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Home » Cake & Cupcakes » Chai Tea Crumb Cake

Chai Tea Crumb Cake

Published: Feb 6, 2017 · Modified: May 3, 2023 by Allison · 28 Comments

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Tea Cake Recipe – A tender cake infused with chai tea and chai spices, finished with a crumb topping and lightly spiced icing. Absolutely perfect with a cup of tea.

This Chai Tea Crumb Cake was created as part of a shop that has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are my own. 

Slice of crumb cake.

One of my favorite things in the world? A cake that’s versatile enough to be served any time of day.

Breakfast…brunch…afternoon snack…post-dinner treat. Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Crumb cake drizzled with icing.

This cake will come to the rescue in any and all situations when you need something sweet, cozy and comforting. A combination of a spice cake and a crumb cake that’s filled with the warm flavors and spices of chai tea.

This cake is thick and tender with a crunchy, crumbly topping. It’s lightly spiced, perfectly sweet and it warms you from the inside out.

Slice of crumb cake.

In order to get plenty of chai flavor into this cake I make a spice blend which gets put into the cake, the crumb topping, and the icing. To the cake batter, I also add milk that has been infused with Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea.

Cake and tea on a table.

Bigelow is my tea of choice not only for baking but for drinking, too. I always have tea in my pantry for the mid-afternoon push I need to get through the rest of my day.

Crumb cake topped with icing.

Make yourself a cup of tea and settle in; these big squares of soul-satisfying cake are filled with everything you need.

Slice of crumb cake.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: CHAI SPICE COOKIE BARS, ALMOND COCONUT CHAI OATMEAL, CINNAMON ROLL CAKE

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Recipe

Slice of crumb cake.

Chai Tea Crumb Cake

A tender cake infused with chai tea and chai spices, finished with a crumb topping and lightly spiced icing.
5 from 9 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 14
Calories: 502kcal
Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Topping:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup light brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 ½ teaspoons chai spice, see note
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 Bigelow Vanilla Chai tea bags
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 3 ½ cups all purpose flour, see note
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons chai spice, see note

Icing:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon chai spice, see note
  • 2-3 teaspoons milk

Instructions

Topping:

  • In a small bowl, combine flour, sugars, chai spice and salt. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Set aside.

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.
  • Place 1 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat milk until it just begins to simmer, then remove from the heat and immediately add 4 tea bags. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, continue with the cake.
  • Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar for several minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla extract. Add sour cream and beat until combined.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and chai spice. 
  • Once the milk and tea have steeped for 10 minutes, remove the tea bags, gently squeezing them into the milk to extract additional flavor. Discard the tea bags.
  • To the butter mixture, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the chai milk, mixing well after each addition. I beat in ⅓ of the dry ingredients, ½ the milk, ⅓ dry ingredients, remaining milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Once the batter is fully combined pour it into the prepared pan. Crumble the topping over the top of the batter, pressing some of it between your fingers to form clumps. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • In a small bowl, stir together all the icing ingredients. Add more milk or powdered sugar, if necessary, to get your desired consistency. Allow the cake to cool slightly then drizzle the icing over the cake. Serve warm. 

Notes

Proper flour measuring: Use the measuring cup to fluff the flour. Scoop the flour (don’t pack it in) and level it with the back of a knife. 
Chai spice: You can purchase this as a spice blend, or you can make your own by combining: 1 teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, and 3 teaspoons ground ginger. This will make more than what you will need for this recipe. Store it in your spice cabinet and use it for other recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
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Comments

  1. maria Long

    February 06, 2017 at 11:26 am

    What a unique way to add chai to a recipe. I have never had tea outside of a cup!

    Reply
  2. Luci's Morsels

    February 06, 2017 at 11:54 am

    Cake for breakfast? Yes, please! I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  3. Raia Todd

    February 06, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Gorgeous! And the texture looks perfect. I love the idea of using chai in a cake! Definitely trying it. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Veena Azmanov

    February 06, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    This looks so delicious. I love Chai tea and I can almost smell the cinnamon in this cake. Love the glaze too.

    Reply
  5. Courtney Buteau

    February 06, 2017 at 2:40 pm

    You are so right about the versatility of this cake. Your photos are gorgeous and that cake is jumping out at me begging me to eat it! Clever idea putting chai in the cake. 🙂 #client

    Reply
  6. Heather Kinnaird

    February 07, 2017 at 8:05 am

    crumb cake really is the BEST!! and this is the absolute perfect anytime cake

    Reply
  7. Maria

    February 07, 2017 at 10:44 am

    Love the crumble and the tea flavors!

    Reply
  8. Suzy | The Mediterranean Dish

    February 07, 2017 at 10:55 am

    This cake is all kinds of yum!

    Reply
  9. Christine

    February 07, 2017 at 11:05 am

    5 stars
    Crumb cake is something I have loved forever and remember well having as a child. This look amazing!

    Reply
  10. Meg | Meg is Well

    February 07, 2017 at 11:46 am

    Cakes that are infused with tea, especially chai, are some of my favorites. You’ve really included it in every component of the cake which I absolutely love-it’s nice to actually be able to taste the spices!

    Reply
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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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