Chai Brownies

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dessert bars

Servings: 9

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

1 cup boiling water (250 ml)
3 chai tea bags
½ cup butter (113 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup all-purpose flour (148 grams)
⅓ cup cocoa powder (27 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips (120 grams)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
Steep chai tea bags in boiling water for 20 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard. Let tea cool.
Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves and heat for 1 minute or until aromatic. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Combine spiced butter with sugar, whisking until well combined. Add egg, vanilla, and ½ cup brewed chai tea, whisking until combined. Add flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared cake pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour. Slice and serve.

Notes

You can prepare the steeped tea and chai spiced butter the day before.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Steep chai tea

Before we can start making the cake mix, we have to steep the chai tea. I used three chai tea bags to get maximum chai flavor. If your tea is particularly strong, you can adjust the amount accordingly.

After 20 minutes, remove the tea bags and let the tea cool. You can also prepare the tea the day before and chill it in the fridge overnight.

Step 2: Prepare batter

Now, to maximize the chai flavor, we're going to take an extra step and infuse the butter. Melt the butter and add chai spices, including cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, until aromatic.

This chai spice blend has more cinnamon than a traditional recipe, but that's just because I think cinnamon goes wonderfully in these brownies.

Mix the chai butter with sugar until well incorporated. Then, add the chai tea, egg, and vanilla.

You may have noticed that we're only using ½ cup of the tea, but we used 1 cup of water. I found that when I made half the amount of tea, I was unable to get exactly ½ cup of tea. You can always drink the leftover tea, although it may be a bit strong.

Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and pour the chai brownie batter into the prepared pan. I used dark chocolate chips, but you can also use semisweet.

Step 3: Bake

Bake the brownies for 20 minutes or until the edges of the cake start to pull away from the pan. Then comes the hardest part, letting the brownie cool for one hour.

After 60 grueling minutes, slice into the chai brownies and enjoy!

When I tasted the brownie slightly warm, the chai spices weren't as pronounced. However, when they fully cooled, those lovely notes of cinnamon and ginger came through. Now, this is what I call the ultimate chai chocolate treat!

Make-ahead and storage

Make-ahead: You can steep the tea and make the chai-spiced butter the day before.
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days.