I recently picked up the Layered cookbook by Tessa Huff. First, I’m going to say that this book is awesome. Quite a few incredible easy desserts in there. But her London Fog cake really stood out. I’m a huge fan of Earl Grey tea so we gave this a whirl. I’ll say it was pretty delicious.
What I ended up wanting was just a bit more Earl Grey flavor, so we made a few adaptations to her Swiss Meringue buttercream recipe and ended with this recipe. We used our standard chocolate cake recipe for the cake layers. This makes two delicious chocolate layers. If you want more layers of cake go ahead and double the recipe, or 1.5 times it to give you three layers. We went with three, but two would easily work for this cake and your buttercream will just be a bit thicker since you have one less layer to cover.
We then topped the cake with this standard caramel sauce. It’s super simple to make but I must remind you that hot caramel can foam up and splash so be careful if you are planning on making it. The cake tastes wonderful without the caramel, but is really tasty with it. It just depends on your motivation, time for cooking, and love of caramel.
Caramel sauce:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Place sugar, corn syrup and 2 tbsp water in a medium saucepan. Heat over high heat, slowly swirling the pan until it turns a golden amber color, about 10 minutes. Once you have the right color, remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream. (Be careful it will foam up and splash, so stand clear) Add the butter and continue to stir until melted. Add the vanilla and pour into a heat proof container until it cools.
Ingredients
- 297 grams AP Flour
- 425 grams sugar
- 65 grams cocoa powder
- 11grams salt
- 12 grams baking soda
- 45 grams cultured buttermilk powder
- 170 grams vegetable oil
- 525 grams water
- 80 grams eggs
- 2 cups (450 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) Earl Grey tea
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (160 ml) egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray two 8” round cake pans with cooking spray.
- Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and buttermilk powder into mixing bowl of stand mixer.
- With paddle attachment mix on low speed to combine.
- Add oil, water, eggs, one at a time and continue mixing until blended together.
- Pour into pans and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
- Place one cup of the butter in a saucepan with the loose tea. Heat until the butter melts, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes more.
- Strain the butter and then refrigerate it until it cools to the consistency of softened butter. About 30 minutes.
- Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk by hand to combine.
- Fill a saucepan with a few inches of water and place it over medium heat. Place the mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler. Whisk intermittently, and heat the egg mixture until it reaches 160 F.
- Place the mixer bowl back onto the stand mixer.
- With the whisk attachment beat the egg mixture for 10 minutes, until it holds medium stiff peaks.
- Stop the mixture and change to the paddle attachment.
- With mixture on low speed, add the vanilla, tea infused butter, and remaining one cup of butter, a tablespoon at a time.
- Once all incorporated, mix until the buttercream is silky smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Spread buttercream between layers and lightly on top and sides of cake.
- Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
- Pour caramel drizzle onto cake.
And if you find you love this chocolate cake we also used it in our chocolate peppermint cupcakes, and the red wine chocolate cupcakes.
42 comments… add one
Patty K-P August 27, 2018, 12:39 pm
LOVE the combination of earl gray and chocolate! And that caramel sauce looks divine!
serena August 27, 2018, 12:51 pm
Thanks so much! I love that caramel sauce, we use it for so many things
Emily August 27, 2018, 1:18 pm
I love earl grey tea but never baked with it, I bet this is delicious!
serena August 27, 2018, 3:21 pm
Thanks so much! It’s really tasty
Catherine Brown August 27, 2018, 1:26 pm
WOW! That is a cake! I’ve never tried the Earl Grey flavoring before, looks and sounds delicious though.
serena August 27, 2018, 3:20 pm
It is really delicious if you like Earl Grey tea!
Traci August 27, 2018, 1:43 pm
I have never made a cake with tea frosting…and now I am genuinely interested! This looks stunning…just pinned!
serena August 27, 2018, 3:20 pm
Thanks so much! It’s worth a try if you love tea
Shadi Hasanzadenemati August 27, 2018, 2:08 pm
OMG that buttercream is EVERYTHING! I’ll probably make an extra batch to just eat with a spoon!
serena August 27, 2018, 3:20 pm
I totally agree!
