Pistachio Chai Coffee Cake

Recipe by @nourishedendeavors

Makes one 9 inch cake

Ingredients 

Crumb Topping and Filling 

• 1 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled 

• 1/3 Cup Unsalted Roasted Pistachios, Roughly Chopped

• 2/3 Cup Dark or Light Brown Sugar, Packed

• 3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, Melted

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dona Chai’s Zero Waste Spice Dust (Masala Chai) 

• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt (omit if using salted pistachios)

Coffee Cake Batter

• 2 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled
  
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder 

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dona Chai’s Zero Waste Spice Dust (Masala Chai) 

• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda 

• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 

• 3 Large Eggs, Room Temperature 

• 3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature 

• 3/4 Cup Plain Whole Milk Yogurt, Room Temperature 

• 1/4 Cup Whole Milk, Room Temperature 

• 1/4 Cup Neutral Flavored Oil i.e. Avocado or Vegetable Oil 

• 1 1/2  Teaspoons Chai Concentrate

Glaze 

• 3/4 Cup Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar, Sifted 

• 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, Melted 

• 1-2 Tablespoons Milk

• 1/2 Teaspoon Chai Concentrate

Instructions 

Crumb Topping and Filling

In a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together the flour, brown sugar, chai spice, and salt. 

Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a fork to combine. 

Allow the crumb mixture to firm up, about 5-10 minutes. Once firm, use your hands or a fork to break up the larger clumps into smaller pea-sized pieces. 

Set the crumb mixture aside as the cake batter is prepared.

Coffee Cake Batter 

Preheat the oven to 325F. Generously grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch tube baking pan. Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, chai spice, and salt. Whisk ingredients together to combine. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a separate large mixing bowl with a hand electric mixer, add the butter, oil and sugar. 

Mix butter mixture together at medium high speed until it appears thick and fluffy in appearance, about 2-3 minutes. 

Next, mix in the yogurt and chai concentrate into the wet batter. 

Beat the eggs into the wet batter one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. 

Reduce mixer speed to low. In an alternating fashion, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, mix half of the dry ingredients into the wet batter followed by all of the milk and ending with the remaining dry ingredients. 

Stop the mixer and use a flexible spatula to scrape the side and base of the mixing bowl. 

Resume mixing cake batter for one minute at medium speed to ensure a smooth cake batter. 

Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth out the batter into an even layer. 

Evenly sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the cake batter.

Spoon the remaining cake batter over crumb filling and spread out into an even layer with a spatula. 

With the remaining crumb mixture, mix in the pistachios before evenly sprinkling over the cake batter.

Gently tap the baking pan against the counter top 1-2 times before baking the cake for 50-60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through bake time. 

Coffee cake is ready when a toothpick insert into the center comes out clean. 

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

Assembly 

In a small mixing bowl, add and whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, chai concentrate and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk into a thick but pourable glaze. 

If glaze appears too thick, mix in additional milk ½ teaspoon at a time until you have a thick but pourable glaze. 

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to set before serving.