Pumpkin spice cake layers with a tasty spice chai buttercream. Inspired from Starbuck’s vanilla chai with pumpkin cold foam.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about what you are making for your holiday gathering? Are you hosting? Or are you just bringing food to share? Either way you will need to make a dessert that will be a crowd pleaser, one that people will ask you to bring again and again in the years to come. This Pumpkin Vanilla Chai cake is definitely what you are looking for.
Pumpkin Cake layers
For the pumpkin cake layers I used the same recipe that I used for my Oreo Pumpkin Cake and my Biscoff Pumpkin Cake. These layers have it all. They have a sweet pumpkin flavor with a soft crumby texture that is seriously irresistible.
Chai Buttercream
This buttercream has SOO much flavor. What is chai tea? It’s a black tea with a bunch of different delicious spices. Instead of using the actual tea for this recipe, I decided to use a chai tea extract. You probably already know my love for Lorann’s emulsions and flavoring. I’ve used them all (guilty of spending way too much money). So I knew when I made this cake I wanted this to flavor my buttercream. You can find the exact one I used here
How to bake the most perfect pumpkin cake layers
First, you’re going to want to beat the eggs and the sugar. This will help incorporate some air. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low. DON’T OVER MIX the flour. This is what causes domes on top of your layers, as well as dry cakes.
Low and slow baby. I turned my oven down to 325 and just let the batter do its thing. The lower temp will help it to rise slowly instead of having it rise too quickly and making the edges burn.
How to store leftover cake
Okay, you served your delicious cake and now you have some leftovers. Now what? Make sure you let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours and then you can saran wrap it and place it in the freezer completely plastic wrapped for up to 6 months!
Here are some other fall cakes you might like
Recipe
Pumpkin Vanilla Chai Cake
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cake
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups pumpkin purée not pumpkin pie filling
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamon
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Vanilla Chai Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter chilled
- 7 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chai tea extract. I get mine here If you don’t have the extract you can make your own powder mix. Recipe in notes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, spray 4 6 inch pans or 3 8 inch pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combined the flour, baking powder, cardamon, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand sized mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and eggs on medium speed until they are light and fluffy.
- Add the oil and vanilla and beat on medium until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin/egg mixture.
- Evenly distribute the pumpkin batter to the prepped cake pans. With the back of a spoon, even out the batter to ensure it’s smooth for baking.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with little to no crumbs. Mine took about 32 minutes. it can take anywhere from 30-35
- After the cakes have finished baking, let them cool for 20 minutes in the cake pans and then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once they are room temperature, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them, or put them in the fridge. (They only last 5 days wrapped up in the fridge and 6 months wrapped up in the freezer)
- For the Vanilla Chai Buttercream
- In a stand sized mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light in color. About 6 minutes. You want it almost white.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed, just until incorporated. Then add the vanilla, cream, salt and the chai tea extract.
- Beat on high for 3 minutes, scrape down the sides and beat again.
- With a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, beat out all of the air pockets for a smooth buttercream.
- Assembly
- Level cakes, if needed, and on a cake board, place a small dollop of frosting in the middle. This will act as “glue” for the cake.
- Place one of the pumpkin cake layers top side up on the cake board. Apply about 1 cup of chai buttercream and with an off set spatula, evenly distribute it around the cake.
- Place another one of the pumpkin cake layers, top side down onto the chai frosting, and apply another cup of frosting.
- Repeat the last step for the final cake layer.
- Apple a thin coat of the buttercream around the cake and freeze for 10-15 minutes. This is your crumb coat, and this helps keep all the crumbs in the cake.
- Apply the rest of the frosting to the cake and serve at room temperature.
Notes
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon black pepper
For the pumpkin cake layers
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