Earl Grey Tea Cake

This Earl Grey Tea Cake pairs three moist and tender earl grey cake layers with refreshing and tangy orange cream cheese buttercream. Prepare to amaze your tastebuds!

Course Dessert

Keyword cake

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 25

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 718kcal

Author Ana Zelić

Ingredients

Earl Grey Cake

3 large eggs room temperature
240 g all-purpose flour
220 g granulated sugar
50 g earl grey sugar syrup (homemade)
140 g unsalted butter softened
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
145 g earl grey infused milk room temperature
70 g sour cream room temperature

Earl Grey Milk

240 g whole milk
10 g loose leaf earl grey tea

Earl Grey Syrup

150 g water
10 g loose leaf earl grey tea
150 g granulated sugar

Orange Cream Cheese Buttercream

55 g all purpose flour
225 g granulated sugar
380 g whole milk
¼ teaspoon salt
350 g unsalted butter room temperature
100 g cream cheese room temperature
2 tablespoon orange juice freshly squeezed
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 2 oranges

White chocolate ganache drip:

75 g good quality white chocolate
35 g heavy cream

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Earl Grey Infused Milk

In a small pot, bring milk to a simmer. Add loose leaf earl grey tea, cover with a small plate and let it steep for 15-20 minutes. Once it's done, strain it to get rid of tea leaves and leave it to cool to room temperature before using.

Earl Grey Syrup

Bring water to a boil, combine it with tea leaves and let it steep for 5 minutes. Once the tea is done, strain it a small saucepan and combine with sugar. Cook on a medium to high heat until it thickens a bit and form a syrup. Leave it to cool to room temperature before using. (You're not going to use all of it in a cake, but it's hard to make it with smaller quantities.)

Earl Grey Cake

Preheat your fan oven to 160°C (325°F) or 175˚C (350˚F) if you're not using a fan oven. Grease and line with parchment paper three 6 inch (15 cm) round cake tins. Alternatively, you can use two 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tins.
In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until combined and set aside.
In a measuring jug combine sour cream, earl grey infused milk and vanilla extract. These are your wet ingredients.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, earl grey syrup and sugar on a medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. (approx. 3 min) Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
Turn the mixer to medium-low speed and add eggs one at a time - making sure it's fully incorporated after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
Add your dry and wet ingredients, alternating between one another, starting and finishing with dry ones. (3 additions of dry and 2 of wet ingredients) Between each addition mix the batter just enough to get it combined, no more than 15 sec, to avoid overmixing the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the 3 tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until skewer inserted in the middle comes out with few moist crumbs.
Once they're done, let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack before removing them from the pans to cool completely.

Orange Cream Cheese Buttercream

In a small saucepan (I always use heavy-bottomed one to prevent burning) combine flour, sugar, salt and milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until it thickens. This can take about 15 minutes. The moment you realize it's getting thicker, cook for another 2-3 minutes. It should be gloopy, almost like a pastry cream.
Once it's done, strain it through a sieve into a plate, put a cling film over it touching the surface to prevent "skin" forming and let it cool to room temperature. This is your pudding base. You can do this in a fridge, but before using it let it come to room temperature.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 5 minutes until it's pale and fluffy. Then add spoonful by spoonful of previously made pudding. Mix until it's all nicely incorporated and with no lumps. Add room temperature cream cheese, orange juice and zest, vanilla extract and mix until everything is combined.

White Chocolate Ganache Drip

Place finely chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring heavy cream just barely to a simmer and pour over chopped chocolate. Cover it with a plate and leave it 1-2 minutes. Stir with a spatula until combined and smooth. Alternatively, you can do this in a microwave for 30 seconds. If desired, add white gel food colouring.
Make it 10 minutes before pouring over the chilled cake so it has time to cool and thicken a bit.

Assembly

Using a cake leveler or a long serrated knife level the tops of your cakes if needed.
In the middle of your cake board or a serving plate put some buttercream to stop the cake from moving around.
Place one cake layer on a cake board or a serving plate. Using a small offset palette knife or a piping bag, spread the frosting over the cake. Top it with the next cake layer and repeat the process.
Place final layer on top, upside down, and do a thin crumb coat on the cake. Chill for 20-30 minutes in the fridge before final decorating.
Once cooled, frost and smooth the sides with the remaining buttercream, leaving a little for colouring and making a watercolor effect, as well as rosettes on top. Using a small offset spatula, dab the colours on a chilled smooth frosted cake and using a cake scraper, lightly scrape it leaving some behind - thus creating a watercolour effect.
Chill the cake for a half an hour to an hour before putting the chocolate drip on top. It has to be cold so the drip doesn't go all the way down.
Using a piping bag fitted with a 8B tip (or yours personal favourite), pipe some rosettes on top after the ganache has set.

Notes

If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer.
Not all ovens are the same. I suggest to check the cakes at 18 min mark and then adjust the baking time accordingly. Get to know your oven! ;)
If you don't feel like making earl grey syrup, just leave it out and add an extra 30 g (2 tbsp) of granulated sugar.
If you still don't own one, I advise you to buy a kitchen scale - they're cheap and easy to use, and always guarantee the same results in baking! :)
Cake is best eaten at room temperature. You can keep it in a fridge, wrapped in cling film, but take it out of it at least half an hour before serving. :)

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