Name: Golden Vanilla Chai Tea Cakes
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Yield: 24 tea cakes
Ingredients: For tea cakes:; 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter; 4 black tea bags; 1/4 cup Chai seasoning of choice:; 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more to coat muffin tin; 2 eggs; 1 egg yolk; 1 vanilla bean of choice*:; 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour; For icing:; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 Tbsp. infused chai butter, melted; 2 Tbsp. whole milk

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Golden Vanilla Chai Tea Cakes

Recipe by Michael Kimball, Savory Spice Test Kitchen

All-Purpose Cooking

Baking

A chai-infused butter gives these adorable tea cakes a warm, sweet-spiced flavor and a chewy, blondie-like texture.

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Serves 24 tea cakes

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cooking Time 12 minutes

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Ingredients

For tea cakes: 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter 4 black tea bags 1/4 cup Chai seasoning of choice:

Chai Spices, coarsely ground

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more to coat muffin tin

1 1/4 tsp. Mayan Sea Salt

1 tsp. Ground Turmeric

2 eggs 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste, OR

1 vanilla bean of choice*: Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ugandan Vanilla Bean 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour For icing: 1 cup powdered sugar 2 Tbsp. infused chai butter, melted 2 Tbsp. whole milk

1/2 tsp. Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste

1/4 tsp. Mayan Sea Salt

Madagascar Vanilla Beans

Ugandan Vanilla Beans

Directions

Step 1 Infuse butter

Step 2 In a medium pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and submerge black tea bags and Chai Spices in butter. Infuse for 20 min. Strain into a medium bowl. Remove and reserve 2 Tbsp. infused butter for icing. Cool to room temperature.

Step 3 Mix dough

Step 4 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil mini muffin tin and sprinkle with sugar to coat bottom and sides of cups. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, salt, Ground Turmeric, and infused butter. Mix on medium-high for 2 to 3 min. until fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, egg yolk, and Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Reduce speed to slowest setting and add flour, stirring until just barely combined. Remove bowl from mixer and use a rubber spatula to ensure dough is combined.

Step 5 Make icing

Step 6 In a medium bowl, combine glaze ingredients and stir until smooth. Glaze should reach a consistency that will drip partway down sides of cakes. Add additional powdered sugar or milk if needed to reach this consistency. Set aside and stir occasionally until ready to use.

Step 7 Bake and ice

Step 8 Fill cups of mini muffin tin with 2 Tbsp. dough and press to flatten top. Bake for 10 to 12 min. until barely golden around the edges and center is still soft. Cool for 10 min. in tin. Twist cakes to ensure they will release from tin then turn out onto cooling rack. Arrange cakes upside down on cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Top each cake with a generous 1 tsp. of icing and use bottom of teaspoon to gently encourage it to drip down sides of cakes. Allow icing to set and serve.

Recipe Notes

*To use vanilla beans: split beans in half lengthwise and scrape seeds out from pod with the back of a knife. Use empty pods to make homemade vanilla extract or flavor homemade vanilla sugar.