Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake
I got the urge to bake at about 9:30 last night, so I decided to make something we could eat for breakfast this morning. Of course, we wound up eating part of it last night because it smelled so good in the oven, but there was plenty left for a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast.
Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake
1 cup strong chai tea
1/3 cup uncooked quick (not instant) oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger (use more for a spicier cake)
3/4 cup vegan sugar (I used demerara)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut, 2 tbsp reserved
Prepare the chai ahead of time by steeping two teabags (I used decaffeinated Tazo Chai) in one cup of boiling water until cool.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Combine the dry ingredients (oatmeal through sugar) in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the chai, applesauce, vinegar, extracts, and all but 2 tablespoons of the coconut. Mix well, and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the reserved coconut and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This turned out lightly spiced, lightly sweet, and very dense. E. liked it so much that she asked for it to be her birthday cake. I think it works better as the equivalent of a coffee cake (a chai cake?) than as a birthday cake. It was actually perfect for breakfast. . . and for a midnight snack.
Here's the nutritional breakdown, based on 9 servings: 179 Calories; 2g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 273mg Sodium; 3g Dietary Fiber; 3 Weight Watchers Points
UPDATE: Check out the new sugar-free version!
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free kid-friendly
posted by SusanV at 1:57 PM
70 Comments:
Sounds delicious! I haven't experimented yet with chai in baked goods, but this recipe may push me to do so.
Looks wonderful! I love coconut, but can never find it anywhere unsweetened. :(
The thought of chai flavored anything is appealing to me!
Susan, this looks really good!
Hi, Susan.
Hubby is not much into sweet stuff but he loves chai. I wonder what he would think about this cake. There's only one way to find out, right?
And I do have really good loose leaf chai tea right now.
Shawn, have you tried asking your co-op if they would carry the unsweetened coconut for you?
This is inspired! I love chai-flavored dishes. I've done a chai "ice cream" and chai-flavored crepes with a vegan "ricotta" filling and grilled fruit. Gotta try this one!
This sounds absolutely fantastic! I love chai-spiced things.
Oh, and I'm really wishing (just wishing-no pressure, lol) that a birthday cake blog is in the works:)
And I really love that plate, and the story behind it.
wow that looks wonderful. I've been wondering what to make when my daughter's friend comes from out of town - I think I'll make this for breakfast one day. With some fruit and juice he'll never notice we pulled a vegan breakfast on him!
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Chai is coming up in a lot of baked goods recently - great use!
Hi Monkey Eat Food--This was my first chai experiment too, so I was happy that it turned out as well as it did!
Shawn, I find unsweetened coconut in the baking section of the supermarket, right by the sweetened kind. I'm surprised you haven't got it there.
Thanks, Melissa!
Kaivegan, this isn't a super-sweet cake, so maybe your husband will like it.
Wow, Bryanna, chai crepes and chai ice cream sound fantastic! I hope you have the recipes on your website--or put them on your new blog!
Hi Fiber--Chai is one of my favorite flavors, too. It's not super-spicy in this recipe, though, so real spice lovers might want to crank up the spices a bit. But I like being able to detect the taste of the chai without it overpowering the coconut.
Hey again, KaiVegan--well, I'm a bit boring about birthday cakes. I've been using the same recipe ever since my daughter turned one! That recipe is here. I do vary it somewhat with different fillings and frostings, so I'll post a blog entry about it after her birthday next month. It won't be fatfree, though!
Hey Nancy--If you make it, please let me know how you like it. :-)
Hey Ramya--I'm so glad to hear that you went ahead with the lotus chips and they turned out well! Thanks for letting me know.
And to all--Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Also, I've edited the post to include nutritional information for anyone who's interested.
I would love to hear about the cake frosting, Susan.
I guess, you could start calling me a fan of this blog, too. (lol) I made this cake and it turned out moist and delicious. I love that it's not too sweet. You're right, dh loved it and I'm thinking of making it again sometime this week.
I'm off to make lunch now. If you must know, I'm making Korean Stew- thanks to you!
