Earl Grey image courtesy leteteria.com
Isn’t “whilst” a great word? Perhaps I am suffering from “Downton Abbey-itis”. Well, undoubtedly I am, regardless of this recipe. But, I needed to bake a cake today. You know. So, I decided upon something fresh and in the citrus season. But, I wanted to make it a little different and I was “feeling “Downton-ish” I guess – with all the Lords about and such. Perhaps I should give this to Anna (oh dear!)
The bergamot orange, native to Italy, some parts of France and Turkey, is not commercially available here and is not grown for consumption. Yet, we are all fondly aware of its primary use, in Earl Grey tea. The orange is actually green in color and has a highly unique aroma and flavor. Earl Grey tea was named after the second Earl Grey, Charles, who served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1830 to 1834. The tea, supposedly, was named so by a mandarin man whose son was rescued by one of Lord Grey’s men. This story is somewhat in doubt, however, as apparently Lord Grey never paid a visit to China. Regardless of this dubious connection, we are all happy about the development and its carry-forward and great popularity to this day.
While Downton is well into the 20th Century these days, I guess the images of high tea with the ladies made me think to incorporate this flavor into my cake today.
a bergamot orange from Calabria – photo courtesy Wikipedia
THE LORD BERGAMOT ORANGE TEA CAKE – adapted from Fine Cooking
10 oz all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 tblsp unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup canola oil (check for freshness)
1 generous tblsp freshly grated orange zest, blood orange if available
1 tblsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, blood orange if available
5 large eggs, room temp
tea leaves from 1 Earl Grey tea bag (Bigelow)
Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter and lightly flour a 12 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Place in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until it forms small crumbs. Change paddle to whisk attachment. Add the oil, orange juice, extracts and zest. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix well. When all the eggs are incorporated, mix on medium for 3 minutes. Add the tea and incorporate through the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Let cool in pan for 1 hour. Turn out onto a cake plate and dust with confectioner sugar.
Serve with a lovely dollop of creme fraiche, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, flavored mascarpone or just a cup of Earl Grey Tea. Enjoy! This is a lovely and highly fragrant cake! Don’t worry if it collapses whilst cooling.
