Earl Grey Lavender Cake

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4.34 from 3 votes

Earl Grey Lavender Cake

An incredibly fragrant earl grey lavender cake with a rich honey icing. Afternoon tea is served, all-in-one!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Cooling Time30

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Servings: cake

Calories: 4321kcal

Author: Caro Jensen

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

1 cup milk
2 teabags Earl Grey tea
1 tsp dried culinary lavender
1/2 cup butter unsalted, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon zest zest of 1 lemon
1 pinch salt

Icing Ingredients

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter unsalted, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp dried culinary lavender to garnish the cake

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cake

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F and line a round cake tin with parchment paper.
To infuse the milk with tea and lavender, heat the milk on the stove or in the microwave until it's about to simmer. Remove it from the heat and add the tea bags and dried lavender. Stir briefly and let them steep for 3-5 minutes.
Remove the teabags from the milk and set them aside for later. Strain the milk to remove the dried lavender. Set it aside to cool down.
Mix 3 tbsp of the infused milk with the honey while it's hot. Stir until the honey is fully dissolved. Set aside for later.
Add the sugar to the softened butter. While stirring, add the eggs one at a time. You're after a homogenous mixture.
Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the wet ingredients and slowly pour in the milk. he infused milk has to be lukewarm before adding it to the cake batter or the eggs will curdle. Make sure the milk is lukewarm and not too hot or it will curdle the eggs. Combine everything thoroughly.
Add the zest of 1 lemon and the insides of one of the teabags to the batter. Fold them in slowly.
Add the cake batter to the lined baking tin and bake it for 45 minutes. To check if the cake is baked, insert a knife blade into the center of it. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If it gets too dark during baking, cover it with an extra sheet of parchment paper.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down in the tin for 10 minutes. Take it out of the tin and let it fully cool down on a cookie wire.

Make the icing

Combine the icing sugar, softened butter, and honey-sweetened, infused milk until a smooth icing has formed. Add more plain milk if the consistency is too thick.
Spread it generously over the cold cake. Make sure the cake has fully cooled before you add the icing or it will slide off the cake. Garnish with dried lavender. Enjoy!

Notes

The cake batter is very liquid. Cook it for at least 45 minutes. To check if it is baked, insert a knife blade into the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done.

Storage: This moist cake stores well in an airtight container on the bench for 3 days. You can also store it in the fridge in an airtight container but it will dry out quicker. Alternatively, you can freeze leftover loaf cake for up to 3 months in a freezer-proof container. Simply defrost it on the bench at room temperature.

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