I’m glad I changed my mind about Chai and made this cake

Before I begin to heap praise upon praise for this recipe, I just have one quick question: Do you like Chai?

At the beginning I didn’t like Chai. At all. It reminded me of this particular childhood stomachache medicine that my grandmother used to force into me whenever my tummy went bad. I asked her why it smelled odd and she told me it was a concoction of crushed Chinese herbs that will cure me instantly. I admit begrudgingly that my stomachaches do go away pretty quickly after having this medicine, but it certainly always left a bad taste in my mouth. It used to be that the moment I get a whiff or a taste of anything Chai-flavoured, this is the memory that surfaces to my mind.

I guess this cake is about to replace that memory now.

Chai is probably one of those things that not a lot of people like. I myself didn’t touch the stuff until recently. One time I had accidentally bought a box of Chai tea from the grocery store, because in my haste to grab and go, I didn’t notice that there was a box of Chai tea right smack in the middle of the Green Tea section in the Supermarket. When I got home and saw that I had made a mistake, I suddenly had this urge to give Chai tea another chance. My first cup, I still didn’t like it.

The memory from my childhood was just too strong. But because I had already opened the box, there was no way I could return it to the Supermarket. I had no choice but to drink it all down. I could’ve used it in baking, but most of the recipes I had made use of a mixture of spices to recreate the Chai flavour. So drink all of it I did.

A few tea bags of Chai later, I began to appreciate it. And to make a long story short, I’m so thankful for the “freak accident” that caused me to like the Chai flavour enough for me to make this cake. Because this cake, ladies and gentlemen, is a work of yumminess art. The crumb was perfectly spiced; and the cake! The cake was out of this world soft and fluffy and heavenly. Once put together they were a perfect combination. I must’ve eaten a slice every single day.

Lately I seem to be on a roll as far as good recipes are concerned, and for that I’m really pleased. All the recipes I’ve tried have baked up better than I expected. But then there are those that really kick your expectations on the butt and give you what I call the “oh my goodness moments”– as in you take a bite and find yourself lost in the majorly oh-my-goodness-inducing experience of eating.

If you happen to dislike Chai, I would still recommend you try this coffee cake out. The Chai flavour isn’t overwhelmingly strong, but if you want, you can replace the spices with a combination of cinnamon, ginger and cloves maybe. The cake base is absolutely fantastic and would probably complement anything.