Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
10 Jul 2013
Believe me, dear readers, I have many a cool summer salad to share with you. But today is a day for cake. I saw this recipe ages ago and bookmarked it, knowing that I’d never find a better combination of my two loves, tea and chocolate. And my most favorite tea of all time, at that.
I brewed my tea and melted my chocolate. Wherever this was going, I knew it was somewhere good.
At the last minute I threw in a good handful of walnuts because, like a squirrel, I prefer to eat crunchy things in life.
The cake rose beautifully and taunted me from its pan until it was safe to flip it out and dust it ever so lightly with powdered sugar.
And eat a gigantic warm slice. This cake is wonderfully moist and flavorful. For those of you who are not big tea fans, the Earl Grey flavor is very subtle. And you could reduce it even more if you like. The funny thing is that Eric tastes the tea very distinctly and looks at me with great bafflement when I tell him that it’s very subtle for me. Maybe if you drink Earl Grey every day your tastebuds are immune? In any case, next time I plan to amp it up a bit. I want it to be something of an Earl Grey explosion. The world’s most perfect cake.
Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
Recipe from Real Simple via Shutterbean
6 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
4 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
confectioners’ sugar
-Heat oven to 350° F. Coat an 8-cup fluted tube pan (that’s a bundt, right?) with cooking spray.
-Brew the tea in the water 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags or strain the leaves and set the brewed tea aside.
-Using a mixer, beat the butter, eggs, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Blend in the chocolate. Beat in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, yogurt, and brewed tea (and walnuts, optional). Pour into pan.
-Bake 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.
-Turn out of pan and cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Jul 10, 2013 @ 03:06:03
You have the greatest and most clever recipes!!
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:16:41
Aw, thank you! I was thinking maybe sometime we could go to Real Food Daily. It’s vegan and organic, and I think they have gluten free stuff too. It’s right around the corner from our house, but I’ve never been! We must remedy this situation:)
Jul 10, 2013 @ 04:26:58
Oh dear. The professor wants a piece!
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:22:06
True and sad story: I made a coconut pound cake last week, and we took it up to Palomar with us…and left it there! I hope some other scientist is enjoying it. But I wish I had it here!
Jul 10, 2013 @ 04:43:49
I will happily bake this cake as soon as the temperature falls below 90. In 90 days. I must hang on!
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:23:00
Well and truly! I am making bread for my book club on Wednesday…I may turn on the oven and then…leave the house! Or at least stay in a very cold shower until the oven has cooled off.
Jul 10, 2013 @ 04:49:41
Delicious and I bet chock full of many calories, but who would dare to count??
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:23:52
Yes, who would dare? I think keeping things like this in moderation is a good way to keep myself from going wild with sugar…but, on the other hand, I probably have more than my fair share!
Jul 10, 2013 @ 07:03:17
OMG I WANT THIS SO BAD
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:24:48
Ah, sorry! This is probably pushing all your detox buttons! If we are ever in the same city (and I hope we will be sometime, even if briefly!), I will make you all the cake you can eat:) And then some!
Jul 10, 2013 @ 15:47:29
Do you know, we always have Earl Grey tea in our kitchen (my son likes it) and I have never even tried it? I usually drink Rooibos tea, ever since I was anaemic a few years ago and was supposed to avoid tannin as it affects absorption of iron (rooibos has half the tannin of black tea).
Not sure about cake that tastes of tea….although chocolate is always a good thing, so I dare say I would like it!
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:28:53
Oh, I like rooibos a lot too! Totally makes sense with the tannins too, so best not to risk it. But I bet rooibos would work beautifully here too, especially if vanilla flavored (that’s my favorite!). The tea flavor is so, so subtle. I may crank it up higher next time, as I can’t seem to get enough of chocolate cake around here:)
Jul 10, 2013 @ 23:52:31
A cool summer salad, or a cool chocolate cake – you can share any one with me. I’m not picky.
Jul 15, 2013 @ 20:32:08
Haha, of course!