Also, I believe I had bookmarked this cake recipe from you already and I'm planning on making it for A's birthday.
Susan, I just posted a link to this recipe on my blog post for today, because I posted an Indian-style breakfast dish, and this would make a great brunch dessert to go along with it. Those recipes I mentioned are from my newsletter, but I will post them sometime when they are "old news" to my subscribers.
Wow, Kaivegan, I am so happy to hear that you liked the cake! Sometimes I worry that things I like aren't necessarily things that other people will like. I'm glad to hear that this one was a winner in your house. I can't wait to hear about that birthday party! :-)
And Bryanna, I'm honored that you mentioned this cake on your blog! I'll be looking for you to post the chai recipes sometime in the future. Thanks!
I have a question! When you use "ginger," do you use grated (powdered) ginger, fresh ginger, or pickled ginger? Does it make a difference if you substitute? Also, why do you use two kinds of flour for this recipe?
You are the best Susan. This blog actually inspired me to be vegan. And that is definitely hard for a 25-year old that has never cooked!
Randi! That is so terrific! I am so happy to hear that there's a new vegan in the world. :-)
To answer your question, in this recipe I used the powdered ginger you find in the spice rack. In a lot of my other recipes, though, I use fresh ginger. You can usually tell when I mean the fresh because I'll say "minced" or chopped.
Thank you so much for posting!
I don't know how people feel about splenda, but when I made this I took out the sugar and used half the required amount of Splenda in its place. This made it low-fat and low-calorie!
mmm, this looks fantastic! i love chai and coconut has to be one of my most favorite things. yum.
I just found a low-fat grated unsweetened coconut at my health food store-- says some of the fat is steam-extracted and it's 36% lower in fat than regular coconut. Worth a try!
Ohh I love chai! Yum!
Do you think I could do this recipe using chai concentrate instead of tea bags. Would I just use a cup of chai or would I have to dilute it with milk? When you use it to make a drink you use 1 part chai and 1 part soymilk.
Didn't like that low-fat coconut! Dry and kinda tasteless, unless you really chew on it. And, looking at the nutrition facts, it's not really that much of a difference. 30 g. of "Lets Do...Organic Unsweetened Coconut Lite" (1/2 cup) contains 142 calories, 12 g fat. (That company has some great products, BTW.) 28 g of ordinary unsweetened grated desiccated coconut contains 153 calories and 18 g fat-- not bad if you spreading it out among 8 pieces of cake or 12 muffins, or soemthing like that.
Hi Amy--I think it would probably work with the concentrate, though you may have to dilute it a little--I'd use water and dilute it about 2 parts concentrate to 1 part water.
Bryanna, thanks for letting me know. It will save me from wasting my money on it!
OMG! This looks amazing!!!
Wow, that looks awesome! But my roommate is allergic to coconut - any chance this would work without it?
P-Sure! I'd try substituting shredded carrot or apple for the coconut,except for the part sprinkled on top--just skip that.
Has anyone tried making this with stevia? I'm hypoglycemic so I'd like to learn how to bake with this sugar alternative, but I'm a little uncertain how to make up for the smaller quantities of stevia needed for sweetness.
Hi Lake Desire, I've experimented with substituting stevia for part of the sugar in a recipe, but I haven't done it completely sugar-free. What I've done is reduce the sugar by half, use 1/4 tsp. of pure stevia extract (I insist on KAL brand) for each 1/4 cup sugar that I omit, and reduce the liquid a little. So in this recipe, I would suggest using 3/8 cup of sugar, 3/8 tsp. of stevia, and reduce the amount of chai by a tablespoon or two. Reducing the chai may not be necessary at all--I would have to experiment with it to see.
If you want to replace the sugar completely, you'll definitely need to adjust the liquid. Please let me know if you experiment with this recipe and find a sugar-free version that works.
Thank you, Susanv. I'll keep you updated on the results. I just found your blog through the Carnival of Empty cages and plan on being a regular reader. :)
Hey Lake Desire, if you're still around--I just found the Carnival this morning, and read your This is What a Vegan Looks Like. Great article!
