Caramel Chai Pound Cake
Lightly spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, this Caramel Chai Pound Cake is a delicious dessert. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a tasty summer treat!
You guys know that I love sports. College sports are my favorite, but I’ll honestly sit down and watch almost any sport I can find. Even golf. Ok, maybe that’s a stretch. I put watching golf into the same category as watching pro baseball on tv. If I want to take a nap, then I turn on golf or pro baseball. Nap accomplished.
Back when my wife and I lived in Atlanta, we had the chance to go to a bunch of sporting events. Conference championships for college football. Conference tournaments for college basketball. A couple of pro football games, too. And then there was that semi-pro football game. Note: I use the term semi-pro very loosely here. I mean very loosely. I also use football to describe the American version of the game as opposed to the international version. That’s soccer.
I’d never even heard of semi-pro football until we met one of our good friends. He just so happened to be a great punter. He actually went to the professional combines and got called back by a pro team. He didn’t end up making the cut, but he was darned close. I kinda wish he had made the cut because (a) it would have been awesome to know someone who played pro football and (b) I wouldn’t have been subjected to that semi-pro game back in Atlanta. (For the record, I am not insulting our friend at all here. He readily admitted that the semi-pro league was a joke.)
So what was the deal with this semi-pro game, you ask? Well, let me set the stage. The games were played on Saturdays on high school fields around the Atlanta area. That’s fine. Some of the high schools in Atlanta are larger than colleges. There were probably 150 fans in attendance, and most of them were friends and family of the players. Again, that’s fine. That’s why we were there.
But the game started much later than expected. I believe it was supposed to kickoff at 7:00pm, and I think it started somewhere around 9:45pm instead. The game before ran late. I mean, I get running late…but almost 3 hours late? At some point right after halftime, the refs decided to speed the game up by just not stopping the clock. Incomplete pass? Clock kept running. First down? Clock kept running. I’m pretty sure there was a timeout in there and the clock kept running.
Then there was the 25-yard penalty. For all of you that know football rules, you should be aware that there is no 25-yard penalty. I don’t even remember what the call was, but the referee totally walked off 25 yards. Huh? (I asked our friend later about that, and he said he didn’t even know what the ref was doing.) Oh, and I forgot to mention that the game announcer got thrown out because he got in a fight with one of the refs…over the loud speaker. Yeah, that happened.
So while that was our first and last semi-pro football game, I’m still glad we went to support our friend. He and his wife are two of our favorite people ever, and earlier this summer we drove down to visit them in Philly. They have a son now, so our weekend trip was a great chance to meet their son as well as hang out with friends. So what does all of this have to do with Caramel Chai Pound Cake? Well, the day before we left, I decided we should bring a dessert with us. No real reason. I just wanted to bring a dessert. So I brought a dessert.
Pound cake has long been a favorite dessert for me. My mom makes a heck of a delicious pound cake, and it is always one of my favorites whenever I go back to visit. (Side note: Even though I have her recipe and I follow it exactly…my pound cake is never quite as good as hers. It’s good. But it’s not mom’s. Anyone else know what I mean here?) For this pound cake, I decided to mix it up a bit. This summer, we’ve been enjoying International Delight’s Caramel Chai Tea Latte, so I decided to create a pound cake based on these delicious flavors.
In addition to adding the Caramel Chai Tea Latte directly into the batter, I also added some cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. And of course, the cake needed to be drizzled with caramel after it was baked. The result was this incredibly tasty Caramel Chai Pound Cake. We loaded the cake in the car and took it down to Philly with us. It didn’t last long. We all snacked on that cake while reminiscing about our days in Atlanta and semi-pro football games.
Have you ever attended a semi-pro football game? Can you explain a 25-yard penalty to me?
Caramel Chai Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Pound Cake
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2½ cups sugar
- 5 eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup International Delight Caramel Chai Tea Latte
For the Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the Pound Cake
- Using a countertop mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in color (~5 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and flour 1 cup at a time, mixing on low after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add Caramel Chai Tea Latte and mix on low speed until a smooth batter forms (~1-2 minutes).
- Pour batter into a greased tube or bundt pan. Bake at 325°F for 90-100 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
For the Caramel Sauce
- Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the sugar constantly as it begins to melt. (Tip: Use a larger saucepan than you might think because the mixture will bubble up when the other ingredients are added!)
