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Earl Grey Tea Cake with Lemon Glaze (Easy Loaf Recipe)

★★★★★ (4.8 from 42 Reviews)
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A simple, elegant bake perfect for an afternoon treat. The subtle fragrance of bergamot from Earl Grey tea infuses this moist and tender loaf cake.

Earl Grey is a black tea scented with bergamot oil. Infusing the tea directly into the milk (a fat) allows the fat-soluble flavor compounds to be evenly distributed, creating a fragrant crumb that pairs perfectly with the rich vanilla.

Earl Grey Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Servings1 Loaf
DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (240ml) Whole milk
  • 2 Earl Grey tea bags
  • 1 1/2 cups (190g) All-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup (115g) Unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) Granulated sugar
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 320
Fat: 14g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 4g

Instructions

1
Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2
Infuse the Milk: In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk until it's steaming (do not boil). Remove from heat, add the tea bags, and let steep for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags to extract all the flavor before discarding. Cool to room temp.
3
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4
Cream Butter & Sugar: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
5
Combine: Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the tea-infused milk (begin and end with flour). Mix on low speed until just combined.
6
Bake: Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 mins before removing from pan.

Expert Tip: Why Infuse the Milk?

The bergamot oil in Earl Grey is fat-soluble. Steeping the tea directly in warm milk (a fat) captures far more aromatic oils than steeping in water. Just be sure not to boil the milk, as scorching it will ruin the delicate flavor.