Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1764) of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG PC, known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the primary architects of the Reform Act 1832. His administration also saw the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. In addition to his political achievements, he has come to be associated with Earl Grey tea.

I am something of a tea aficionado (not as rabid as my son who has shelf upon shelf of tea varieties and paraphernalia).  I prefer Chinese teas and I have a number of favorites such as longjing, lapsang souchong, and da hong pao. I make them as simple infusions with no additives so that I can savor the basic tea flavors.  Hence, I dislike flavored teas such as Earl Grey where the bergamot oil overwhelms the tea.

While I don’t like Earl Grey as a tea, I’m all right with it as a flavoring for both sweet and savory things.  Here’s a recipe for Earl Grey chocolate cake.

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

4 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey
1 cup water
½ cup (1 stick) butter
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup plain yogurt
confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F/175°C.

Butter the lining of an 8-cup fluted tube pan.

Bring the water to around 185° F/85°C.  It is a great mistake to brew any tea with boiling water. Too many bitter oils are released.  Infuse the tea bags or tea leaves for 3-5 minutes, then strain the tea and reserve.

Beat the butter, eggs, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Blend in the chocolate. Beat in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, yogurt, and brewed tea. This can be done by hand or with an electric mixer.  Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Bake 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan on to a wire rack and let cool. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Serve in slices at tea time with a pot of unscented tea.