Early Grey Cake

I've been meaning to put this recipe up since I baked the actual cake last weekend because I know quite a lot of Earl Grey lovers and I'm dying for them to have a go and tell me what they think of this recipe. 

I can still remember when and where I had my first cup of Earl Grey. It was during Date Day with my other half and we'd decided to go thrifting in the Northern Quarter (I love our cute days) anyway, after all of that hard work shopping we'd decided to stop for lunch at Dough where I'd ordered the tastiest pizza and a cup of Earl Grey tea. I was hooked! I enjoy Earl Grey at any time of year but I really do overdose during the colder months. I enjoy it mostly with zesty sponge cakes or really spicy food.

I wanted to bake a cake that was quite fruity with a hint of spice and a really powerful taste of the Earl Grey tea. I'd spent the most part of last Sunday looking online for a recipe that would combine the right ingredients and give me the exact flavour I was looking for. I'd found a recipe for an Earl Grey Tea Loaf on a blog by Bohemian Mama and changed a few things around just to make sure I was getting the flavours I really wanted in there. There was every chance this wasn't going to work, but I was willing to give it a go and I love a good challenge. So out came my Kidston notebook and my Hello Kitty pen (all the way from my beautiful friends in America!)

The cake turned out soooooo tasty! You can really taste the flavour of the tea and really I was surprised at that, even though I'd nearly used all of the tea bags from the box, so there was no way it wasn't going to taste of Earl Grey! It was the fruit too! They'd soaked up so much of the tea and had kept hold of that juicy, moisture. The sponge itself was just as moist and so, so tasty! The only change I'd make in this recipe is I maybe wouldn't use as much mixed peel, (if any at all) because even though I love the taste of mixed peel in cakes, it is quite strong and could potentially drown out the flavour of the tea. Plus with all zest and lemony flavour it really wasn't needed. But either way this cake is definitely one of my favourite bakes. Happy Baking.

  
 Earl Grey Cake

Ingredients

5 Earl Grey Teabags 

250g Dried Fruit (I used sultana's, raisins, currants & cranberries)

200g Golden Caster Sugar

4 Large Eggs

270g Self Raising Flour

1 unwaxed Lemon

200g softened butter

2 levelled tsp ginger

1 levelled tsp cinnamon 

275ml Boiled water

20ml milk

For the Syrup

1/2 lemon zest and juice

100g Caster Sugar

200ml water (from soaked fruit) 

Method

'I have used an old jam jar with a lid just to lock in the flavour from the teabags and lemon. If you don't have a jar you can use a bowl with cling film or any Tupperware container with a lid.' 

-Place 4 teabags into a jar/bowl then add the fruit with a pinch of lemon zest and 1/2 tsp of lemon juice.

-Place another teabag on top of the fruit and add a slice of lemon on top of the teabag. If you're using a bowl or container just add all of the ingredients together.

-Add 275ml of boiled water to the jar.

-Place the lid/clingfilm onto your jar/bowl and leave to brew for at least 2 hours. (This can be left overnight for an even stronger taste. I recommend no less than 2 hours).

-Preheat oven to 170 degrees and line baking tin (I used 6 inch, round).

-Place butter, sugar and 2 tsp lemon juice into mixing bowl and combine on a medium speed.

-Reduce to low speed, add in milk then eggs one by one. (Mixture does curdle, this is fine). Turn up speed to ensure mixture is well combined.

- In a separate bowl add flour and spices, mix together then add to the mixing bowl. Mix together on a low-medium speed.

-Drain the fruit from the brewed water (do not throw the tea away!)

-Add the fruit to the mixing bowl with 30ml of the brewed tea/water.

-Grate in 1/2 lemon zest on top of the fruit, then fold into the mixture using a wooden spoon.

-Add mixture to your selected baking tin and place in the middle of your pre-heated oven.

-Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  

(I found that during the last 20 minutes or so I had to increase the the temperature to 180 degrees. I covered the top of my cake with foil to prevent it from burning and then removed and turned back down to 170 degrees. Different ovens do vary, so do keep an eye on your cake towards the end.)

-Once the cake is cooked, leave on a wire rack to cool.

To make the syrup

'The syrup is best added to the cake whilst it is still warm/hot. I chose to add the syrup over the course of the cake's cooling period. You can use as much or as little syrup as you like. I also left my cake in the tin while adding the syrup, but because I added so much it was a little difficult to remove from the tin. Let the cake cool entirely before trying to remove, it will make it a little easier.'

- Place the 2 tea bags in a pan with the water, gently bring to the boil, removing the tea bags after a

couple of minutes.

- Add the the caster sugar and bring back to the boil without stirring, keep it on a medium heat so that you have a steady boil for a round 5-10minutes, or until the mixture has reduced by half and you have a golden syrup.

-Leave mixture to cool a little, this will thicken the syrup up and give it a real nice glossy, stickiness for the top of your cake.

- Once the cake is out of the oven (if not already) prick the cake all over with a cocktail stick or skewer and then brush the syrup all over the top of the cake. Leave to cool in the tin.

 -Once your cake has cooled completely remove from the tin. I then sprinkled mine with a little icing sugar and decorated with Viola's from my garden. 

If using flowers from a garden please ensure they are washed thoroughly and free from all pesticides.