“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. C.S. Lewis.

Snow arrived in England at long last the other day and with it hours of joy. It felt like Christmas had returned our two were so excited. We spent it tobogganing down our fields, breaking for tea in their treehouse and building snowmen by our stream. And nothing better than coming in from the freezing cold to thaw out with hot tea and cake.

An elaboration on our London Fog Cupcakes, this Earl Grey Layer Cake is a far more decadent affair and the time commitment required is wholly worth the rewards of a slice. This black tea blend long favoured by the English with its signature bergamot and citrus notes lends itself superbly to flavouring cakes and confectionary: Earl Grey-infused milk offers fragrant moistness to the layers and pairs beautifully with the subtle floral accent of the lavender syrup laced meringue buttercream. If you enjoy lemon curd, the addition of it in this cake makes for a lovely contrast that cuts sharply through the sweetness for balance, though the cake is still delicious without so feel free to simply leave it out if the work seems a little much or if you don’t care for lemon curd. Either way this one is the result of several weeks of recipe development and is now a firm favourite so I’m thrilled to be able to share it at last.

Notes

– Baking tip: This recipe already yields a light cake, but if you want to achieve bakery softness of texture use cake flour. Better still, if you have the time, separate your eggs. Add the yolks into the batter and in a separate squeaky clean, dry bowl (vital for this method) beat the egg whites and then fold the egg whites in with the finished batter.

– The lavender syrup and lemon curd can both be made ahead if you have time. They will keep for a few weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

– The buttercream –

• Be careful not to overindulge in the addition of lavender if you’re not familiar with it – too much can be overpowering and end up tasting like soap. Better too subtle than too strong.
• Swiss meringue buttercream can be left covered at room temperature for one to two days. After that, it can be refrigerated for up to five days or placed in the freezer for up to three months. If freezing, store in an airtight container and when ready to use, thaw to room temperature. Once at room temperature (22°C/72°F), place in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat for 2-3 minutes until creamy again. 
• Be careful not to use butter that is too warm – remove from the fridge and set it out for just 30-40 minutes before you need to add it to the meringue. It should be a little cooler than room temperature (16°C/60°C). 
• You can use cold egg whites here – it actually aids in the separation of the eggs if they are cold.
• Unlike many baking disasters, there is almost always a way to fix a ‘ruined’ Swiss Meringue Buttercream – see tips below for this.

Resolving common issues with Swiss meringue buttercream

Meringue Won’t Reach Stiff Peaks 

– A squeaky clean, dry bowl is crucial for meringue mixture – you won’t achieve stiff peaks if there was even a tiny drop of egg yolk, fat or grease in the mixture, mixing bowl, or on any tools you are using. Have squeaky clean tools and when separating your eggs make sure not a drop of egg yolk sneaks into the egg whites.

– It’s also helpful to avoid making this on more humid days where there’s extra moisture in the air.

– If you still have issues reaching stiff peaks, the meringue could be too warm or it needs a pause – if you’ve been mixing a long time and the mixture is still warm or stiff peaks haven’t quite formed, by all means pause the mixing for a while. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes before continuing. 

Buttercream is curdled or too thick Have faith and keep beating because it will eventually come together again. If it seems to only be getting thicker, place the mixture in your heat-proof bowl back over a pot of 2 inches of simmering water. Without stirring, let the edges warm up and become liquid (the centre will still be solid) – this should take just 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and return to the mixer. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to medium-high speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The melting and re-whipping step can actually result in a creamier buttercream so you may find that far from having lost, you’ve gained.

Buttercream is too thin This is likely due to the butter being too warm when added or the meringue being too warm when you started beating if you weren’t careful enough checking temperature. This is fixable by bringing down its temperature. Place the entire bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool down, then return it to the mixer and beat on medium-high speed until thickened. Any longer than this will solidify the butter, so only refrigerate in 20 minute spurts. If it’s still thin, place back in the refrigerator for longer before re-whipping again.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Equipment:

• 2 x 7 inch cake tins (18cm)
• sugar thermometer (essential for Swiss meringue buttercream)
• small saucepan
• medium mixing bowl
• electric stand mixer (we use our KitchenAid)

Serves: 12-14

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INGREDIENTS

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The cake batter:

• 240ml milk
• 8 teaspoons Earl Grey tea (or equivalent, 8 teabags)
• Separately, 1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea lightly ground with pestle and mortar (or equivalent, 1 teabag)
• 335 grams plain flour (use cake flour if you have it for extra tenderness)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 200 grams unsalted butter
• 365 grams caster sugar
• 4 eggs (separated if preferred – see method)
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla paste
• 80 grams yoghurt

The lavender syrup:

• 240 ml water
• 100 grams caster sugar
• 1½ tablespoons culinary lavender 

The lemon curd (optional) :

• 75g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• Juice and zest of 3 lemons
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk

The Swiss meringue buttercream:

• 5 egg whites | (200 grams)
• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 350 grams unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• Lavender syrup to taste

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METHOD

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Preheat the oven to 160°C fan oven. Grease and line your an 8 inch, 20cm, round tin.

