Serves a Crowd

Chai Cake with Orange Honey Glaze

January 29, 2011
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 8-10 ppl
Author Notes

Think of a hot cup of chai tea with lots of spices and maybe some honey and orange peel...mmmm. That is this cake.

Shredded squash is a great way to moisten any cake. It doesn't add any flavor, just a nice softness and texture. As for the chai tea, I didn't want to add water to the cake since that would come from the squash. Instead, I infused warm soy milk with rich flavors from the chai plus some cardamom, cinnamon, and fresh ginger. There's a lot layers of flavors going on that I really love. —dixonkitchen

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 2 chai tea bags
  • 2 tablespoons raw honey (1tbsp for cake, 1 tbsp for glaze)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole wheat durum flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 green cardamom crushed or ground
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
  • 2 cups grated zucchini skin on
  • 12 inch spring form baking pan
  • juice from half an orange
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Place chai tea bags and soy milk in microwave safe cup. Microwave for 1 minute. Add ginger, cinnamon, cardamom to mixture and let steep while you prepare the rest of the wet and dry ingredients.
  3. In a large mixing bowl cream the eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and 1 tablespoon honey until well blended. Strain chai mixture and add the liquid to the egg mixture. Mix on high for another minute.
  4. In a separate bowl sift all dry ingredients or mix well with a fork. Add the dry ingredients to the wet slowly, keeping the blender on at low speed until well combined. Add orange zest and squash and fold in gently.
  5. Grease the spring form pan and pour batter in. Turn and tap the pan on your counter top to get the bubbles out of the batter.
  6. Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
  7. Remove cake from oven and make a few very small shallow holes with a toothpick. Mix remaining honey and orange juice to make glaze. Pour glaze on top. Let cool, remove from pan, and serve!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

12 Reviews

Cynthia W. October 17, 2022
Really good cake...you barely notice the zucchini. I doubled the salt but honestly it could have used a bit more for my taste. I made loaves and it's killer with some cream cheese and a skiff of marmalade.
Nosizwe M. August 31, 2015
This sounds like a great cake, and I'd love to make this for my son's birthday, but he won't eat eggs, dairy or sugars. So, what can I substitute for eggs, and can I use honey in place of the sugar?
dixonkitchen August 31, 2015
Hi! it's a bit of a wet batter, so the eggs are needed to hold it together, but maybe you could try one of the egg substitutes out there like Bob's RedMill. As for the sugar - honey, agave or a mix of honey and applesauce should work. Curious how it turns out. Thanks!
JSCooks August 24, 2015
Curious why you chose durum flour for this. How does it affect the cake? I have some whole grain durum I'm experimenting with, so thanks for any insights!
dixonkitchen August 31, 2015
Hi! Honestly it's just what I keep on hand. I really like the texture of it...a bit more of a bite/chewiness. Hope you try it out!
aargersi February 2, 2011
OK I baked this today. Eating a slice with my tea right now. It is SO good - moist and just lightly spiced, and not too sweet but just sweet enough. LOVE it!
dixonkitchen February 2, 2011
Thank you so much for trying this out! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Now I feel like making it again : )
aargersi January 30, 2011
Wow, love this a LOT. Might have to make it very soon, like today
Sagegreen January 30, 2011
This looks really lovely! I do love it just from the description alone.
dixonkitchen February 2, 2011
Thanks!
dixonkitchen January 30, 2011
Thanks! It was quite yummy indeed.
Kitchen B. January 30, 2011
Yummy, yum yum. I'm in heaven!