Saturday 29 March 2014

Earl Grey Tea Cake










If the eat-ability of a cake is determined by how much cake batter the cook eats, then this cake is plenty eatable.



Earl Grey Tea Cake
slightly adapted from Donna Hay

140g dates, chopped
1 teaspoon baking soda
180ml strong hot earl grey (I used two tea bags and brewed them for 5 minutes)
185g self raising flour, sifted
135g light brown sugar
2 apples, peeled and grated on the finer side of a box grater
150g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease a 23cm x 13cm loaf pan with cooking oil spray and line the base and the long sides with baking paper.

Put the chopped dates, hot tea and baking soda into a blender and leave them to soak for 10 minutes. Once soaked, blitz until you have a smooth puree. Set aside.

Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine and aerate. Add the grated apples, melted butter, vanilla, eggs and date mixture. Mix well with a spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


23 comments:

  1. How delicious! My Peter would love this, especially with the dates!

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    1. It's so good Lizzy. A bit like a cross between sticky gingerbread and sticky toffee pudding with the subtle but distinctive flavour of earl grey.

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    2. Wow, those are a few of my favorite things! I'll be making this later this week with my new Earl Grey.

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  2. This looks so delicious! I like your blog, and I`m nominating it for a Liebster Award! Check out my blog http://makeeasycake.blogspot.ro/ for details! Cris

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  3. Oh, I haven't had Tea Cake for years! Must... make... :)
    Janie x

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    1. Thanks Jane. It's a pretty easy recipe, but so good. It's the perfect cake for a picnic or to make as a gift too.

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  4. Early Grey has such a magical flavor, I can imagine this cake must be amazing...

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    1. Thanks Sue. So true, Earl Grey IS a magical flavour. So warm and comforting.

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  5. Everything is in this cake to love it. Dates, apple, tea..WOW!

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    1. It's got great flavours and the most delicious texture.

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  6. Love these kind of cakes, dates are my new go to sweetener!

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    1. I use dates as a sweetener too... and to snack on ravenously when I come home from the gym!

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  7. I love dates! I'm not usually fussed on Earl Grey as a tea to drink, but mixed with the dates and apples and the caramel of the brown sugar I can imagine that it brings a beautiful spice to this loaf. Delicious :)

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    1. Thanks Amy. Earl Grey goes so well with the whole Autumn-afternoon-tea-piece-of-cake-and-a-cup-of-tea thing. I think I prefer eating my Earl Grey rather then drinking it now.

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  8. A friend of mine made an earl grey chocolate tart for dessert last Friday night... it was kind-of chocolate mousse on top of a chocolate biscuit. A Matt Moran recipe, apparently. I definitely enjoyed the earl grey flavour but I do think that I'd prefer it in this cake. Gentle bergamot would be beautiful with the fruit and brown sugar. Yum.

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    1. I've never had Earl Grey and chocolate together. It sounds interesting. The bergamot in this cake is subtle and really does go so well with the fruit. It's one of those classic "let's go for a picnic, throw the rug on the grass, pour the tea from the thermos and cut a doorstop or two of Earl Grey Tea Cake" kind of cakes.

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  9. I adore tea cake and this looks JUST amazing! Karen

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    1. Thanks Karen. There's nothing as comforting as a tea cake for afternoon tea.

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  10. I need to try this! Just last week "The Telegraph" reported on a study which found that a cup of Earl Grey was as good as statins for fighting heart disease. I'll tell myself I'm doing good for my heart when I'm eating a cake with Earl Grey ;-)

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    1. The health benefits of Earl Grey means I should have another slice, yes?

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  11. This sounds absolutely amazing! I can't wait to try the recipe!

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