Dress up a simple apple cake with chai liqueur

Published 8:59 am Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Chai is a rich, spiced drink from India that lends deep flavors and aromas to this easy apple cake from Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone’s cookbook, “Booze Cakes.”

Most grocers carry chai concentrates that can be diluted with milk and heated for a comforting beverage. If you can’t find the chai cream liqueur called for in this recipe, substitute an equal amount of the concentrate.

Brandy apple chai cake

For the cake:

11/2cups canola oil

2cups sugar

3eggs

21/2cups all-purpose flour

1/8teaspoon ground cloves

11/4teaspoons cinnamon

1/2teaspoon nutmeg

1teaspoon baking soda

3/4teaspoon salt

11/4cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

31/4cups apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/4cup brandy

For the chai glaze:

2cups powdered sugar

1/4Voyant Chai cream liqueur OR 2 tablespoons heavy cream mixed with 2 tablespoons chai concentrate

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 10-inch Bundt cake pan with cooking spray and flour or with baking spray.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the oil and sugar until thick and smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Stir in the walnuts, apples and brandy. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted at the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients.

Remove the cake from the pan by inverting onto a plate or platter. Pour the glaze over it.

Makes 10 servings. Per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 761 calories; 409 calories from fat (54 percent of total calories); 46 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 69 mg cholesterol; 85 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 166 mg sodium.

Adapted from Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone’s “Booze Cakes”