About This Recipe
There’s something magical about the combination of rich chocolate and warming chai spices, especially when baked into a fragrant loaf cake. The creamy, bittersweet depth of chocolate perfectly balances the cozy flavors of chai spices, creating a harmony that’s both indulgent and comforting. This pairing is especially fitting for winter, when we crave treats that feel like a warm hug on a chilly day. Chocolate chai spice bread is a delicious way to embrace the season’s flavors and bring a little extra warmth to your table.
What Is Chai?
Chai is a type of spiced tea that comes from India. It’s made by mixing black tea with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves, along with milk and sugar. Chai is warm, sweet, and full of flavor, and it’s a big part of daily life and sharing with others in India and beyond.
What I Love About This Recipe
This chocolate chai spice recipe seems to strike a perfect balance—just enough chocolate to satisfy without being overwhelming. The warm aroma of chai spices fills the kitchen as it bakes, making it feel like a cozy winter day no matter the season. Cream cheese in the batter adds richness and keeps the loaf moist, while the use of sourdough discard gives it a unique depth of flavor. To top it all off, the spiced cream cheese frosting takes the loaf to the next level, adding a creamy, sweet finish with a hint of spice.
All The “Why’s”
Spice Mixture
The chai spices used in this recipe give the chocolate bread a warm and rich flavor. Cinnamon adds sweetness and warmth, while cardamom gives it a light, citrusy taste. Ginger brings a bit of spice and heat, making the flavors pop. Allspice, cloves, and nutmeg add deep, earthy flavors that go perfectly with chocolate. Together, they make the bread taste cozy and full of delicious spices.
Chocolate
For this recipe, I chose to use a partial bar of chocolate which is melted and blended into the batter. A chocolate bar contains cocoa solids, sugar, and cocoa butter (as opposed to just concentrated cocoa) which adds both flavor and fat to the recipe. It creates a richer, smoother texture and deeper, though not overbearing, chocolate taste.
Cream Cheese
Cream cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in quick bread recipes because it improves flavor, moisture retention, and texture. It adds richness and a slight tanginess that balances sweetness and adds depth to the bread. With about 50-55% water content, cream cheese is naturally moist, helping keep the bread soft. It also contains a high percentage of fat (33%), which enhances the bread’s ability to retain moisture. Together, these things help create a velvety and tender crumb with a creamy texture.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is used as a sweetener in this quick bread, though it also adds moisture and flavor to the bread. This means you can increase or reduce the amount to your personal preference, noting that less sugar will lead to a bread that is slightly more dry. The difference between brown sugar and white sugar is molasses. I chose brown sugar because I felt the deep flavors of the molasses compliment the chocolate and spices well. In reality, you can use either (brown or white) and come out with great results.
Butter
While fat can have many purposes in a recipe, one major effect is moisture retention. Without it, the loaf would be dry and crumbly. Butter pairs well with the flavors of this dish, joining teams with the cream cheese to serve just this purpose: to keep the loaf from drying out.
Sourdough Discard
Sourdough discard is a source of moisture as well as a binder in this recipe. Though we still have to use flour to create a slightly thicker batter, we do not have to add any other source of liquid, aside from the eggs. The main goal with any of my sourdough discard recipes is to use as much as possible, while still obtaining great results, and this recipe does just that by using an entire cup (225 g) of discard.
It is important to note that with this much sourdough discard, your bread may or may not be sour. It all depends on your maintenance routine and the health of your starter. You can taste your discard (just a smidgen) before making this recipe – it’ll tell you what the results might look like! I have made this recipe many times and have never had a sour outcome, while others cannot even imagine making a recipe like this because their discard is so sour. Sourness comes from the bacteria in your starter. When they overpopulate, you can taste it.
Eggs
The more eggs you add to your bread, the more cake-like the bread becomes. That’s because the proteins in eggs help trap air and structure your bread. Eggs add fluff and moisture, as well as make your bread lighter and taller. I find two eggs to be the perfect balance: not too cake-like, but also not too dense.
Vanilla
Vanilla adds a sweet, warm, and slightly floral note that balances the sugar and other flavors, making the bread taste richer and more complete.