I've got some chai steeping, and I'm about to make 1/2 a recipe of the cake using no sugar at all. I'll let you know how it comes out. If it comes out well, I'll post it as a new entry. If it's bad, well, we'll see. I'll at least leave a comment about it here if it's a failure. :-)
Well made this last night for this mornings breakfast. Though of course we had to sample it last night. :)
It is very good, not to sweet which I like for I hate really sweet things. The only change I made was to use all whole wheat pastry flour as I am not a big fan of white flour. The texture was particularly good, moist and dense. The only thing I might try is to add a bit of cardamom with the cinnamon and the ginger since to me thats what make chai taste like chai. This is the second recipe I have tried of yours in the past week that I have been reading your blog and they have both been excellent. You are to good to keep giving them away for free!
Lorela, that is so sweet of you to say! And I agree that cardamom would be a nice addition to this; the next time I make it I'm going to pump up the spices a little more.
And all you sugar-free people--check out the link at the bottom to my new sugar-free version.
Yes I'm still here. :) I'm glad you enjoyed my post!
I just made the cake for the second time fora birthday party and eveyone LOVED it. People ate like three pieces each. Thank goodness there wasnt any to take home. Dont need that temptation in my house. YUMMY!
PS- I used Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea this time and it rocked
I have made this cake twice and absolutely LOVE this cake!! Moist, delicious, flavorful - great for dessert or breakfast!
I have made a few slight mods based on what I had in my kitchen: bread flour instead of whole-wheat flour, and regular granulated sugar instead of the vegan sugar.
I used a total of 1 tsp of home-made chai masala (1/2 tsp for the cup of chai, and 1/2 tsp to substitute for the 1/4 tsp ginger), which was lovely! Oh, for the chai, I used Celestial Seasonings brand, Original India Spice.
I also experimented with adding 1-2 Tbsp of canola oil and leaving out an equal amount of the coconut -- which also worked well.
Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe.
My husband and I tried this recipe tonite - it was delicious! (We had it for dessert rather than for breakfast.) I used my Bosch Mixer, and it worked really well. http://www.spoilthecook.com/Results.cfm?category=6
I've bookmarked your site - I'll keep checking back for more great recipes. Thanks!
Hi Susan: I just found this recipe today after searching your recipe index for a muffin recipe. I just finished eating a piece and it's delicious! I used some dried coconut (smaller bits than the flakes) and it came out quite nice. I also made my own chai with good British tea bags (Typhoo decaf) and some tea masala from Kenya (Tropical Heat Brand). I'll be putting a piece in my daughter's lunch tomorrow! btw- I am also addicted to your Lite Goddess Dressing. I love it! Thanks for the wonderful cooking resource.
Just wanted to thank you for a delicious recipe! I was skeptical because I've tried several low-fat baking recipes that have turned out really badly (rubbery, flavourless), but this recipe suffers from neither of those afflictions. It has a light, muffin-like texture, and a very nice, mildly sweet, slightly spicy taste. It's great!
I just tried my bread I made last night! Made it in a loaf pan and replaced two extra ripe bananas for apple sauce and used 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup sweetener as well as coconut extract in place of almond. This bread is AMAZING, soo moist and so healthy! I cannot believe this has no eggs in it. KUDOS to you :) keep postin. P.S The Chai adds the most wonderful "secret ingredient" like quality
I really loved this cake. Thank you for the recipe. I made it this evening, because looked so good, and posted about it on my blog: http://sweetavenuebakeshop.com/blog
celestial seasons makes a wonderful Sweet Coconut Thai Chai! I will definitely have to try this recipe using that tea and hope you will consider it as well!
This was amazing! I sent some of it to my junk-food addict, carnivorous father and he thought it was great! (didn't tell him where i got the recipe or what was in it!) I used Yogi Tea's Indian Spice, which is naturally decaf and definitely on the spicey side. I thought the cake had the perfect level of spicey-ness. Oh, and I used coconut extract instead of almond because that's what i had.
