Earl Grey Loaf Cake with Lemon Honey Glaze
A loaf cake reminiscent of a nice cup of tea with some lemon and honey – this Earl Grey Loaf Cake is simply and deliciously satisfying! This Earl Grey Loaf Cake features an light, semi-spongey crumb that is moist and tender in texture. It gets its delightful Earl Grey flavor from the Earl Grey infused milk that is added to the batter! Finally the Earl Grey Loaf Cake is glazed with a bright Lemon Honey Glaze to compliment the flavors of the loaf cake.
What is Earl Grey Tea?
Earl Grey tea is a black tea that has been flavored with the rind of a bergamot orange. Bergamot orange is a citrus fruit that is likely the hybrid of lemon and bitter orange, which makes it extremely aromatic and zesty. The addition of this fruit, or rather the oil from its rind, makes Earl Grey tea slightly floral, citrusy, and exceptionally fragrant.
Mixing the Earl Grey tea with milk and vanilla makes for an extremely delightful experience. Known has a ‘London Fog Latte’, the drink is creamy, sweet, floral, and really just down right luxurious. So what could be better than a London Fog made into cake form?
How to Make the Earl Grey Loaf Cake
To create this Earl Grey Loaf Cake, start by infusing the cream with the tea. This process starts by heating up the cream in a small saucepan until it just barely gets to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and place 3-4 Earl Grey Tea bags into it. It may seem like a lot of tea for such a small amount of milk, but the flavor has to be extremely concentrated to properly flavor the entire loaf! Next, place a piece of plastic over the surface of the milk (to prevent a skin from forming), and place the saucepan into the fridge to cool down and infuse, for at least 2 hours. After the milk has cooled and infused, remove the tea bags and press on them to release any milk that is still within the tea bags, then discard the tea bags.
Now, onto making the batter! Start by throwing the eggs, vanilla bean paste, and sugar into a stand mixer. Beat this mixture on high for around 3-4 minutes – it should look light, fluffy, and be about tripled in size from the original volume. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Dump this dry mixture into the stand mixer and mix on low until just combined and smooth. Now pour in the tea-infused milk, beat one last time until it is just combined and smooth again. Then it is time to pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake!
How to Make the Lemon Honey Glaze
Making the glaze for the Earl Grey Loaf Cake is pretty straight forward. Start by heating the honey up slightly in the microwave for about 30 seconds – this is just to get it into a more liquidy, workable consistency. Meanwhile, grab a bowl and place the confectioners sugar into it. Then pour the warm honey, along with the freshly squeezed lemon juice, hot water, and vanilla extract into the bowl, and whisk it until it is smooth. And that’s all there is to it!
HOW TO GLAZE THE Earl Grey Loaf Cake
If you’re looking for a glaze that is similar to mine – opaque and thick, then you will want to use a higher amount of confectioners sugar. The glaze will have a very thick consistency, and will be barely thin enough to ribbon off the whisk. All that being said, this glaze will also be quite sweet. If you’re okay with a thinner glaze that maybe doesn’t hold it’s shape as well, then simply use less confectioners sugar.
SUBSTITUTING FOR VANILLA BEAN PASTE
This recipe calls for vanilla bean paste, as I personally love to see the beautiful little black specks of vanilla throughout the Earl Grey Loaf Cake. However, if you do not have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute it with vanilla beans, or just vanilla extract. The extract-to-paste conversion is a 1:1 ratio. If using beans, 3 teaspoons of paste = 1 bean. So for the cake you would use 1/2 of a vanilla bean.
Get the Recipe: Earl Grey Loaf Cake with Lemon Honey Glaze
Ingredients
Earl Grey Loaf Cake
- 2/3 cup Half & Half Cream or Whole Milk
- 3-4 Earl Grey Tea Bags,, depending on desired intensity
- 2 cups (240g) All Purpose Flour, measured correctly †
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Table Salt
- 1 cups White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
Lemon Honey Glaze
- 2-3 cups Confectioners Sugar,, depending on desired thickness of final glaze
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Hot Water
- 1 ½ tsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Instructions
Earl Grey Loaf Cake
- Add cream/milk to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer then immediately remove from heat. Place the tea bags into the milk and gently stir. Place a piece of plastic over the surface of the milk and place into the fridge to cool and steep for about 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 325°F, and prepare a 9×5" loaf pan with oil and parchment paper. In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk together to combine.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add eggs, sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
- On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer, mixing until just combined. Add in the tea-infused milk and mix only until the batter becomes smooth. Add the batter to the loaf pan, then bake in the oven for around 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
Lemon Honey Glaze
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add confectioners sugar.
- Place honey into a microwave safe bowl, and place into the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Pour honey, water, lemon juice, and vanilla into bowl with confectioners sugar, then whisk to full combine.
- Pour or pipe onto loaf cake to glaze
Notes
Related Recipes
Looking for more loafs and quick breads? Check out these below:
CHOCOLATE CHIP LOAF WITH DULCE DE LECHE. This decadently moist cake loaf is speckled with mini chocolate chips, and swirled with dulce de leche.
BROWNED BUTTER BOURBON BANANA BREAD. This banana bread is incredibly moist and flavorful, and is infused with bourbon to enhance those caramel and vanilla flavors!
BLACK FOREST LOAF CAKE. Black forest cake as a loaf! This treat features a rich, decadent chocolate pound cake that is swirled with cherry jam, then topped with fresh homemade whip cream, and juicy fresh cherries.
Tks for sharing he recipe. Some questions : What is Half and Half cream? And what would be the amount for vanilla extract? Tks!
Half and Half is just 10% cream! Feel free to use light cream (6%) or even whole milk! The vanilla extract substitution would just be a 1:1 ratio, so just 2 tsp of vanilla extract!
I baked this loaf the other day and it turned out really well! The outside had a little crunch, the inside was soft and moist the only thing I would change is making the earl grey flavour a little stronger!
I’m glad you liked it! And thanks for the suggestion! ☺️
Hi there, I have loose tea leaves. How much would 2 teas bags of tea weigh? Thank you.
Hi there! I would do about 3 tbsp of loose leaf tea!
The beginning text says 2 earl grey tea bags, but the recipe says 3-4. Which is the correct amount?
Hi! Use 3-4. I updated the recipe to reflect comments I had received that the flavor was better with more tea bags, and I just forgot to update the text.
Hi I’m just wondering, what is sprinkled on top? Is it lavender? Thanks!
Yes lavender! Just for the picture!
Can I freeze the batter and use it later? Say after 2-3 weeks
I have never tested it so I can’t be completely sure! If you do decide to freeze it, however, ensure it is in an airtight ziploc!
Hello, Amie! A huge thank you for the recipe, it is awesome and beyond reproach! The subtle milky tea hits the spot, this loaf the top of my go-to baking list for sure. The texture is quite dense, which I like a lot, yet it is not heavy, just perfectly in the middle. I was a bit worried that my tea (I used loose leaves) absorbed too much cream during the steeping, but the final product turned out as delicious as it ever could, I think. To everyone who is hesitant to make it — don’t be! In under two hours, you can have a delicious treat for your closed ones and yourself. Thanks again for the great recipe, this was a pleasure to make… and eat!
Thank you so much!