I love the aroma of earl grey tea brewing. The scent always evokes comforting, cosy childhood memories, after growing up in a home where my parents’ favourite hot beverage was invariably a steaming hot cup of earl grey tea.
Fast-forward many years on, and when Marimekko recently approached me to create a sweet treat that celebrated their beautiful Oiva Puolikas collection, a collection of minimalist pieces reimagined in a pastel palate of soft pinks, beige and white, with the theme of ‘Gathering around the Table’, I was immediately drawn to the idea of family and friends sharing an earl grey scented cake.
This fragrant earl grey tea bundt cake is infused with bergamot notes, soaked in earl grey syrup, drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze and decorated with dried rose petals and cornflowers, and is the perfect treat to share with others on a cosy crisp spring evening.
This is a sponsored post, and you can shop all these gorgeous pieces from the Marimekko collection here.
Baking Notes
Bundt cakes are stunning with their intricate designs, but they can sometimes be a little difficult to extract from the pan. For success every time, I would suggest the following: (1) Use a good quality pan, (2) Reserve greasing the pan until just before pouring the batter in it, (3) Grease the pan very generously in every crevice with a cooking spray or oil (4) Sift a little flour over the oiled pan, then tap off the excess (5) Be mindful of how long the cakes rest in the pan before turning out – if left for too long or not long enough, they can stick, with 10-12 minutes for mini bundt cakes and 12-15 minutes for large bundt cakes usually being ideal (6) If the cake sticks to the pan, placing the pan cake-side-up in a tray filled with 3-4cm of boiling water for 2-3 minutes expands the cake pan and allows easier release. Take great care not to burn yourself and do not allow the water to come into direct contact with the cake.
French Earl Grey Bundt Cake
Makes a 20cm x 8cm (6 cup capacity) bundt cake and serves 10-12 people
Ingredients
Earl Grey Bundt Cake
- 300g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
- 225ml whole milk
- 10–12 earl grey tea bags
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar
- 75g brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or essence
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 360g plain flour, sifted
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp fine sea salt
- Sifted icing sugar, to decorate
- Dried edible cornflowers and rose petals, to decorate
Earl Grey Syrup
- ¾ cup water
- 165g (¾ cup) caster sugar
- 4 earl grey tea bags
- ½ tsp vanilla paste or essence
Lemon Icing
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp (30ml) strained lemon juice
Instructions
Earl Grey Bundt Cake
- Melt butter and milk in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring gently until hot and steamy. Remove from heat and add teabags, stir and allow to steep for 60 minutes. When ready to use, remove teabags, squeezing to extract extra flavour.
- Preheat oven to 175°C (155°C fan-forced) and set aside a 6 cup bundt pan.
- Beat together eggs and sugars until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes, then add the tea mixture and beat on low speed until combined, followed by vanilla, lemon zest and sifted dry ingredients until batter is smooth.
- Heavily grease bundt pan with a cooking spray, ensuring all crevices of the pan are well greased, then dust with sifted flour. Invert pan over the sink and tap gently to remove excess flour.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 12-15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a plate with a lip, drizzle with warm earl grey syrup, then allow to cool completely.
- If the cake sticks to the pan, placing the pan cake-side-up in a tray filled with 3-4cm of boiling water for 2-3 minutes expands the cake pan and allows easier release. Take great care not to burn yourself and do not allow the water to come into direct contact with the cake.
Earl Grey Syrup
- Simmer water, sugar and tea bags in a medium saucepan until the ingredients thicken into a syrup, then add vanilla
- Squeeze and remove tea bags, then pour the warm syrup over the warm cake, allowing the syrup to soak in as the cake cools.
Lemon Icing
- Mix icing sugar together with lemon juice. If icing is too thick, add a little more juice, and if it is too thin, add a little more sugar.
To Serve
- Place bundt cake on serving plate and dust with sifted icing sugar. Drizzle lemon icing over cake and sprinkle with dried edible flowers.
Enjoy!
Notes
Mini bundt cakes were also made for this collaboration for styling purposes, using a 6-hole, 4 cup capacity pan. If you wish to make mini bundts with a similar capacity pan, I would suggest making two-thirds of the total recipe, and baking them for approximately 20-25 minutes.
You may also like:
Chocolate Earl Grey Tart + Sea Salt (gf)
Strawberry Hibiscus & Coconut Cake
Chocolate Mandarin Rosemary Bundt Cakes
Nice! I love Marimekko dresses! Had no idea they made other things.
Thanks so much Adrienne, glad to share it with you. They’ve got a beautiful range of homewares don’t they, as equally divine as their clothing range!
Just baked the cake and the whole family loves it! Can I double the recipe and bake in a 12-cup bundt pan?
Hi Linee,
I’m delighted to hear this cake was a winner and your family enjoyed it. Earl grey is always one of my favourite flavours and scents. I haven’t tried making a larger version of this recipe but I would anticipate the recipe should translate well, just make sure your bundt pan is one with a large hole in the centre (some are more dome-shaped). The central hole allows the cake to cook evenly rather than having a burnt exterior and gooey under-cooked interior. You may also find covering the cake lightly with foil about two-thirds of the way into the baking time, lowering the temperature by about 5 degrees and cooking the cake for an extra 10-20 minutes may help ensure an even bake for a larger cake. Happy baking!
Loved this cake. So delicious and looks incredible. Thanks for a beautiful recipe!
You are most welcome Victoria, so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Kindest, Salma
Hello!
I just made these and they turned out wonderfully delicious. Thank you for the recipe ❤️ Happy thanksgiving
Hi Zuzana,
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, it’s one of my favourites – I just adore earl grey! Thanks so much for leaving such positive feedback.
Regards,
Salma