Earl Grey Tea Cake

I'm a big big big big fan of Earl Grey tea. People who knows me well will know that. Somehow, I like that "fragrant orange-y" aroma which is the bergamot present in the tea. That aroma will somehow creep it's way to your nose before you even get to sip the tea.

And no - the tea is not grey in colour. It's named after an English lord in the Grey family.

Any recipes with Earl Grey will catch my interest. I still remembered my first successful chiffon cake bake was an Earl Grey Chiffon! So when I chanced upon this recipe and saw the words "Earl Grey", I knew I had to bake this..... And it certainly helps that this is such a straight forward recipe - just add the ingredients one by one and mix! Perfect for a weekday bake!


Recipe from Anncoo Journal

Ingredients needed

• 150 plain flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 150g unsalted butter (softened)
• 130g confectioner sugar (icing sugar)
• 1/2 tbsp. glucose/golden syrup or honey
• 3 eggs (70g each)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 5g Earl Grey tea dust from 2 tea bags
• 15g ground almond
• 1 tbsp. fresh whole milk
• Lemon zest from 1 large lemon

To make lemon syrup for brushing

50g sugar + 100g very hot water, stir well and add 2 tbsp lemon juice in it, mix well, set aside.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 19 x 9 x 8cm loaf tin with parchment paper all sides up.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together twice, set aside.
3. Beat butter, icing sugar and glucose together until light and very fluffy.
4. Gradually add eggs and beat well.
5. Add salt, tea dust, ground almonds, lemon zest and milk. Mix well.
6. Add flour mixture and fold through completely using a spatula. Surface of batter should be glossy and smooth.
7. Pour batter into prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Note that the baking time may vary according to your oven.
8. When the cake is done, unmould cake and peel away parchment paper. Place cake on a wire rack and brush with lemon syrup while cake is still warm.
9. Leave to cool completely before serving. If storing, wrap with cling wrap.

 

Butter + icing sugar + honey

Beat them away!!!

Beat until light and fluffy

Gradually add in eggs and mix well

After the addition of eggs, the mixture will look curdled.
Don't panic!
It will be fine after you add in flour

Add in earl grey tea dust

Add in ground almond



Add in lemon zest

Add in fresh milk

Lastly, add in the flour and baking powder



Fold with a spatula
Mixture should look smooth and glossy

Pour batter into a lined tin and bake!
while the cake is baking in the oven, get ready your lemon syrup

 

When cake is done, unmould and remove parchment paper

Place cake on wire mesh and brush the cake with lemon syrup
when the cake is still warm

   

 The lemon zest and the earl grey tea make such a wonderful combination, complemented by the brushing of the lemon syrup. These tea cakes give me a complicated feel - sweet yet tangy, moist yet firm. Overall, it's nice - perfect to go with a cup of Earl Grey tea!