The cake:

1. Place milk in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add your 8 teaspoons of Earl Grey tealeaves (or if using teabags, use 8 bags). Leave to brew, covered, for twenty minutes. Then strain (or simply remove the teabags) and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 170ºC / 360ºF / Gas mark 3. Grease and line two 7 inch round baking tins with baking paper.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and single teaspoon of lightly ground tea in a bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
4. Next place the butter and sugar in the clean bowl of your stand mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat for at least 5 minutes, scraping down between beating.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition and incorporate the vanilla extract. You can alternatively chose to separate your eggs for this stage for en extra tender cake – if separating your eggs, add the egg yolks now and continue on with the steps below, remembering at the end to whip your eggs separately in a squeaky clean bowl before adding them in very gently to the final mix.
6. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture, and milky tea in alternating batches, ending with the flour. Finally incorporate the yoghurt. Mix until just combined.
7. Divide the mixture equally between the prepared tins, and place in your pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

The lavender syrup:

1. Place the water and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat.
2. Cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved, add the lavender and let it simmer for 1-2mins.
3. Take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse and cool for 20mins.
4. Strain the mixture to remove the lavender. Syrup can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

The lemon curd (optional):

1. Melt the butter with the sugar, lemon zest and juice in a small pan over a low heat.
2. Beat together the eggs and the egg yolk in a bowl and add to the lemon mixture.
3. Stir gently over a low heat until the mixture has cooled enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Remove from the heat and pour into a sterilised jam jar.
5. Leave to cool and store in the refrigerator until needed. Any leftover curd will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Swiss meringue buttercream:

1. Lightly whisk egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl (ideally the bowl of your stand-mixer – I use the bowl of my KitchenAid).
2. Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with just two inches of simmering water over medium heat. Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. You can improvise for this and use a metal ring baking cutter for example on which you can balance the bowl to keep the bowl suspended over the simmering water. If you’re using a bain-marie or double boiler you will have to transfer the mixture into your stand mixer bowl once ready, so improvising with a metal cutter or similar often proves the best and easiest option here.
3. Gently whisk the mixture constantly over the heat until it reaches 71º Celsius (160º farenheit) on a sugar thermometer. Be sure to take careful readings and remove as soon as you reach the correct temperature. 
4. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer, and while the mixture is still warm whisk on high speed. Continue whisking for at least 10-15 minutes until glossy stiff peaks form and and the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. If it’s still not reaching stiff peaks, stop the mixer, place the bowl (uncovered) in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then return to the mixer and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Also be sure to check that once you have achieved stiff glossy peaks on your meringue you give it a quick fold to ensure that the meringue underneath is also at the stiff glossy stage. 
5. If the bowl and meringue still feel warm, wait until both cool to room temperature (around 70°F (21°C)) before adding the butter in the next step. Do not add the butter too early – a warm bowl and meringue will melt the butter.
6. Switch over to the paddle attachment, and on the lowest speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Ensure each spoonful is incorporated before adding the next.
7. Once all the butter is added, continue to beat on low speed for another 5 minutes or until the buttercream is thick and silky smooth. Add the vanilla, pinch of salt and the lavender syrup to taste. I prefer to add the lavender one spoonful at a time, tasting as I go until I am happy with the amount of lavender flavour. I tend to add around 100ml of lavender syrup for this cake, but taste as you go and add as much or as little as you like.

Assembling the cake:

1. Level off the cake layers.
2. Place the first cake layer, cut side facing up, onto a serving plate or cake stand. Optional: If desired, you can use a pastry brush to glaze the each layer of the cake with a little of the lavender syrup – don’t overdo this or you will have soggy layers.
3. Using an offset spatula, spread a generous layer of buttercream over the top of the cake.
4. If you are adding lemon curd, carefully hollow out the centre of the buttercream with the back of a metal spoon to form a buttercream dam and fill with three to four tablespoons of the lemon curd.
5. Gently press the second cake layer on top, cut side facing down. Repeat the buttercream and lemon curd process above.
6. Gently press the third cake layer on top, cut side facing down. Repeat the buttercream and lemon curd process again.
7. Gently press on the final cake layer, again, cut side facing down. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream.
8. At this point I recommend crumb coating the cake to make sure you don’t drag up the crumb. To do this, set the cake in the refrigerator to chill the crumb coat, about 20 minutes.
9. Once set, remove the cake from the refrigerator and use the offset spatula to spread on a final layer of buttercream. You can now choose to frost the cake either thinly or thickly, here. I kept the final buttercream coating thin – for a naked effect.
10. Serve with a pot of Earl Grey tea. 

As an extra touch I thoroughly recommend burning the Quietude candle from The Botanical Candle Company when you serve – its beautiful light lavender fragrance compliments the enjoyment of this cake perfectly.