Earl Grey Loaf Cake with Lemon Buttercream
Earl Grey Loaf Cake is perfect for a summer afternoon. A light, soft sponge with a delicate Earl Grey flavour. Complemented beautifully by a thick lemon buttercream for a delightfully sweet treat.
Servings 12 Slices
Calories 358kcal
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 g Caster Sugar
- 100 g Butter Or margarine plus extra to grease tin
- 100 ml Semi-skimmed milk
- 5 Earl Grey Teabags
- 3 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 200 g Self-raising flour
For the buttercream:
- 100 g Butter At room temperature
- 220 g Icing sugar
- 1/2 Lemon Zest and juice
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a loaf tin.
- Add the milk and teabags to a small saucepan and place over a very low heat.
- Heat up very gently, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, without ever bringing the milk to the boil.
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- Once cool enough to touch, squeeze the teabags out into the milk and then throw them away.
- Leave the milk to one side to further cool.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs, mixing in one at a time.
- Pour in the vanilla and the earl grey infused milk.
- Stir together well.
- Sift in the flour and fold until the mixture is smooth and even.
- Pour the cake mix into the loaf tin and spread evenly.
- Bake for around 45 minutes, testing to see if it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre, if cooked it will come out clean.
- Leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before tipping onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
- Beat the butter until soft.
- Add the icing sugar and continue to beat until smooth.
- Add the zest and juice of half a lemon and stir through thoroughly.
- If the mixture is too runny, add more icing sugar, a little at a time. If it’s too thick, add milk a few drops at a time until it is thick but spreadable.
- Use a palette knife to spread the icing onto the cooled cake thickly.