It’s elderflower season now and you spot the cluster of creamy-white blooms when strolling through parks around London. We went foraging for them in Mile End Park a few weeks ago and I made a few bottles of cordial (and even had a failed attempt at making elderflower jelly…). I thought the fragrance of elderflower might marry well with the bergamot in earl grey, and that’s how this cake came about.
I’ve personally never made this earl grey loaf cake before, but I’ve had versions made by friends and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Despite the tea not being steeped, the earl grey flavour really comes through. I had some sour cream to use up, so I’ve used a mix of sour cream and yogurt and cut the amount of oil used in the recipe in exchange for more sour cream. I love the crunchiness of the demerara sugar on top and brushed on even more elderflower cordial once the cake was out of the oven.
Earl grey elderflower loaf cake
- You can use vanilla extract instead of elderflower cordial in the cake and not brush any cordial after the cake is baked if you can’t find it / don’t fancy the taste of elderflower
- I made my own elderflower cordial with the recipe from Country Living
- You can use all yogurt, all sour cream or a mix of sour cream & yogurt as I did
- Recipe adapted from Bon AppΓ©tit
Ingredients
- 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Β½ teaspoon baking powder
- Β½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 285g (1 & 2/3 cup) sour cream / plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoon loose-leaf earl grey tea or ΒΌ cup leaves from teabags
- 2 teaspoon elderflower cordial
- 100ml (Β½ cup) vegetable oil
- For assembly: 2 tablespoon demerara sugar (before baking), 2 – 3 tablespoons elderflower cordial (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 160Β°C (325Β°F). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar for a minute until pale yellow and frothy. Add sour cream / yogurt, tea leaves and elderflower extract.
- Stream in vegetable oil, whisking until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Scrape batter into loaf pan and gently tap against the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Sprinkle demerara sugar on the loaf and put in the oven to bake for 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and poke holes into the loaf, brushing elderflower cordial (optional). Let cool for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
earl grey thursday 