Elaine August 27, 2018, 2:50 pm
When I first saw the caramel sauce in your recipe, I was really impressed. Even more, I was really happy to find out that it was so easy to make. I will definitely give it a try.
serena August 27, 2018, 3:21 pm
That caramel is super easy and it lasts for quite a long time. It’s nice on ice cream 🙂
Melissa August 27, 2018, 4:41 pm
Wow, that looks so decadent!! This is going on my list of things to try!
serena August 27, 2018, 6:03 pm
Thanks so much!
Kristy Bullard August 27, 2018, 5:32 pm
This sounds amazing! I’ve never used Earl Grey tea in a recipe, but this sounds delicious. And that caramel sauce..yum!
serena August 27, 2018, 6:04 pm
If you like Earl Grey tea this is definitely a must try cake.
Maria August 27, 2018, 7:28 pm
Awesome article and recipe. The pictures caught my attention as soon as I landed on the site. Thank you!
serena August 28, 2018, 7:35 am
Thanks so much!
Whitney August 27, 2018, 11:39 pm
That looks so delicious! I used to make cheesecakes but this is making me want to get in the kitchen again! I never would have thought of Earl Grey and Buttercream but I love both and now I want to see how they’d taste together. Thanks for including the pictures!
serena August 28, 2018, 7:35 am
Thanks so much! They really make a great flavor combo
Geraline Batarra August 27, 2018, 11:39 pm
I am a cake lover but not good in making cake. This one looks really delicious I will try to make this since the procedures look so easy to follow.
serena August 28, 2018, 7:36 am
It’s super easy to whip up. Enjoy!
Marianne Blackham August 28, 2018, 1:15 am
I had never thought of doing Earl Grey buttercream. I am going to have to try this now.
serena August 28, 2018, 7:36 am
It’s pretty tasty and definitely worth the time. Enjoy!
Heather August 28, 2018, 7:07 am
Mmmmm this looks so good! I’m a sucker for buttercream, so this is right up my alley!
serena August 28, 2018, 7:36 am
Thanks! Enjoy 🙂
Sarah August 28, 2018, 9:55 am
Buttercream is my favorite and adding Earl Gray? A wonderful combination I would never have thought of on my own! Can’t wait to try this!
serena August 28, 2018, 10:01 am
I was a bit skeptical with this one, but I loved it! I wouldn’t have tried it on my own either.
Christa August 28, 2018, 5:15 pm
I see a lot of recipes online, but this one made me actually gasp out loud. It looks absolutely delicious. My weekend plans have just been set!
serena August 29, 2018, 6:56 am
Enjoy!
Frank August 28, 2018, 11:05 pm
WHAT….. Earl Grey buttercream???! How have I not heard of this before! I’m going to try this asap. My wife and son’s birthdays are this week and I’m in charge of baking, so I think at least one of the cakes will be this!
serena August 29, 2018, 6:56 am
Enjoy!
Johanna August 28, 2018, 11:57 pm
I would love to try making this recipe, it looks delicious! My husband would absolutely love it!
serena August 29, 2018, 6:56 am
It’s pretty easy! Give it a go 🙂
Faneshia August 29, 2018, 6:47 am
Looks delicious! I love that it’s butter cream! Will have to give it a try.
serena August 29, 2018, 6:56 am
Thanks!
Elizabeth O August 29, 2018, 9:25 am
I have to say I was really taken aback by the thought of a cake with earl grey but it actually looks and sounds really delicious indeed!
serena August 29, 2018, 9:34 am
Thanks so much!
Kristi Ann August 29, 2018, 11:08 am
Wow! This cake is beautiful and sounds so delicious!! Must have some!
serena August 29, 2018, 2:18 pm
Thanks so much!
sian ryan August 29, 2018, 11:50 am
I have never heard of earl grey buttercream, sounds really interesting and a fab idea for baking
serena August 29, 2018, 2:18 pm
It’s really tasty if you love earl grey tea!