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Tea has always been one of my favorite hot beverages. I have some happy childhood memories of my aunt teaching me and my sister to drink tea. She would sweeten it nicely for us and make sure it was not too hot anymore, so that we wouldn’t burn our little lips and tongue.
When morning sickness had me down (any time of day) during the first trimester of this pregnancy, my love for tea grew even more. Coffee was my nemesis in those 3 months but tea my saving grace – soothing ginger tea in the mornings and black tea as an afternoon pick-me-up.
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Even now that the smell and taste of coffee doesn’t make me sick anymore, tea remains my morning beverage of choice (coffee is reserved for the afternoon). No wonder that I was quite excited to try some Alokozay tea for this #CollectiveBias story.
I went to our local Bulk Barn, or baker’s paradise as I would call it. I absolutely love their wide variety of specialty ingredients from cake pans, to flours and great quality chocolate. The coloured chocolate wafers are so handy for themed cake pops.
This time I also noticed a great deal on coloured rolled fondant – mental note not to go through the hassle of coloring fondant myself again. There was also a wide selection of seasonal Easter candy in the prettiest pastel colours,
I found Alokozay tea in the tea and coffee aisle and was amazed to see so much variety. Aside from black and green tea, there were also specialty flavors from peach, lemon and strawberry to chamomile, cardamon, jasmine and Moroccan tea.
Earl Grey has always been one of my favorite black teas and with my plan of finally using it in a baking adventure I picked up one of the pretty royal blue boxes.
Together with the tea I also stocked up on a variety of seeds (sesame, sunflower, chia, ground flax) at the Bulk Barn. I love that I have full control over the amount I buy, which comes in very handy when trying out new items. This time I picked up hemp seed, coconut palm sugar and tahini for the first time. Shopping at the Bulk Barn makes me feel so adventurous 😉
I couldn’t wait to try Alokozay’s Earl Grey tea. After unwrapping the wonderful bergamot aroma tickled my nose in the most pleasant way. And this great flavor is incorporated into the cake loaf in 2 ways. First 2 teabags are steeped in hot milk for half an hour to infuse it with all their goodness, and in the end the tea powder of 2 bags is stirred into the batter.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy tea is with honey and lemon, so I worked both into this tea cake as well. There is honey and lemon zest in the cake itself and also in the syrup that gets brushed onto the finished cake while it is still warm.
This Earl Grey Tea Cake is almost as dense as a pound cake, but so flavorful, soft and moist with hints of lemon and honey that it is almost refreshing. Perfect to enjoy with a cup of hot tea.
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- 4 Alokozay Earl Grey teabags
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (45 g) honey
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cup (190 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan, and then steep 2 Alokozay Earl Grey teabags in the hot milk for half an hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease or line a 9x5 loaf pan.
- If your honey is semi-solid melt together with the butter. Using an electric mixer beat together butter, honey and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
- Add flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined.
- Remove the teabags from the milk making sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add infused milk, lemon zest and tea powder from 2 bags and mix until well incorporated.
- Fill batter into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For a nice, clean split in the loaf make a cut into the batter after about 10 minutes of baking time. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil towards the end of baking time.
- Combine all ingredients for the syrup and set aside. Let the loaf cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a wire rack. Poke holes into the top and brush syrup on while still warm. Store any leftover syrup in a glass jar in the fridge. A couple teaspoons of syrup make a great addition to a cup of brewed tea.
The first time I made this exactly as instructed. IT was delicious. But… The 2nd time I brewed 3 tea bags in the milk for a little more flavor. And instead of warm water as the base of the glaze I used 1/2 tub of leftover vanilla frosting instead. It was AMAZING!!!
Thanks for the great review and suggestions
Hello! I just made this today, and it was lovely! I didn’t make the syrup as I was too lazy, but it came out great nevertheless! Thank you so much, I’ll definitely be making this again. One thing I might change in future is the amount of sugar and/or honey. I’d have preferred it less sweet, but it’s a matter of taste – the recipe is perfect. I’m so glad to have found your blog!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback Lydia!
Made this and it was absolutely delicious. My whole apartment smells amazing while baking. The taste is so well balance between the zesty lemon and the tea. Thanks a lot for the recipe!
Wonderful. Now I want to make this again asap just for the aroma in my house 😀
Can I ask,
9×5 inches or centimeters for the cake tin?
I used 9×5 inches and it came out like blondies so either I misunderstood or I did something wrong
Thanks
Also I used good quality tea leaves rather than tea bags (powder) and it was so lovely, its very visually effective to see the tea leaves in the cake
Hi Katharine,
I am sorry to hear the cake loaf didn’t come out as expected. 9×5 inches was definitely the right pan size (sorry for not being clearer in the instructions). My only guess would be that maybe your baking powder was expired and didn’t leaven and raise the batter properly?
Loose leaves in the batter does sound lovely looking though.
Hello Katherine,
I am new to baking and since I have some loose leaf earl grey around my house I was wondering how much you used for this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Hailey, I can’t find the exact amount for Alokozay tea bags at the moment. But usually a tea bag has about 2 grams of leaves (sometimes 3 grams). Hope this helps
I pulled this out of the oven about an hour ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since! I made the poor decision to make it at 10 pm, so I can’t let myself eat a whole slice until tomorrow (because of the caffeine). But I did get a few bites, and it is DELICIOUS. Dense but soft and fluffy, and the flavors are so wonderfully subtle that I have to walk away so I don’t take another bite. I can’t wait to eat this for breakfast the next few days with a mug of black tea!
You can be sure that I will recommend this to everybody I know! I’m already going to be making more to give to the neighbors! 🙂
Note: I used lactose-free milk (Kroger brand) and Earth Balance vegan buttery spread, because this is a lactose free household, and it did not have any negative effects at all. I also used an extra tablespoon or two of milk so that I didn’t have to squeeze out the tea bags – that tends to release a bit of bitterness, and while the other ingredients probably mask that well enough, I didn’t want to risk it.
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment Kathryn! Totally makes my day 🙂
I am happy to hear that you love the flavor and were able to make the recipe lactose-free. I am certain this will help other readers as well.
Oh, I can only imagine how wonderful this most smell in the oven!
Indeed this cake loaf gave our whole apartment an amazing aroma!
I love tea and I LOVE infusing it into desserts, so naturally, I love this loaf of yours! I’ll need to check the tea section at Bulk Barn on my next visit. Thanks for sharing!
Mmmm, I adore Earl Grey tea to drink and now you’ve made my mouth water with that cake recipe! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing it. #client
Yes Cyn, this really tastes like a perfect cup of Earl Grey translated into cake 🙂