Spiced Chocolate Chai Cake

Chai is a spice blend used to make a milky tea, that is made with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and often cloves, star anise, fennel and nutmeg. I love chai flavours and think they work perfectly with chocolate; especially cardamom. This moist cake with a chocolate ganache topping is a favourite of mine!

The original recipe uses kefir which is a fermented milk drink, but you can substitute this with natural yoghurt.

Olive Magazine

150 g dark chocolate (broken into chunks)
250 g plain flour
75 g cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground cardamom
0.25 tsp ground cloves
250 ml kefir
3 eggs (medium)
2 tsp vanilla extract
150 g caster sugar
100 g soft light brown sugar
125 g unsalted butter (softened, plus extra for the tin)

GLAZE

100 g dark chocolate
75 ml whipping cream
1 tbsp golden syrup

Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and 1⁄4 tsp of fine salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the kefir, eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugars and butter until just combined, then tip in the dry ingredients, followed by the wet. Use an electric whisk to combine to a smooth batter. Whisk in 150ml of just boiled water from the kettle and scrape into the prepared tin. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer poked into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove onto a serving plate to finish cooling completely
For a saucy finish, ice just before serving, but if you don’t mind the icing matt and set, you can do it as soon as the cake is cool. Chop the chocolate and put in a bowl, then combine the cream and syrup in a small pan. Heat gently until bubbles just start to appear then pour over the chocolate. After 3-5 minutes stir together until the chocolate has melted completely. Slowly spoon or pour all over the cake. Leave for a minute (or up to a day) then serve in wedges, if you like.