbon Glaze:
17. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. It should be not too thick and not too thin.
18. Garnish and serve:
19. Remove from the oven and rest for an hour until completely cooled.
20. Release the spring-form pan and place the cake on a cake plate. Drizzle half of the glaze, and garnish with rose petals. It is ready to serve!
21. Remaining glaze can be served, along with individual slices.

Tags

apple streusel cake,

chai masala,

coffee cake,

teacake,

thanksgiving

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