By Molly Baz, Bon Appétit
Say hello to the second recipe in the Basically Guide to Better Baking, our 10-week, 10-recipe series to help you become a better, cooler, more confident baker. A tea cake that's true to its name, it harnesses the power of citrusy Earl Grey tea for its distinct flavor. Lemon poppyseed can't hold a candle. Because high-quality loose-leaf tea is often much more fragrant and flavorful than tea bags, you won’t need as much of it. If you’re using tea bags, just snip them open and measure out the tea inside. More questions about the recipe? You can ask them on our baking forum and receive a response from one of us or your fellow bakers.
Yield: Makes one 9x5" or 8½x4½" loaf
Say hello to the second recipe in the Basically Guide to Better Baking, our 10-week, 10-recipe series to help you become a better, cooler, more confident baker. A tea cake that's true to its name, it harnesses the power of citrusy Earl Grey tea for its distinct flavor. Lemon poppyseed can't hold a candle. Because high-quality loose-leaf tea is often much more fragrant and flavorful than tea bags, you won’t need as much of it. If you’re using tea bags, just snip them open and measure out the tea inside. More questions about the recipe? You can ask them on our baking forum and receive a response from one of us or your fellow bakers.
Yield: Makes one 9x5" or 8½x4½" loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 3 Tbsp. loose-leaf Earl Grey tea or ¼ cup tea from bags
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp. raw or granulated sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat a 9x5" or 8½x4½" loaf pan with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides. If you’re not sure what size your loaf pan is, measure it with a ruler from inside edge to inside edge for both the length and width. If you measure from the outside edge, you’ll get an inaccurate reading of the width of the pan, and your cake may end up overflowing! It's the actual empty space of the pan where the cake bakes that matters here, not the width of the entire pan including its edges.
- Whisk 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, ½ tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. baking soda in a medium bowl to combine.
- Vigorously whisk 2 large eggs and 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar in a large bowl 1 minute (seriously, time it!); mixture should be pale yellow and frothy. Whisk in 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt, 3 Tbsp. loose-leaf Earl Grey tea (or ¼ cup tea from bags), and 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
- Gradually stream in 1 cup vegetable oil, whisking constantly until incorporated. (Place a kitchen towel under your bowl to stabilize it so that you have two free hands.) Add dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Gently tap pan against surface to eliminate any air bubbles.
- Sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbsp. raw or granulated sugar. Bake cake until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- Let cool 15 minutes in pan, then run a butter knife or offset spatula between the cake and pan to release. Lift it out using parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature (or even better, toast slices and slather them with butter!).
