Early Grey Tea Cake is sweet, chocolatey, zesty, and DELICIOUS! The flavor of tea leaves is throughout the cake and infused in the icing with swirls of melted dark chocolate and flakes of orange zest throughout. Every bite is so good! I couldn't stop eating this cake.
Why is this cake so GOOD?
This cake is perfect for a small celebration or to enjoy a lovely cake on the weekend! I made this cake to try out for myself and, to be honest, I don't know if I would have wanted to share. It is that GOOD! If you love chocolate and tea, you will absolutely LOVE this cake.
I have been really into one-layer cakes and loaf cakes lately. I find they are relatively easy to make and they don't take as much time with assembly as a multi-layer cake does. The assembly is to flip the cake, let it cool, smooth out a heaping spoonful of frosting, and sprinkle on some kind of topping. I would give this cake 5 out of 5 stars in the flavor category so you don't need any fancy decorations on top. I sprinkled a little but if tea leaves with chocolate shavings on top to make it pretty and presentable.
Look at the GLORIOUS cake batter! You can see the speckled tea leaves throughout the cake with chunks of dark chocolate throughout. It is a beautiful combination. The cake comes out beautifully with an amazing pattern. I let my cake sit in the pan for about 15 minutes before flipping and I always use a butter knife to slide around the edges to ensure the cake does not stick before flipping the cake.
What is so great about Earl Grey Tea?
Early Grey tea is a classic British tea that is a black tea flavored with oil from the rind of bergamot orange citrus fruit. While Earl Grey tea is famous in Britain it's is not a British invention. It was actually discovered and made in China and later brought over to Great Britain. However, it was discovered it is my favorite tea to drink in the morning and it tastes amazing on this CAKE. Tea-infused cakes taste so flavorful. You will be addicted once you try this cake! I drink so much tea throughout the day and I love all the different flavors of tea. I prefer to drink black tea and Earl Grey is my go-to for a classic black tea. I also drink a ton of chamomile and green teas in the evening. Tea is so refreshing and filled with antioxidants so it is healthy as a drink. Of course, I love to add tons of sugar to my tea which makes it not as healthy. If you love tea and you love cake then this is the cake for you.
A few tips for success:
Icing - take the time to prep the icing so that the tea leaves can infuse into the cream. It makes all the difference I promise! Also, chilling the cream is essential to help with the whipping later. It will help create that perfect whipped consistency that you want for icing.
Chocolate - I would highly recommend using a chocolate bar and chopping it up into chunks for this cake. It makes perfect melted flakes in the cake. You can use chocolate chips and chop up those chips in tiny bits to get that flakey consistency.
Storage - the cake will store well in the refrigerator for a week in an air-tight container. I would recommend when you are ready to devour a slice to heat it up for 20 seconds in the microwave. I personally prefer this cake slightly warm. Trust me. It tastes magical.
Tea - For this cake, you need early grey loose leaf tea to bake in the cake. I use Harney and Sons earl grey tea bags and cut up the bags to get the loose leaves. You can also purchase pure loose leaf Early Grey Tea. You could probably try this cake out with any tea but the Earl Grey is perfect in this cake.
Cream cheese vs mascarpone cheese - I love cream cheese frosting so I prefer using cream cheese. I also always keep cream cheese in my fridge for baking purposes. Marscopone will work well for the frosting and it is milder in flavor so the tea will come up stronger in the icing.
Check out how to make this cake in the video below:
Zesty Earl Grey Tea Cake
Serving size: 1 cake
Total Time: 1 hour and 35 mins
Source: Adapted from NYT Cooking
Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon loose leaf Earl Grey tea
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons orange zest (about 1 large orange)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate chunks
Frosting:
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons loose Earl Grey tea
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (or mascarpone)
Step 1: Make the frosting first. In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the loose leaf tea, boil for 30 seconds, and then remove from the heat. Cover the pot and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes. Once ready, strain the tea, and chill the remaining cream.
Step 2: To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan.
Step 3: In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest, eggs, and beat until combined. Add in the flour, tea leaves, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined. Then mix in the milk. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
Step 4: Make the frosting, add the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream and the confectioners’ sugar to the tea mixture. With an electric mixer, beat the cream mixture until fluffy. Add in the softened cream cheese or mascarpone and beat until frosting forms. Top the cake with frosting and chocolate shavings. The cake will store covered in the fridge for 3 days.
Comments