| Ingredients
Earl Grey Cake adapted from Sift and Whisk 3/4 cup (180 mL) whole milk Lavender German Buttercream 1 cup (240 mL) whole milk |
To make earl grey cake:
Add milk to a small saucepan. Split the vanilla beans, scrape the seeds into the milk, and add the scraped pod to the saucepan, as well. Bring the milk to a simmer over medium low heat. Remove pan from heat and add tea bags. Cover the pan and let steep for 20 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing them to get as much liquid back into the milk. Remove vanilla bean pod. Pour milk into a measuring cup and make sure you still have 3/4 cup of milk. If the liquid has reduced, add a bit more milk so you have a full 3/4 cup. Let the tea milk cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350°F and line your cake pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ground tea leaves, and salt, then set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-6 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Pour in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the tea milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until the final bit of flour is just combined. Transfer the batter on the prepared cake pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully turn it out to cool completely directly on the wire racks. To make lavender buttercream: In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the lavender, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 20 minutes. Strain out the lavender. Return the milk to a simmer over low heat. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, egg and yolk. Slowly pour about half of the milk into the egg mixture to loosen it up, whisking constantly with your free hand. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk, whisking constantly, until combined. Turn burner up to medium heat and whisk until the mixture thickens and bubbles start blipping up to the surface. Cook for another minute, timing accurately. The mixture will get quite thick. Transfer the custard to a large mixing bowl (preferably the bowl of your stand mixer if you have one, because you’ll be whipping it up in there later). Press plastic wrap against the surface of the custard and chill in the refrigerator until room temperature, about 2 hours. (You can also chill it overnight; it’s okay if it gets cold.) Place the bowl of cooled custard onto your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high speed until smooth and creamy. Begin adding butter, a few slices at a time. Add the salt and continue to whip until all the butter has been incorporated. Switch the paddle attachment and beat for a few more minutes, until the frosting is silky. To assemble: Cut out cake circles, and if necessary, level your cake layers with a serrated knife. Place one cake layer on a cake circle or plate. Add about a cup of frosting to the top of the cake layer and spread evenly over the surface with an offset spatula. Place the second cake layer on top, wiggling it around so the top is level. Repeat for the third cake layer. Work the remaining frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake with your offset spatula. Garnish with fresh or dried lavender, if desired |
My Dose of Sugar 