- Once the sugar has fully melted and turns light caramel in color, remove pan from heat and add the butter. Stir until butter has fully melted. (Note: The mixture will bubble up rapidly once the butter is added, so use caution.)
- Slowly whisk in the heavy cream. (Tip: If the caramel seizes up when you add the liquid, you can place it back over low temperature and whisk constantly until it turns into a thick sauce.)
- Let cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
- Drizzles plates with Caramel Sauce before serving cake.
This conversation is sponsored by International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.
Yeah, I have never seen the appeal of watching gold either. Now, playing it is a different thing. And by playing gold I mean crazy golf. If there is not a bridge of a windmill involved, then I don’t want to know.
I love chai flavours, but I have only ever had it as tea. I think that needs to change. I need this cake!
Hahahaha…I’m with ya on that boat, Dannii! If there isn’t a windmill on the course, then I don’t want to hear about it. 🙂 This chai cake. AMazing. If you love chai tea, then you need a slice of this cake. Like today!
Dear David, what a beautiful cake! I love the flavors…sounds delightful my friend. I’ll exchange a mini cheesecake for a slice of this cake 😉 …Have a wonderful day, Catherine
Oh my gosh, I’ll take that deal in a second, Catherine! Cheesecakes are one of my favorite desserts, and yours look amazing. I’ll ship out the cake this morning! 😉
I’m not even a football person, but that is quite the game! This cake looks great! I think I need to make it for my sister, who is a chai lover!
Oh man, Kathy…let me tell ya. That “game” was insane. I think we finally left somewhere around midnite and they were still trying to finish. If your sis loves chai, then this cake will be right up her alley for sure! Thank you! 🙂
I know exactly what you mean – I try replicating my mom’s recipes to a T, but, they ALWAYS turn out differently! And you sure are right, some of the high schools in Atlanta are larger than colleges! I don’t know how Lil Shashi makes it from one class to the next (on the next level) in 5 minutes – I tried – I got lost! UGH!
Oh, BTW, David, when you and Mrs Spiced decide to relieve your days in Atlanta {instead of reminiscing about them 🙂 } Y’all are welcome to come stay with us anytime – and we will be so stoked to have you bring us dessert too! This pound cake and that caramel sauce sounds fantastic!
Hey, maybe that’s part of the challenge to graduate high school. Just find your classrooms and get there on time. Haha! I totally remember those days of having to rush all the way across school to get to your next class. But now I just rush all the way across the kitchen to get a slice of cake. Oh, how times have changed! Haha…we haven’t been back to Atlanta in a while now. I would love to get down there again, but I have a funny suspicion that it might be a bit before we travel again. But thank you for the very kind offer…we will absolutely have to keep that one on the back burner. (And the same goes for you guys if you ever want to make the trek to Saratoga Springs area…it’s beautiful up here. Especially in Fall leaf season.)
Hi David! What a lovely dessert! And I love your fancy bundt pan! I have a friend who uses the “it doesn’t taste the same when I make it” excuse to get me to make her stuff all the time! 🙂
Haha…I may or may not have used that excuse with my Mom in the past. But now that she lives down in Nashville, it’s a little harder to get that to work. So it usually ends up with a frantic phone call to Mom while I’m in the middle of one of her recipes. But in the end it usually turns out well…but just never the same as Mom’s. 🙂
Dude I know a sport more boring than golf or pro baseball: Formula 1 racing. It’s so boring, it’s actually better than sleeping pills. Nothing ever happens…
But this cake…this cake is the opposite of boring. Packs a serious flavor punch and it looks stunning too!
#WolkpackSiesta
Hey, I do agree with you about Formula 1 racing. But it’s difficult to top the Monaco Grand Prix. Sure, moves are few and far between between drivers, but man what an awesome race! If only I had a yacht so I could go over and hang out in Monaco. 🙂
Dude I know a sport more boring than golf or pro baseball: Formula 1 racing. It’s so boring, it’s actually better than sleeping pills. Nothing ever happens.
But this cake, this cake is the opposite of boring. Packs a serious flavor punch and it looks stunning too!
