Chocolate Cake with Chai Buttercream

Name: Chocolate Cake with Chai Buttercream
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: Tanzanian
Ingredients: Butter or neutral oil, for greasing the pan; Butter or neutral oil, for greasing the pan; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 large egg yolks; 1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream; ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons loose black tea; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1½ teaspoons ground cardamom; 3- inch piece ginger, finely grated; 3 sticks (1½ cups/345 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 6 cups (600 g) powdered sugar; Flaky sea salt, for serving; Dutch-process cocoa powder, use unsweetened cocoa powder; Dutch-process cocoa powder, use unsweetened cocoa powder; Buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough whole milk to measure 1 cup; Buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough whole milk to measure 1 cup; Buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough whole milk to measure 1 cup; Buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough whole milk to measure 1 cup; Olive oil, use vegetable oil; Olive oil, use vegetable oil; Warm water, use 1 cup (240 ml) warm coffee or black tea; Warm water, use 1 cup (240 ml) warm coffee or black tea; Warm water, use 1 cup (240 ml) warm coffee or black tea

Preparation info

Serves
10 to 12

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr

Appears in

Third Culture Cooking

By Zaynab Issa

Published 2025

About

Chocolate cake will always be my favorite. And whenever I think of it, I remember the iconic chocolate fudge cake from the movie Matilda. When I thought of developing a chocolate cake recipe, I knew it needed to be fudgy and tender. Cocoa powder has a tendency to dry things up, but from a few small additions, like oil instead of butter, cornstarch to prevent much gluten from forming, extra egg yolks for richness, and buttermilk for an extra-moist crumb, this perfect chocolate cake was born.

Ingredients

Sub-Saharan Africa
Tanzania
Dessert
Cake
Vegetarian

Ingredients

Method