In my previous post I shared my love of tea, so it's perhaps unsurprising I have a tea recipe for you today - a beautiful Blueberry and Earl Grey Tea Cake.
Earl Grey is perhaps one of the most beautifully fragrant teas, and is one so many of us are familiar with . It's heady scent is so uplifting and aromatic, thanks to the addition of bergamont (which is an oil extracted from the bergamont orange).
As beautiful as it is as a tea I'm not a black tea drinker, but I do love to use Earl Grey in baking. So when I received a sample of the beautiful French Earl Grey by Deitea as part of my Mr Earl tea box I just knew I had to do something with it. I settled on Blueberry Loaf Cake infused with Earl Grey. The scent of cooked blueberries always reminds me of Earl Grey tea, and vice versa, so a partnership between the two only seemed natural.
Fat is a wonderful flavour conductor, if you are ever looking to infuse any particular flavour into a recipe. In this case a heaped teaspoon of Earl Grey tea leaves was added to melted butter and left for 20 minutes to infuse before the tea leaves are strained away, leaving a beautiful and amazingly aromatic butter. You could of course leave the tea in the butter, and therefore the cake, but that decision is yours.
Serve dusted with icing (confectioners) sugar and fresh blueberries, along with a dollop of cream or thick creamy yoghurt for a decadent afternoon treat. Oh, and a cup of Earl Grey tea too!
Psst...you still have a chance to win a 3 month Mr Earl subscription here.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter ⅔ cup
- 1 tsp heaped Earl Grey tea leaves
- 220 g caster sugar 1 cup, superfine
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup thick Greek-style yoghurt or sour cream
- 200 g plain flour 1 ⅔ cups, all purpose
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate soda baking
- ¼ tsp salt
- zest of 1 lemon
- 125 g fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 celsius (320 fahrenheit) and grease and line a 22cm x 8cm loaf tin with baking paper. Place the butter in a small saucepan over a medium low heat along with the tea leaves and stir until melted. Set aside for 20 minutes to infuse. Strain the butter through a fine mesh sieve and discard the tea leaves.
- Place all the ingredients except the blueberries in a bowl and stir well to combine. Add the blueberries and mix through carefully. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out cleanly. Dust with icing (confectioners) sugar and top with extra blueberries to serve.
Rosa says
A beautiful and refined tasting cake! That combination of flavors is perfect.Cheers,Rosa
Janel @ Creating Tasty Stories says
I used to have Earl Grey perfume, I love the scent so much. Of course, I love drinking the tea, too. I adore your recipe. What a great way to infuse the flavor into the bread.
Jennifer says
Wow, I've never heard of Earl Grey perfume. Where did you get it from?
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Beautiful tea cake, a slice would be perfect with my afternoon cup!
Janel @ Creating Tasty Stories says
The perfume is from Demeter. If you've never checked out the company, they have all kinds of foodie fragrances. I see they even have pizza scent!
Jennifer says
Thanks Janel. 🙂 I have heard of Demeter, didn't know they had an Earl Grey one. I'll have to check it out. Thanks 😀
Thanh @ eat, little bird says
I love Earl Grey tea, so I think I would also love this cake … can't wait to try it!
Heather says
I adore Earl Grey, and so does my sister. It's her baby shower this weekend and I was going to make chocolate cake however I'll be making this instead.
[email protected] says
I just went all out and added a punnet of blueberries to my latest fruit and vege order. I was going to savour them one by one but cake sounds even better!
thelittleloaf says
I think earl grey would have to be my favourite tea to bake with. This lovely little loaf looks like the perfect tea time treat, or something to dress up for dessert. Beautiful pics, as always 🙂
Rachel says
This looks simply delicious; I love the way you have styled it. And I've never heard of the perfume either!!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I really like this cake. My FIL will love it too because Earl Grey is his favourite tea and he loves blueberries. Win for him AND for me.
Judith @ A Life Canvas says
I'm a tea addict, this blueberry-Earl Grey combo sounds divine, totally going to try this!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I hope you enjoy it Judith 🙂