This Earl Grey Cake Lemon Curd cake is everything you have always dreamed of. It is light and fluffy and topped with light whipped cream and a tasty lemon curd.
I’ve always been a coffee gal. More like a coffee addict, but recently I feel like a new woman. I desire tea so much more than coffee and it’s so odd to me. But I’m here for it!
If you are thinking… Hmm… a London fog cake? That sounds interesting. Trust me it’s so good. The Earl Grey isn’t overly powerful, and you don’t feel overwhelmed by the tea flavor. It’s the perfect cake for tea lovers.
The cake layers are steeped in Earl Grey and has Earl Grey tea leaves in the cake batter giving you the most tea flavor but with a soft and light texture. The earl grey cake layers are almost light like a sponge cake but much moister as yogurt and oil is used in the recipe to achieve moist and flavorful cake layers.
What is Earl Grey tea?
Earl Grey is a black tea that is normally flavored with a citrus fruit like lemon or bergamot oil. Not all Earl Grey is the same. Many company’s use a blend of different teas and different oils to personalize the Earl Grey flavor, so not every earl grey bend is the same.
Why you’ll love this Earl Grey cake
Fluffy, soft, and perfectly sweetened:
The recipe is made for a small cake but can easily be doubled and or tripled to make a cake fitting for a birthday celebration or a baby shower
Earl Grey Cake Key Ingredients:
Full recipe is below
- Flour: Cake Flour is key in this recipe and would produce the best result. All-purpose flour would make the cake extremely dense and not light in texture.
- Baking Powder/Baking Soda: Read my blog post to learn all about baking powder and baking soda
- Yogurt: Greek yogurt is preferred as it’s thicker. Sour cream is also a great substitute.
- Butter/OIl: A blend of both fats are used to create a moist and flavorful earl grey cake
- Milk: Whole Milk
- Eggs: Large Eggs
- Earl Grey Tea Bags: I really enjoyed using Harvey and Sons Earl Grey Tea, but feel free to use any you can find in your local grocery store. This recipe calls for ground tea and just the loose leaf or tea sachet for steeping.
How to make Earl Grey cake
Earl Grey Cake can be made in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer.
Steeping the milk
In a small measuring cup add in the milk and tea bags. Heat up the milk in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds until its hot. Allow the tea to steep for 10 minutes to ensure the Earl Grey tea flavors to come through.
Earl Grey Cake Layers
Preheat Oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
Add the measured milk in a heat-safe measuring cup and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it’s hot to the touch. Add in the earl grey tea bag and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes is over press the bag to release as much of the flavors as possible and throw away the bag and if using loose tea leaves use a fine-mesh sieve to catch the remaining tea leaves.
With a large sized bowl add the softened butter, vegetable oil, and half the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and then add the egg yolk. Mix the ingredients until combined, then scrape the bowl’s sides with a rubber spatula.
Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and cut the tea sachets to add the tea leaves into the dry ingredients. If the tea leaves are too big you may have to grind them until it’s finer.
Alternate the steeped milk and the dry ingredients in thirds starting with the dry and then the wet.
In a clean medium-sized bowl add the two eggs whites and whisk on high until bubbles form. Once small bubbles form slowly add in the remaining sugar. Beat the meringue until stiff peaks.
Fold half the egg whites into the batter until there are no more meringue streaks and then fold in the remaining half carefully making sure not to over-mix and deflate the batter.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
Once the cake is ready flip the cake over on a wire rack to prevent the cake from deflating.
Allow the cake to cool.
Whipped Frosting:
Add cream cheese and powdered sugar to your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Cream until it comes it smooth. Add in 1/3 of the heavy cream and then mix on low speed until it comes together. The mixture should not be lumpy. Once it’s all combined add in the remaining heavy cream and vanilla extract. Change out the paddle attachment to the whisk attachment and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
Assembly:
You will need 1/2 batch of lemon curd recipe.
Trim the cake to create an even layer and then cut the cake in half down the middle to create two layers.
On a serving plate or cake stand place half of the cake on it.
With a small offset spatula pipe the outside of the cake with a lining of whipped frosting. Fill the inside with lemon curd and then place the second layer on top. Frost the sides and top with the whipped frosting. Pipe a border on top of the cake and fill the inside with lemon curd. Optional: Garnish with Lemon zest and lemon thyme
Refrigerate the cake to set for at least 1 hour before serving
Storing:
Store Cake in the refrigerator. The cake will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
Bakers Tips:
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure that all your ingredients, especially eggs, butter, and milk, are at room temperature before you start baking. This helps them combine more evenly and creates a smoother batter.
