Brown Butter Chai Cake Recipe
This Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosted Chai Cake is a cozy, aromatic masterpiece that perfectly captures the essence of a warm chai latte in cake form. The deep, nutty notes of brown butter combined with a blend of fragrant chai spices create a sophisticated and comforting flavor profile.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter browned and cooled
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp each: ground ginger cardamom
- ½ tsp each: ground cloves allspice
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- For the Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup brown butter solid but softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two 8-inch cake pans.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and all chai spices in a medium bowl.
- Cream cooled brown butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one by one.
- Alternating with buttermilk, add dry ingredients to the butter mixture until just combined.
- Divide batter into pans and bake for 30–35 minutes until set.
- Cool cakes completely on a wire rack.
- For the frosting, beat cream cheese, brown butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Frost the cooled cake layers generously.