This is the ultimate loaf cake to have with an afternoon cuppa. My attempt at Earl Grey yogurt cake was a roaring success.
I really like Earl Grey (and Lady Grey) tea – I don’t know why I don’t drink it more often. It lends a beautiful fragrance to to the loaf. I thought that actual tea leaves in the recipe would make the cake chewy or bitty. However, so long as you remove any of the thick or stalky bits, it’s absolutely fine.
A sprinkling of Demerara or granulated sugar over the top just before it goes into the oven ensures a lovely crunchy top.
The original recipe recommends toasting slices of the cake and spreading it with butter – it didn’t last long enough for me to try that out.
I took a few slices to my weekly crafty afternoon meet-up and was duly asked for the recipe – so it was a double success!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 220g/7¾oz vegetable oil, plus more for pan
- 250g/9oz all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 large eggs
- 250g/9oz granulated sugar
- 245g/8½oz plain whole-milk yogurt
- 3 tbsp loose-leaf Earl Grey tea or tea from bags
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp raw or granulated sugar
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F/ Gas mark 3
- Lightly coat a 9x5" or 8½x4½" loaf tin with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides
- Sift flour, salt, baking powder and bicarb into a medium bowl to combine
- Vigorously whisk the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute. The mixture should be pale yellow and frothy
- Whisk in the yogurt, tea leaves and vanilla extract
- Gradually stream in the vegetable oil, whisking constantly until incorporated
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the tin against surface to eliminate any air bubbles
- Sprinkle evenly with the raw or granulated sugar
- Bake the cake until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean - about 1 hour
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then run a butter knife or offset spatula between the cake and tin to release
- Lift it out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack
- Serve warm or room temperature (or even better, toast slices and slather them with butter!)