Chai-Spiced Christmas Bundt Cake

I think we can officially say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, december is finally here and that means we are only one month away from the new year. How did 2016 pass so fast?! Now I'm sure a lot of things from my to-do list will have to wait until next year (like organizing my closet, aka 'the black hole') cause right now all I can think about is: 1- what kind of xmas gifts am I gonna buy for the family, and 2- baking like there's no tomorrow because I wanna share with all of you as many recipes as possible before the year ends.

My Instagram feed is full of mince pies, hot chocolates, people decorating their trees and glittery makeup tutorials, so I'm definitely feeling that festive spirit. But it's starting to become like an impossible mission to sneak a workout into my super busy schedule. I so need to exercise every day!...or at least 3-4 days a week. Even if it's a quick 30-minute session, it helps me a lot to unwind and feel better. I should not feel guilty or stress about skipping a workout, though. So here's a little reminder to myself: patience Gem, remember that a shopping day with the sis is like running a marathon!

To kick off december here's a super spiced bundt cake that will make the house smells like Christmas and delight your taste buds. It's very aromatic, has a lovely tender texture and pairs so well with a warm cup of chai tea. Add a blanket, your favorite tv series and you'll have the perfect winter blues remedy.

¡Receta en españo en la web de El Granero Integral!

Chai-Spiced Christmas Bundt Cake
(Yield: enough to fill a 10-cup bundt pan)

Ingredients
1 cup whole spelt flour.
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour.
1/2 cup all-purpose flour.
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder.
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda.
A pinch of Himalayan pink salt.
1/3 cup mild-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
1 cup agave syrup.
1 cup unsweetened soy milk.
2 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar.
1 tablespoon chinese five spice powder.
1 tablespoon (or 1 saquet) rooibos chai tea.
1/3 cup mix of raisins and dried cranberries, roughly chopped.
Coconut flour or confectioner's sugar, for dusting.
Red berries, to decorate.

Notes:

- Chinese five spice powder is a blend of different spices used in many asian recipes. If you can't find/don't have chinese five spice powder you can mix the following spices in order to create the same aroma and flavor as mine: cinnamon, fennel, star anise, ginger and clove (all ground).

- Instead of agave syrup you can use pure maple syrup or brown rice syrup. I haven't tried it with coconut syrup but since it has a darker color and it's a bit thicker the texture of the bundt cake might vary.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF) and thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt cake pan.

In a small saucepan combine the soy milk and rooibos chai tea and heat to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let the milk infuse until it reaches room temperature, add in a little bit more milk to make sure we'll have enough milk to measure because the tea will absorb a bit of liquid. Remember to discard the saquet/tablespoon of rooibos before proceeding with the cake recipe.

In a large mixing bowl sift in the whole spelt flour and the whole wheat flour, if the wholemeal flours you usually buy have a lot of fiber I'd recommend to measure the cups after sifting and discard the remainder bran. Using a hand whisk mix in the all purpose flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.

In a separate bowl whisk the oil, agave syrup, infused milk and vinegar. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute approximately.

Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until a soft batter forms. Gently fold in the dried fruit and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes approximately, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, unmold and cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

Dust the cake with powdered sugar or coconut sugar and decorate with some red berries like currants or cranberries.