#WolfpackSiesta
First of all, I need that cake pan-STAT! Second of all, I totally agree with you on baseball zzzzz’s all day! And lastly, no I’ve never attended a semi-pro anything. As for the 25 yard penalty I’ll explain it in exchange for this caramel chai pound cake. 🙂 Great post! 🙂
Haha! It is indeed a fun cake pan, Tonya. (Here’s the Amazon shortlink to it: http://amzn.to/1STm6lH) Haha, so you’re holding the 25-yard penalty as hostage for a slice of cake. Oh alright. I’ll make that trade! But I’m curious how you’re going to get out of this one…I watch a lot of football, and I’ve never come across a 25-yard penalty. But then again, I’ve never seen an announcer get ejected from the game…good times!
this cake is gorgeous David, I can smell all the flavors through the screen! 🙂
Thank you so much, Manali! I agree…the smells of chai are totally amazing! 🙂
Pound cake is my weakness! This chai pound cake looks very delicious and moist! One big slice for me, David 🙂
You’re telling me, Savita…pound cake has always been one of my favorites. I literally can’t walk by one without sampling it. This version is definitely a keeper! One slice coming right up! 🙂
Let’s make other falks explain your all these sport things, David! I’d rather do something more important. I mean I’d eat this delicious cake. Such a combo of the flavors, eh?! It could be even better grtilled and topped with a scoop of ice cream. Do you like grilled pound cake, guys? If yes, next time you should take it in the car as well!
I think I can handle that, Ben. There is no real explanation for those football rules. So let’s just stick to eating cake! Grilling the pound cake, eh? Now THAT sounds like an amazing idea. This cake is all gone, but I totally need to give that a shot next time I have a pound cake around. I’m totally intrigued by that. 🙂
I really like football even though I’m no expert on the rules. I have no idea what this 25 yard penalty business is and that game you attended sounds like one hot mess. This pound cake, however, is a total win! I love pound cake so much I could marry it. I’m pretty sure I just got that same shaped pan from the amazon prime day for 7 bucks. I can’t wait to use it and I may just try this caramel chai deliciousness to break it in!
That’s the thing, Rachelle…I think those refs were just making up rules that sounded good to them. Of course, I’ve never seen refs get in a fight with the stadium announcer either. All around good-times there! Oh man, Amazon Prime day. I was tempted to get Prime just to play along…maybe next year. 7 bucks for that pan is a great deal…especially if it leads to a tasty pound cake. 🙂 Oh, and in unrelated news, Happy IPA Day!
This looks fabulous! Love your bundt pan and never thought to combine caramel and chai- two awesome and richly complex flavors 🙂
Thank you so much, Medha! This cake is definitely a favorite around here! 🙂
“You guys know that I love sports”
More like you love anything CHAI flavored. 😉 This looks beyond amazing- I hope you didn’t need to ball room dance to get the shot!
Okay, I went to a college football game (NOT soccer ha!) and I was so confused. I got bored after a while and tried to get two of my friends to kiss for the kiss cam :p Also…golf is a legal sleeping pill. :
Haha…I do indeed love anything chai flavored. Is there a way to combine sports with chai? No? Well fine. I’ll just eat my chai pound cake and watch football in the corner. Also, kissing is a legitimate sport. Why do you think they have kiss cams? Geez.
This looks amazing, so beautiful. Almost too pretty to eat, but I will be eating it.
Thank you so much, Celeste! I agree…it would be such a waste just to sit and look at a tasty cake but never take a bite. 🙂
Hi David! Don’t know why this crawled into my memory/mind today. You are probably too young to remember Denny McClain – he played with Detroit for a while. Well, we grew up in the same neighborhood and went to school together. I was rather a tom boy and we would regularly play sand lot baseball when we were kids. Yeah, I was also the best tree climber in the neighborhood, way better than my brother who was always falling out of trees! Just a flash back!
I’m not familiar with Denny McClain, but I just googled him. He won 30 games in a season? Wow! That’s pretty cool that you used to play sand lot baseball with him. Aren’t trips down memory lane the best? Man, if we could go back to those years, right? 🙂
Sadly I am not a big sports fan, yet definitely a fan of your cooking and baking. This chai pound cake is so beautiful and dense and that drizzle of caramel? Yum…. Have a good weekend.
P.S. Golf is definitely a snooze, I can watch anything but that one.
Yeah, golf is just incredibly boring to me, too! I guess if I played it, then I might find it more entertaining to watch. But eh. Give me a good college football game on a crisp Fall Saturday, and I’m a happy camper…especially if I’ve got the smoker going, too! 🙂