You could find me drinking Chai Tea Lattes all year ’round, but chai flavors just hit differently when the weather starts to cool and the days shorten. When your soul needs a little warming, toss a sprinkle of this chai spice blend into your favorite hot beverage or baked good.
Chai without Anise?
Yes! Chai flavor is largely attributed to cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and clove. Other flavors like pepper, nutmeg, and anise are largely up for debate. I personally cannot stand anise. Just the smell of it makes me want to gag. I keep star anise on hand for it’s beautiful rustic star shape, but I also double bag it, and put it in a mason jar so I don’t have to smell it. Seriously.
How to season with Chai
Chai goes well pretty much anywhere you would use cinnamon. Chai packs a punch like cinnamon, but has a greater range of flavor. You can sub this spice blend 1-1 with cinnamon in whatever recipe you’re looking to change up. As with other spices, chai’s range of flavor comes out best when it is paired with fat. In a latte, it’s the milkfat. In cookies, it’s the butter. Allow adequate time for the fat to meld with the spices for optimal flavor. That’s the key.
Some of my favorite flavors to pair with chai:
- Apple
- Cherry
- Pumpkin
- Creamy (Cream cheese, butter, milk, cream, mascarpone)
- Banana
- Coffee
- Fig
- Coconut
- Almond
- Caramel
- Chocolate
- Orange
- Oats
- Carrot
To give credit where credit is due, I first learned about this particular chai spice blend from Bake From Scratch. It is a blend attached to their recipe for Gingerbread Chai Cookies. It doesn’t have anise in it, and it is literally the best chai spice I have ever had. Literally, everything the Bake From Scratch team makes is phenomenal. I’ve changed the proportions below, to make a large batch. Trust me, you’re going to want to put this in everything.
Need ideas of things to make with this Chai Spice Blend? Check these out:
Creamy Gluten Free Chai Rice Pudding
Gluten Free Chai Slice and Bake Shortbread
Almond Chai White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chai Spice Blend
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Ground cardamom
- 5 tablespoons Ground Cassia cinnamon
- 8 teaspoons Ground ginger
- 4 teaspoons Ground cloves
- 4 teaspoons Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place a sieve over a small bowl.
- Add each ingredient one at a time, making sure it completely passes though the holes of the sieve into the bowl below.
- Whisk all of the spices together to create a uniform blend.
- Place in a mason jar or ziplock bag to keep fresh.
