Since 1980, I’ve used this recipe, which my family adores. Make use of your preferred nuts.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 1 9-inch layer cake |
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 3 tea bags of strong black tea
- 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled
- 3 whole cardamom pods, or more to taste
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves, divided
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tea bags of strong black tea
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Begin cake by combining water, 3 tea bags, ginger root, cardamom pods, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
- Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; mix well.
- Mix flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt with remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cloves in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, one half at a time; stir to combine. Strain hot tea and slowly pour into the batter and stir until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.
- While the cakes are cooling, combine water, sugar, and tea bags for simple syrup in a small pot over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar has dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- Brush simple syrup over cooled and leveled cakes until the majority of the cake has absorbed the syrup. Do not oversoak the cakes; you want enough syrup to soak in and keep cakes moist and flavorful without flooding them. Place cakes in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until ready to decorate.
- Combine cream cheese, butter, and ginger for frosting in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and blend until smooth. Frost cake.
- I like to use a strong British tea blend as I find it makes the cake more aromatic and truer to a masala chai.
- If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make a black tea syrup that’s very similar to the consistency of molasses and substitute that into the recipe. Bring 3 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 to 3 tea bags, spices, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often to make sure the sugar doesn’t stick or burn. After 45 minutes, turn the heat down slightly and let simmer for an additional 15 minutes. The syrup will thicken as it cools. Strain before use and substitute 1:1 with molasses.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 327 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 52 g |
| Cholesterol | 43 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 230 mg |
| Sugars | 37 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Amazing. Followed exactly and am glad I did. Frosting mellows the spice without being too sweet
It had a nice flavor but found the cake to be quite dense.
Not a quick recipe but if you have the time boy oh boy sure makes the house smell delicious!!!
The recipe is fantastic! only that I did not pour the syrup because it is a lot of sugar.. but we need to double or triple the quantity of the frosting as you can see in the picture it was not enough. The frosting flavor is delicious if you like ginger.