Earl Grey Tea Cake

April 12, 2021

Light, zesty and just sweet enough - perfect for school holiday snacks!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
Planet Organic Earl Grey loose leaf tea (you may want to put the tea through a food processor/ crush it with a mortar & pestle to make it into more of a dust).
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp honey
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon or lime

Syrup Ingredients:

Instructions:

On low heat, heat the milk in a small saucepan (you want it to be hot to touch but not simmering or boiling) remove from heat and then steep 2 heaped tsps. of Earl grey loose leaf tea in the hot milk for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease or line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
If your honey is semi-soild, 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. If you don't have an electric mixer, whisking will do fine - the cake will still be delicious, just more dense.
Add flour, salt and baking powder and mix until combined.
Pour milk and tea leaves into a bowl, add in zest and mix until well incorporated.
Fill batter into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with aluminium 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 of teaspoons of syrup make a great addition to a cup of brewed tea.
Let the loaf cool at room temperature before slicing into it.