Earl Grey Sponge Cake

This earl grey cake is perfect for the tea lover. Its light, spongy and airy with nice fragrance from earl grey tea, this delightful cake is a perfect dessert for your afternoon tea. In a bowl, add 6 grams of earl grey tea bag then in a saucepan, bring 60 ml of milk to a simmer then let the milk cool down slightly before adding it to the bowl with the earl grey tea.

You can let this milk chill in the fridge until the next day. Sieve the tea to remove the earl grey particles and add 23 ml of oil to the tea. Oil is a good substitute for butter especially when you want a cake that will remain soft for the day even when refrigerated. Warm the milk and oil mixture to about 40 degrees C before starting the process.

On the side, you will need 3 grams of lemon zest then ground about 5 gram of earl grey left into a blender and add the powder to the bowl with cake flour. Lightly mix the earl grey powder with cake flour then sift the mixture. In a large bowl, add three egg whites and start beating the egg whites on high speed to make a meringue, when bubbles start to form, add 90 grams of sugar in three additions, reduce the speed to medium-low and continue beating the mixture until the meringue reaches a soft peak.

If the meringue is stiff, it won’t mix well with other ingredients. Add the three egg yolks that you had separated from the eggs earlier, with a hand whisk, carefully mix the egg yolks in the meringue. As soon as the egg yolks are combined, stop and add the sifted flour mixture in three addition. Do not be aggressive with this batter, fold the dry ingredients slowly after each addition and mix until it is well combined before adding the next until all the flour is moistened in the batter.

Add the milk and oil mixture then switch to a spatula and mix well, remember to carefully scrape the bottom of the bowl and gently mix it making sure the oil is well incorporated in the batter. Finish by adding the lemon zest and lightly mix it. You need a 15 inch round cake pan the is lightly greased then lined with a parchment paper, pour in the batter and tap the pan a few times on the counter to remove any air bubbles trapped in the batter.

Bake in a preheated ( You should preheat the oven for 20 minutes before starting to bake) 300 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes. Once baked, let the cake cool down before removing it from the pan. You can slice this cake in layers and make a buttercream earl grey cake or enjoy it as it is with a cup of tea.