Earl Grey Tea Loaf

EARL GREY is by far my favorite tea of choice. The distinctive aroma that derived from the oil of bergamot never fail to delight me each time. Apart from drinking the tea directly, I almost get excited always with any desserts made from the aromatic tea. And I will jump to any recipes that are made with earl grey.

This recipe was adapted from a Taiwanese cookbook I found from Kinokuniya sometime ago. It was originally a cupcake recipe, featuring earl grey and orange but I made it into a loaf and omitted the orange because I wanted something simpler, fuss-free and orange-free. Not in the mood for orange today.

The cupcake was supposed to topped with a white chocolate ganache, white chocolate curls and shredded orange rind. I did the ganache but omitted the chocolate curls and shredded orange rind (orange-free, remember?). I replaced the decor with a line of earl grey tea dust on my loaf. This loaf was served to a small group of teens that came over for bible studies and it was wiped out in no time. They-simply-can’t-stop-eating-it! The cake was soft and pillowy, and the white chocolate ganache was so decadent, it goes really well with the cake. I will definitely be baking this again very soon because I’m craving for it as I’m writing this.

EARL GREY TEA LOAF WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

(Slightly adapted from Rebecca 吃了會微笑的甜點書) Makes 1 loaf

The Cake

Ingredients

50g whipping cream

10g earl grey tea, finely ground (I used Marks & Spencer’s earl grey tea bags, tore the bags and pour in the tea grounds)

230g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

4 eggs

180g all-purpose flour

5g baking powder

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter and line the bottom of a loaf pan and set aside.
• Heat the cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water or in the microwave. Do not boil. Add in tea grounds. Stir and set aside to infuse for about 10 minutes.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. About 7 minutes on the stand mixer at medium speed.
• Gradually add in the eggs one by one, beat to combine after each addition.
• Turn the mixer to low speed, add the tea-infused cream and mix until just combine.
• Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Still on low speed, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat for about 30 seconds.
• Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. If you intend to make cupcakes instead of loaf, bake for 30 minutes.

White Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

50g white chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used Varlhorna Ivoire)

50g whipping cream

Directions

• Heat the cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water or in the microwave. Do not boil.
• Pour hot cream over white chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Gently stir into a smooth and creamy paste.
• Let sit in room temperature for half an hour before use to achieve a creamy and not too watery consistency. You should make this right after your cake goes into the oven.

Decorate to your liking.