Chai Baba

Name: Chai Baba
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 15g instant dry yeast; 5 tbsp lukewarm milk; 2¼ cups plain flour; 3 tbsp caster sugar; 1 tsp fine salt; 2 large eggs, lightly whisked, at room temperature; 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes; 1 cup boiling water; 4 tsp Gewürzhaus Raj’s Whole Chai Tea; Zest and juice of 1 lemon; Zest and juice of 1 orange; 1½ cups brown sugar; ¼ cup rum (optional); 300ml thickened cream; 4 tbsp Gewürzhaus Vanilla Bean Sugar

Medium

Chai Baba

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

European

Servings

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

50 minutes

Rest time

1.5 hours

Ingredients

Baba Dough

15g instant dry yeast
5 tbsp lukewarm milk
2¼ cups plain flour
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine salt
2 large eggs, lightly whisked, at room temperature
60g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes

Chai Syrup

1 cup boiling water
4 tsp Gewürzhaus Raj’s Whole Chai Tea
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1½ cups brown sugar
¼ cup rum (optional)

Vanilla Whipped Cream

300ml thickened cream
4 tbsp Gewürzhaus Vanilla Bean Sugar

Directions

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and set aside for 5–10 minutes until foamy. In a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture, then slowly add the whisked eggs on low speed. Knead until the dough has come together and no longer sticks to the sides. Add the butter one cube at a time until fully combined; the dough is ready when it feels smooth and elastic and springs back when pressed. Cover the bowl with a wet tea towel and leave to rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, make the chai syrup. In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the Raj’s Whole Chai Tea, stir and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Add the tea infusion (leaves included), brown sugar, lemon and orange zest and juice to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then strain through a sieve, add the rum (if using) and set aside.
To make the whipped cream, whip the thickened cream to soft peaks, add Vanilla Bean Sugar and continue whipping until the peaks stiffen. Refrigerate until needed.
Once the dough has risen, grease a mini bundt or muffin tin and divide the dough across 6 cups. Preheat the oven to 180°C and proof for a further 30 minutes. Bake for 7–10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes, poke 4–5 holes in each baba and remove from the tray.
Before serving, soak each baba cake in the chai syrup for 20-30 minutes or until the syrup has soaked through. Top with the vanilla whipped cream and a spoonful of the chai syrup and serve immediately.