My mom was the inspiration behind this cake. Go figure! If you're looking for something a bit different to make your mom, do try this cake.
This cake combines proper with the unexpected. On the proper side, it is infused with Earl Grey Tea making it sophisticated and topped with delicate fruit. The honey cream cheese frosting adds an unexpected twist to a cake that is often fussy. If you chose not to apply frosting to the sides of the cake, as I have, there will be leftover frosting. If your cake didn’t turn out of the pan correctly (read: tattered edges) then frost the sides and it will bring the cake together. If you chose to decorate the cake with the kids, have them make a design on the top using fresh flowers and fruit. I used figs which, are not in season right now but looked too delicious to pass up at the grocery store. Figs, I have discovered, are also a delight to photograph.
The strongest lesson I can teach my son is the same lesson I teach my daughter: how to be who he wishes to be for himself. And the best way I can do this is to be who I am and hope that he will learn from this not how to be me, which is not possible, but how to be himself. And this means how to move to that voice from within himself, rather than to those raucous, persuasive, or threatening voices from outside, pressuring him to be what the world wants him to be
Earl Grey Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Icing
Makes: 15 cm/6-inch layer cake
Time: Prep Time (25 minutes) + Baking time (35 minutes) + Cooling/inactive time (1 hour) + Decorating (25 minutes)
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cake
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk
½ tbsp loose leaf Earl Grey tea
1 1/2 (180 g) cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp Earl Grey tea, finely ground*
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (170 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg white
1 large egg
Honey Cream Cheese Icing
225 g (1 cup or 1 regular block of cream cheese) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (220 g) icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted*
3 tbsp local honey (runny)
Decorations
Fresh, edible flowers such as pansies from your garden, petals from dandelions
Fresh fruit such as figs
Honey
Directions
Earl Grey Cake
1. Add the milk and tea to a small saucepan. On medium-low heat, bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally and heat for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Strain once it has cooled.
2. Grease and flour two 15 cm (6-inch) cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Using a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the vanilla.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk infusion. Start by adding a third of the flour and mix. Add half of the milk infusion and mix again. Continue adding and mixing until all ingredients are fully combined (ending with the last third of the flour mixture). Pour into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack and then unmold.
Honey Cream Cheese Icing
Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Mix in the icing sugar, honey and vanilla which will create a divine icing for your cake.
Decorate
Ensure the cake is fully cooled. Level the cake using a serrated knife. Place the cut side up and apply a generous amount of icing. Level the second layer and repeat. If you chose to apply icing on the side, apply a crumb coat to the cake, refrigerate and then apply the last layer of icing. Decorate with your favourite fruit and flowers. Once the cake is cut, serve with a little drizzle of honey if desired.
Serve after lunch on Sunday.
Notes
*Optional. This makes the Earl Grey flavour intense and unmistakable. For Earl Grey tea lovers only! Without it, the cake has a subtle flavour in which all will enjoy.
**Sifting the icing sugar before adding it to the fat creates a smooth cake frosting.
Adapted from The Little Epicurean.
Happy Mother's Day!