Hi Susan - just made this coconut chai cake and really enjoyed it as a change from the richer cakes I usually make - it especially pleased my partner and I plan on making it again for snacks - thought I would say thanks!
Dear Susan,
I just made this cake yesterday for a friend of mine coming for tea.
It came out great, spicy and slightly gooey, which I like.
Tonight I'm trying your lasagna (and consider I'm Italian!)
Thanks for all your great tips.
Hi there,
I just stumbled accross your blog by using stumbleupon and love the design of the whole thing! I normally skip straight past food blogs as I have over 20 in my RSS and dont even have enough time to read the ones that I have! I am started out as a blogger myself and always tried to keep the design simple like yours as I think it is crucial, especially if you can back it up with some nice food pics like yours! Keep up the good work and if you feel like sharing some of the photos with other foodies pop over to www.ifoods.tv which is my new site for foodies! Cheers!
Hi Susan,
I wanted to let you know that I tried this last night. It's wonderful and so easy to make. I used all whole wheat flour and turned them into cupcakes. I will definitely make it again. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Susan, I just made this cake for my homeroom and everyone that tried it loved it. It was a lot more simple than I expected and I am delighted with the outcome! Thanks for all you do! Happy Holidays!
Dear Susan,
Thank you so much for the idea of this recipe, I tried it today and it came out fabulous, with 'un goût très fin' as the French would put it (sorry, I'm lacking English gourmet words!).
Just a thought though, from what I see you try to keep your recipes as simple as possible, and while fetching the ingredients I thought I would need to buy applesauce before realizing that applesauce is the simplest thing to make in a kitchen (ok, you still need to cut the apples...). It lengthened the preparation time a bit, but with good music, it wasn't a problem!
Thanks heaps, I'll try to make the French like vegan recipes now :)
elsa
I loved this cake, but my non-vegan family and friends weren't quite as impressed. I think the problem was that I advertised it as a coffee cake, and it really has more of a muffin-like consistency. Next time I'm going to try making muffins or use a loaf pan instead... it's weird how the name you give things can change people's response to what their eating.
I had a question about the oatmeal. I used old-fashioned oats, but the packaging doesn't say "quick" anywhere. I know they're not instant, but I'm not sure if they're quick. Are there other ways to tell?
Hi Gwen, sorry about your family's reaction. About the oatmeal--the quick kind takes less time to cook than the regular and will say "quick" on the package. If all the oatmeal cooked okay--didn't leave little uncooked chunks--then it probably doesn't matter if you use regular old-fashioned oats. I just indicated quick because that's what I used.
I made this delicious cake last night, and my partner loves it. My only negative comment is that the texture is somewhat rubbery. I had to bake it in a bundt pan because someone stole the regular cake pans from my dorm, but that shouldn't have made that much of a difference. I tried pretty hard not to over-stir it, so i'm a little confused about why this may be.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
HI Susan,
Well, I'm here to report another magical muffin transformation. . .this made lovely muffins with the homemade gluten free baking mix I've come up with thanks to Karina's blog. I dropped the sugar down to 1/2 cup and added 2 tbs of agave nectar. I also had this little ripe organic mango from Mexico that was on sale at my co-op, and I got the idea to puree some of it for the applesauce part. Since I can't do coconut, I shredded carrots and added coconut extract in with the almond and vanilla. I baked them at 375 for about 18 minutes. It made ten muffins. Oh, and I put one of them in a silicone muffin cup and it came out fine after letting it cool, so now I think it is okay to use those with the gluten free mix. Anyway, thought you'd enjoy this new riff on an old delicious favorite!
Thanks again!
moonwatcher
Wow how original! Chai + cake = has to be good!
Unfortunately, I am also one of those people who can't find unsweetened flaked coconut in my town---I'll have to get some the next time I am in Savannah, Ga.
Thanks for such a lovely recipe!
As a brand new vegan, you've tempted me with this chai cake! I'm a chai fiend... so I can't wait to try this one out, either as a cake or muffins.
Wonder what type of frosting or glaze would work with this recipe... maybe a vanilla glaze with coconut flakes?
