Earl Grey loaf cake with lemon icing

Name: Earl Grey loaf cake with lemon icing
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g self-raising flour; 1 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves, lightly ground; salt; 200g caster sugar; 175g unsalted butter, softened; 3 eggs; 80g full-fat sour cream

Julia Busuttil Nishimura

March 1, 2024

Use any black tea that you like instead of Earl Grey.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

Adding tea leaves to a cake batter is such a simple and pleasant way to add interest – and depth of flavour. I like to use a mortar and pestle to grind the tea leaves, not to a powder but so they’re fine enough to permeate the whole cake. If you have another favourite black tea, feel free to use it instead.

Even without icing, this cake is quite lovely, but the lemon icing definitely complements the citrus notes in the tea.

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour
1 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves, lightly ground
salt
200g caster sugar
175g unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
80g full-fat sour cream

FOR THE LEMON ICING

150g pure icing sugar, sieved
juice of about ½ lemon

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Grease and line a 23cm x 12cm loaf tin. Set aside.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground tea leaves and a good pinch of salt. Set aside.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and beat well on a medium speed until pale and light (about 7-8 minutes. You can use electric hand-held beaters, too). Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the sour cream and continue to mix until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Step 4
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, spoon the batter into the prepared tin, then bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool briefly in the tin, then remove the cake and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before placing on a serving plate.
Step 5
Place the sieved icing sugar in a bowl and add enough lemon juice to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle over the cake and allow to set.