Karak Tea Cake with Spiced Apple Filling & Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
This decadent cake layers the warm, aromatic flavors of Karak tea with a rich spiced apple filling and a luscious cardamom cream cheese frosting. Inspired by the popular chai-style tea, the cake combines the sweetness of apples with a blend of fragrant spices, creating a comforting dessert with a Middle Eastern twist.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 eggs
- 11 tbsp caster sugar
- 11 tbsp vegetable oil
- 11 tbsp karak tea see ingredients and recipe below
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ⅕ cups flour
- 1 black tea teabag
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp cardamon powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For the karak tea:
- 2 cups water
- 5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 2-3 whole cloves
- 1/2 stick cinnamon
- 4 cardamom pods
- 3 black tea teabags
For the apple filling:
- 4-5 large apples such as Braeburn, Jonathan or Gala
- 1/4 cup sugar
- zest and juice from half lemon
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 7 oz softened butter
- 12 oz cream cheese
- 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cardamon powder
Instructions
For the karak tea:
- Bring the water, condensed milk, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom to a boil in a saucepan and allow to simmer on low for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the teabags.
- Let the teabags sit for 5 minutes and then strain the mixture into a jug. Cool completely what you’ll need for the cake and enjoy the rest hot while you make this delicious cake.
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180° C/356° F.
- Place the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in an electric mixer and whip until creamy and doubled in size.
- With the mixer on low, pour in the oil in a thin stream. Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt and spices.
- Empty the black tea teabag and grind the tea into a powder using a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, put the black tea in a kitchen cloth and pound it using a rolling pin. Add the black tea powder to the flour mix.
- Alternate adding the cooled Karak tea and the flour mix into the egg mixture. Don’t overmix, just mix enough to fully incorporate the flour and Karak tea as you don’t want to lose all the air that was added when whipping the eggs and sugar.
- Divide the batter equally between two 7-inch (~20 cm) cake tins that have been buttered and floured, or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
For the apple filling:
- Skin, core and slice the apples into wedges - not too thin.
- Place the apples, sugar, zest and juice, and spices in a skillet and cook until tender. About 15 -20 minutes. Let cool.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- With an electric mixer, blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Assembly:
- Using a serrated knife, even and level up each cake by slicing off the top.
- Transfer the first cake onto a cake plate and spread 2-3 tablespoons of the frosting over the top. Place the half the apple mixture on top.
- Place the second cake upside down over the layer of apples. Add another 2-3 tablespoons of frosting, and smooth it out. Continue to cover the whole cake with an even layer of frosting. This will be what we call a crumb cover.
- Add some food coloring to the remaining frosting, place it in a piping bag with the nozzle of your choice, and decorate the cake as you wish. Place the remaining apple filling on top.
- Refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving.
Notes
Tip: You could replace the apples with quince or pears.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!