These Are The Best Desserts To Pair With The Spiced Indian Tea, From A Tea Cake Recipe To Coconut Laddoo

Indian chai or tea is slowly becoming a global favorite. It's made with a blend of black tea, milk and spices, and has warm and rich flavors. Matching it with a dessert is going to greatly enhance the taste of the dessert. Here are our picks.

Chai spiced cake

This is a delicious, flavorful cake made with the same spices as the tea, and the two will work especially well together. The warm, aromatic cake and the chai, enjoyed together, make for a satisfying and cohesive experience. Here’s the tea cake recipe you need to follow:

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 170 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• 300 gm granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 2 teaspoons cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 237 ml buttermilk

For the frosting

• 114 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• 113 gm cream cheese, room temperature
• 420 gm powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 36 gm blackberries
• 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons candied ginger
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
• edible gold leaves

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Continue to beat until batter forms a pale yellow color. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
• Alternate folding in the flour mixture and the buttermilk, mixing only until combined.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
• In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and whip to combine, about 1 minute more.
• Place the first cake on a plate, then top with a large dollop of frosting. Layer the second and third layers, frosting in between each. Finish with frosting the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting.
• Last, top your cake with garnishes like blackberries, chopped pistachios, candied ginger, cinnamon sticks, black sesame seeds, and edible gold leaves.

Coconut ladoo

Coconut ladoos are a fun and easy dessert to make. The coconut flavour pairs perfectly with the warm, spiced chai flavours, making for a warm and satisfying contrast.

Ingredients:

• 360 gm coconut – fresh, grated and tightly packed
• 1 teaspoon Ghee
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 4 to 5 green cardamoms crushed in a mortar-pestle
• 200 gm sweetened condensed milk
• 30 gm desiccated coconut or fresh grated coconut – for rolling
• chopped nuts or dry fruits – of your choice, optional

Directions:

• Heat ghee in a heavy frying pan or kadai. Keep flame to a low.
• Add 360 gm tightly packed coconut.
• Stir and roast the coconut on a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. The roasting is to just get rid of some moisture. Don't brown the coconut. If using desiccated coconut, then no need to roast it in ghee. Simply mix the desiccated coconut with condensed milk and heat the mixture.
• Now add the sweetened condensed milk and cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly and cook this mixture on a low heat.
• When you see that the mixture has begun to thicken, then keep stirring nonstop. When the mixture begins to leave the sides of the pan and when you see some coconut fat at the sides, switch off the heat.
• Pour the ladoo mixture in another bowl or pan. Allow it to cool at room temperature.
• When the mixture has cooled completely, pinch small to medium balls from the mixture and form ladoo. Roll the coconut ladoo in desiccated coconut or in fresh coconut evenly. You can also make all the ladoo at once and then roll in the desiccated coconut.
• Place them in small muffin liners or just place them in a tray.
• Serve coconut ladoo straight away or refrigerate and serve them later.
• This ladoo stays good for a week in the fridge.