Earl Grey Loaf Cake

Name: Earl Grey Loaf Cake
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Excerpted with permission from A New Way to Bake by Philip Khoury, published by Hardie Grant Publishing, September 2023. Photographs by Matt Russell.

Photo: Matt Russell

October 30, 2023

A simple cake that bursts with the flavor of bergamot.

“Tea-flavored tea cake has a ring to it,” writes Philip Khoury, the Australian-born pastry chef currently at the helm of Harrods in London. Khoury’s personal mission is to reimagine desserts from a plant-based perspective, and his new book, A New Way to Bake, does exactly that. His deceptively simple Earl Grey Loaf Cake is redolent with the earthy, citrus flavors of the tea, making for an ideal snack with an afternoon pot of tea, or for breakfast on slow winter mornings. “This little loaf celebrates the incredible perfume of bergamot (an Italian citrus fruit) essential oil which flavors Earl Grey tea—one of my first flavor loves,” Khoury writes. “It awakened my taste buds and started an infatuation with Earl Grey tea.”

Ingredients

For the cake
6.3 oz. (180 g) superfine caster sugar
7 oz. (200 g) all-purpose flour (gluten-free flour will also work)
2 tsp. (8 g) Earl Grey tea leaves
1 1/2 tsp. (6 g) baking powder
2 oz. (60 g) extra virgin olive oil
7 oz. (200 g) plant-based milk
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For the icing
5.6 oz. (160 g) confectioners’ sugar
1.6 oz. (45 g) water
Pinch of dried blue cornflower petals, to decorate

Preparation

To Make the CakePreheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with an oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Line a small (about 16 oz. or 450 g) loaf pan with baking parchment.

Add the sugar, flour, and tea leaves to a high-powered blender and blitz briefly to extract the bergamot flavor. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the baking powder. Add the olive oil and plant-based milk and use a whisk to mix all the ingredients together until fully combined.

Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and the top of the loaf is set and springs back when gently pressed with your fingertips, or a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

With the help of the baking parchment, remove the loaf from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack with a rimmed baking sheet underneath.

To Make the IcingSlowly mix the confectioners’ sugar and water together in a small bowl or measuring jug until it is fully combined and smooth.

Drizzle the icing on top of the cooled cake (still on the wire rack with the baking sheet underneath to catch the drips) and leave to set for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Decorate with the blue cornflower petals.

This cake keeps at room temperature, well-wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 5 days.