Oops-- also wondering about using agave instead of sugar-- are there any substitutions I'd need to make, for density?
You could try using agave nectar instead of sugar and increase the flour by a tablespoon or two. For a glaze, I would skip sprinkling the top with coconut and add the glaze after they're cooked--then add the coconut on top. If you want to stick with agave nectar, you could use it as a glaze but it won't be as thick as one made with confectioner's sugar.
I made this last night, I replaced 1/4 C of the sugar w/ 5 packets of truvia (stevia and something out of a grapefruit, they just started selling it here) I also replaced the coconut w/ grated carrot ( I still sprinkeled some coconut on top).
The results were very good, it didn't taste low-fat. I used double spice chai and doubled the ginger.
Thank you for the great recipe!
This is my first attempt at vegan baking..this made my entire apartment smell amazing! Really tastey thank you! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!!
Thank you for this recipe! It got a "YUM" rating from my non-vegan husband who also does not like coconut. I used an additional 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground cardamon and doubled the ginger and tea bags.
Love, love, love your recipes. I've made this cake several times, to rave reviews. It is so moist and rich, no one would guess it has no added fat, let alone vegan! I am a McDougaller, and really appreciate your blog!
I am planning on making this cake for my sister, the moment I saw the recipe, I knew it would be her DREAM cake... coconut AND chai? very ideal! But before I embark on this, I was wondering what type of vinegar you use... could I use apple cider vinegar? Thank you so much for your time and most of all, DELICIOUS recipes :)
Schmee, apple cider vinegar would be fine. Hope your sister enjoys it!
My mother and I absolutely love this cake! I only used half of the recipe because it's only her and myself. It was the perfect amount spice and sweetness. Definitely looking forward to having some with coffee tomorrow. Great recipe!
My sister absolutely loved it... we will be makin this many many times in the future, thank you! (I only had unsweetened shredded coconut, and sweetened flaked, so I used the shredded for the inside and flaked on top, and was really pleased with the texture)
This was really yummy! I'm glad to find some healthy and tasty recipes. I LOVE the chai flavor!
I'm new to working with vegan recipes, and I noticed it has a much moister texture than other (non-vegan) cakes/muffins - is this typical of vegan baking?
About finding the unsweetened coconut - my grocery store only has sweetened coconut in the baking section, but they carry the unsweetened kind in the produce section.
== Cynthia
I would love to try this recipe for my daughter (who has an oat allergy). Is there anything that you would recommend as a substitution for oats without compromising the flavor and texture? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
It's in the oven now and smells absolutely delicious!!
Hi Susan, I made this today, and it is delicious! I'm going to try not to eat the whole thing myself. :)
I just finished eating (not by myself!) the third installation of this cake that I've made in the last three weeks. Yes, that means about one a week. The first time I made it exactly as the recipe called for, except I used all whole wheat flour. It was tasty, but a little bit boring.
The second time, I used buckwheat flour because a gluten-free friend was coming over. I also added some diced fresh ginger. It was a little closer, but it was dry.
For this last one, which was amazing, I added a ton of fresh ginger (probably and inch and a half by 3/4ths of an inch) and currants. I increased the chai (I used Stash's Double Spice Chai Black Tea, two teabags, yum) to a cup and a half because I knew the currants would absorb the water. I also added a decent bit of Allspice and nutmeg, because I love spice.
The fresh bites of ginger and currant add a few calories, but it's so worth it. It's amazing and delicious (not that the original wasn't!). Of course, if you don't like strong flavors, it's probably awful. My husband categorized it by saying that I had "kicked the flavor knob up to 11."
... I'm going to make another gluten-free one for this weekend too. I'm going to turn into chai cake, but that wouldn't be so bad!
Susan - Just wanted to let your gluten-free readers know I worked up a GF version of this cake that I really love, subbing quinoa flakes for the oatmeal and using a mixture of my favorite gluten-free flours. I also added raisins, just because I like raisins in spicy-sweet breakfast things. Gluten-free folks are invited to stop by Fickle Feast if they want in on the coconut chai yumminess!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home