Name: Earl Grey Tea Cake
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup milk; 4 Earl Grey tea bags; 1/2 cup butter (melted and cooled); 2 tablespoons honey; 3/4 cup sugar; 2 eggs; 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; zest of 1 lemon; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon honey; 1/4 cup hot water; 3 tablespoons lemon juice

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This Earl Grey Tea Cake Loaf is a fragrant loaf infused with tea in two ways and then brushed with lemon and honey while still hot. This will be the tea cake to have on the table for an afternoon snack with a cup of Earl Grey!

Originally published March 2014, last updated May 2020

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 tongues.

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.

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).

How to Make Earl Grey Tea Cake

The process of making this Earl Grey tea cake is as easy as making other quick breads like banana bread. The main difference is that you have to start by infusing milk with Earl Grey tea bags as a means of getting its wonderful flavour into the cake loaf. To do this, you simply heat the milk on the stove, then add 2 tea bags to steep for about half an hour. This will impart the milk with enough tea taste so that you will be able to taste it in your Earl Grey tea bread once it is baked.

If desired, you could also use tea leaves. Simply use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea leaves for every tea bag, which would result in 4 teaspoons total.

Next, the butter, sugar, honey, and eggs mix together until creamy. The flour mixture includes all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. You whisk the flour mixture into the butter mixture before combining it with the tea infused milk, loose tea leaves, and lemon zest. The result will be a spreadable batter that should hold its shape and puff up in the oven.

The batter goes into a loaf pan to bake to perfect soft fluffiness thanks to the baking powder. While it is still warm, poke the pound cake with a skewer or toothpick all over the top. Brush the honey-lemon syrup over the surface. The syrup infuses fresh lemon flavor into the cake and keeps it moist for several days.

If you accidentally over bake your cake, this should save it. Adding a syrup is a great tip for any cake as it can keep it fresh and soft for longer than it would have kept otherwise.

What is Earl Grey Tea?

Earl Grey tea is a blend of black tea leaves and bergamot oil. Bergamot is a type of citrus from Italy and the oils impart a delicate citrus taste to Earl Grey tea. It supposedly emerged in the mid-1800s, having received its name from British Prime Minister Charles Grey. Today, it is an incredibly popular blend of tea both to drink and incorporate into tea-based desserts like this Earl Grey cake.

Testing the Loaf for Doneness

Whenever baking cakes and loaves, you shouldn’t over bake them as this can dry them out. While this Earl Grey loaf should take an hour or so to bake, ovens can be different. For this reason, it is good to be able to tell when it is done rather than just relying on a timer.

To test the cake, you can insert it with a wooden skewer or cake tester. If it comes out clean, it will be perfect. Sometimes, it is fine for there to be a few crumbs on the skewer as long as they are on the drier side rather than gummy. The loaf will continue baking as it cools out of the oven, which should make up the difference.

Another way to test the doneness of your Earl Grey pound cake is to gently push the top with a finger. If this action leaves an indent in the loaf, you haven’t baked it long enough. Meanwhile, if the cake springs back, it is a good sign that the loaf is done. Ultimately, the cake should have a set texture, be perfectly golden, and springy and light to the touch!

Can I Substitute the Milk for Nut Milk?

Regular milk is great in this Earl Grey pound cake, especially as it might mimic what you would normally put in the tea, but not everyone can have it. To make this Earl Grey tea loaf dairy-free*, you can feel free to substitute with your favourite nut milk. (*You need to use a dairy-free butter substitute as well).
You should just make sure that the milk doesn’t have sugar as this may make it an overly sweet loaf due to there already being honey and sugar in the recipe.

Almond milk, cashew milk, or even soy milk should work fine in this Earl Grey bread. The flavours won’t be very noticeable, but the one difference might be that they won’t contain the same quantity of fat. For this reason, you can expect a slightly denser loaf than it would be otherwise, but it should still be delicious and excellent for serving all your dairy-free friends and family.

Can I Use Other Teas in this Earl Grey Tea Loaf?

If you don’t love Earl Grey tea, you could definitely get creative and try another variety of tea leaves. Earl Grey tea is such a great option because it has a floral and citrus quality from the bergamot that is in it. For this reason, choose something that lends itself to dessert in a similar way. You can use either your favourite tea bags or fresh tea leaves for this.

Types of Tea to Bake with:

Chai – For a lightly spiced loaf.
Jasmine – For a combination of earthiness and a floral quality.
Rooibos – For a fruity taste.

Infusing the Cake with Honey and Lemon

One of my favorite ways to enjoy tea is with honey and lemon, and so I added them both to this tea cake. Honey and lemon zest are in the cake itself, and also in the syrup that you brush onto the finished cake while it is still warm. Many people don’t consider that as much as honey is sweet, it is also slightly acidic which is great for activating the baking powder in this Early Grey loaf recipe.

The method of zesting lemon is important as you don’t want to get any of the white pith in your cake batter. The pith can be bitter which would add an unpleasant flavour to your Earl Grey tea loaf recipe. The lemon zest oils infuse into the cake mixture and impart a strong lemony taste. You add the lemon juice to the glaze right at the end so that you have the tart, pop of fresh lemon that doesn’t bake out during cooking.

Liquid honey is so wonderful to work with because it has a taste that is far more complex than white sugar. It is smooth and creamy with both sweetness and acidity. It really is nature’s liquid gold. A small amount goes into the cake batter along with granulated sugar. A little more combines with sugar, lemon juice, and water to brush over the cake, making the outside shiny and sticky. You can make the syrup during the 1 hour baking time and set aside until ready to drizzle all over the loaf.

This Earl Grey tea cake is almost as dense as a pound cake and so flavourful, soft, and moist with hints of lemon and honey. This Early Grey pound cake is refreshing, different, and a perfect companion to a cup of hot tea. Enjoy!

Original Images from 2014

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