All-Purpose Flour
While I do try to eliminate flour in some of my discard recipes, it is not possible with this one. Flour adds necessary structure to an otherwise soupy batter. For this bread, I like the batter to be a little bit loose, though not too loose (or the bread would be very delicate). It is better to add a little bit extra flour in this recipe than not enough.
It is also important to note that all-purpose flour is superior to bread flour in any quick bread recipe. In fact, the lower the protein content, the better. Though I have not tested it, cake flour may even work wonders. The problem is: cake flour is not a staple ingredient in many homes; therefore, I choose not to base a recipe off of it unless it is absolutely necessary. The reason all-purpose flour is important is the same reason we mix this batter until “just incorporated” – gluten development is not desired. The development of gluten produces a chewy texture, which is not desirable in baked goods, such as quick breads.
Leavening
This recipe uses a balance of baking powder and baking soda to leaven the bread, rather than the sourdough discard. This means you can bake your bread right away, without waiting for sourdough to do its magic. I prefer chemical leavening for sourdough discard recipes because we are using starter that is not in its prime state, and may not leaven well. While it is true that the addition of flour feeds the yeast, and you may get a slow rise, sourdough-discard-leavened bread has the potential to be more sour, due to the ever populating bacteria (which are responsible for the sour flavor) and still may not rise properly.
If you want to try long fermentation, do it in the refrigerator and wait to add the baking powder and soda until you are ready to bake. While the yeast in your starter will not function well (due to the cold temperatures), the bacteria will still work to break down the flour during this time. Still adding the baking powder and soda ensures you get a loaf that has been appropriately aerated (since the yeast from your discard will not be able to adequately do this on their own).
Salt
Salt brings out flavor. I use just a touch in this recipe to enhance all the flavors in this quick bread.
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
The final touch and perfect garnish. Though you don’t have to have it, I wouldn’t skip it.
📌 Quick Tip: Read the recipe in its entirety before you start cooking. This will help you understand the ingredients, steps, and timing involved, and allow you to prepare any necessary equipment or ingredients beforehand.
Chocolate Chai Spice Bread
Ingredients
Chai Spice Blend
Batter
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
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Preheat an oven to 350 F (175 C).
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Mix together all ingredients for the chai spice blend in a small bowl or container. Set aside.
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Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, cream together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and butter in a medium bowl until homogenous and some air is incorporated, about three minutes.
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Add the melted chocolate; blend.
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Add the sourdough discard, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix until homogenous and the gluten network (if any) from the sourdough discard is dissipated. Set the mixture aside.
- (When I add the sourdough discard, I like to switch to these dough hooks for my handheld mixer, which prevent the discard from climbing.)
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In a smaller bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp of the chai spice blend, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then stir until everything is just incorporated.
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Pour the batter into a greased 9X5 loaf pan or a bundt pan, and bake in your preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Optionally, you can make these into muffins, baking for about 20 minutes. -
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Combine all ingredients for the frosting in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
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When the chocolate chai spice bread is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least ten minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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Top with frosting and enjoy!
Equipment
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Nutrition Facts
Servings 12
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 400.98kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 18.72g29%
- Saturated Fat 10.79g54%
- Trans Fat 0.33g
- Cholesterol 76.03mg26%
- Sodium 336.86mg15%
- Potassium 137.59mg4%
- Total Carbohydrate 53.53g18%
- Dietary Fiber 1.33g6%
- Sugars 33.95g
- Protein 6.4g13%
- Vitamin A 153.33 IU
- Vitamin C 0.09 mg
- Calcium 114.75 mg
- Iron 1.86 mg
- Vitamin D 0.2 IU
- Vitamin E 0.6 IU
- Vitamin K 1.83 mcg
- Thiamin 0.23 mg
- Riboflavin 0.25 mg
- Niacin 1.66 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.06 mg
- Folate 21.54 mcg
- Vitamin B12 0.16 mcg
- Phosphorus 148.61 mg
- Magnesium 20.92 mg
- Zinc 0.64 mg
* Nutrition values are auto-calculated and should be used as an approximation only.
Notes
- Storage: Store on the counter for three to five days, or slice and store in the freezer. No need to reheat, enjoy straight from the counter. From the freezer, allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- For muffins: Bake at 350 F (175 C) for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes about 20 muffins. While you could bake these at a higher baking temperature for more of a peaked (instead of flat) top, I find the result is more moist with the lower baking temperature.