- Mixing: Avoid Overmixing the cake batter. Once the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients the gluten begins to form. If you continue to mix it’ll create a hard cake.
- Preheat Oven: Always preheat your oven to the temperature specified in the recipe before you start mixing your ingredients. This ensures that your cake bakes evenly and rises properly.
- Proper Pan Preparation: Line them with parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking. This helps make sure that your cake layers don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Evenly Distributed Batter: Spread the batter evenly to ensure that it bakes uniformly.
- Cooling Properly: Right when the cake gets out of the oven flip it over onto a wire rack to prevent the cake from deflating.
- Frosting on Cooled Cakes: Make sure that your cakes are completely cooled before frosting them. Otherwise, the frosting may melt and slide off.
FAQS:
What other baking pans can I use?
A loaf pan would work well, you would have to increase the time and just split the cake in half. The overall original is just a loaf cake.
The cake can be baked into 2 thin 6in cake pans to create a very small and personalized cake.
Substitute the Earl Grey tea with another tea
Use your favorite tea blend. Depending on the tea the lemon curd may or may not work well with it.
Can I use a buttercream frosting?
It’s all based on preference and flavor. A lemon frosting or lemon cream cheese frosting would go very well.
Baker’s Failures to learn from:
I originally wanted to make the earl grey cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream but while testing this recipe I happened to have leftover lemon curd in the refrigerator and tried it. The lemon curd complimented the cake so much better than the strawberries did. You can do both and add chopped strawberries in the middle layer. and garnish with additional strawberries on top.
I tested this recipe 3x. I use my original base and just tweak it here and there to add the flavor and texture I want. The first time I made this recipe I did not grind the tea leaves. It was almost inedible, the tea leaves were hard.
During my first testing the cake was so spongy and light and then the second attempt it was like a regular cake. It wasn’t sponge-like but still tasted very delicious. I learned it was due to the lack of stiffness I whipped the meringue. So make sure to mix until the egg whites are stiff!
For More Cake Recipes
Extra Moist Triple Chocolate Cake
The Moist Favorite Carrot Cake
Earl Grey Cake with Lemon Curd
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cake
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1/2 cup Sugar divided in half
- 1 cup Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk Hot
- 2 Tea Bags Earl Grey
- 2 Large Egg Whites
- 1 large Egg Yolk
Lemon Curd
- 1/2 Batch Lemon Curd .
Whipped Frosting:
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 4 oz Cream Cheese Softened
- 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Earl Grey Cake
- Preheat Oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
- Add the measured milk in a heat-safe measuring cup and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it’s hot to the touch. Add in the earl grey tea bag and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes is over press the bag to release as much of the flavors as possible and throw away the bag and if using loose tea leaves use a fine-mesh sieve to catch the remaining tea leaves.
- With a large sized bowl add the softened butter, vegetable oil, and half the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and then add the egg yolk. Mix the ingredients until combined, then scrape the bowl’s sides with a rubber spatula.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and cut the tea sachets to add the tea leaves into the dry ingredients. If the tea leaves are too big you may have to grind them until it’s finer.
- Alternate the steeped milk and the dry ingredients in thirds starting with the dry and then the wet.
- In a clean medium-sized bowl add the two eggs whites and whisk on high until bubbles form. Once small bubbles form slowly add in the remaining sugar. Beat the meringue until stiff peaks.
- Fold half the egg whites into the batter until there are no more meringue streaks and then fold in the remaining half carefully making sure not to over-mix and deflate the batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Once the cake is ready flip the cake over on a wire rack to prevent the cake from deflating.
- Allow the cake to cool.
Whipped Frosting
- Add cream cheese and powdered sugar to your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Cream until it comes it smooth.
- Add in 1/3 of the heavy cream and then mix on low speed until it comes together. The mixture should not be lumpy. Once it's all combined add in the remaining heavy cream and vanilla extract.
- Change out the paddle attachment to the whisk attachment and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- You will need 1/2 batch of lemon curd recipe.
- Trim the cake to create an even layer and then cut the cake in half down the middle to create two layers.
- On a serving plate or cake stand place half of the cake on it.
- With a small offset spatula pipe the outside of the cake with a lining of whipped frosting. Fill the inside with lemon curd and then place the second layer on top. Frost the sides and top with the whipped frosting. Pipe a border on top of the cake and fill the inside with lemon curd. Optional: Garnish with Lemon zest and lemon thyme
- Refrigerate the cake to set for at least 1 hour before serving
Cake Storage
- Store Cake in the refrigerator. The cake will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
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