Black Tea Cake with Lemon Buttercream

I absolutely adore black tea. Iced with a lemon or hot with milk and sugar, black tea is and has always been one of my very favorite drinks. So I created something sweet inspired by those flavor and…well, it was literally a piece of cake! (Pun completely intended)

I’ve always imagined that tea infused cake would be delicious, but when frosted with heaping amounts of fluffy lemon buttercream, it turned out to be spectacular. It’s the little things that makes a cake delicious!

And since I just adore the look of a “naked” cake, I left the outside unfrosted and decorated with slices of fresh lemon and rose leaves. Served with a cup of hot black tea, this cake is pure heaven!

photos by Joanne Pio

Black Tea Cake with Lemon Buttercream
Yields 2, 9-inch round cakes

Black Tea Cake
2 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons black tea
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ½ cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pan.
2. Warm the milk until near boiling on the stove. Add the tea directly into the milk. Remove from heat and allow tea to steep, covered. Strain milk through a fine mesh sieve when cool and discard tea.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. 4. Gradually add in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the milk tea, mixing until batter is smooth.
5. Transfer batter to prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
2-½ cups butter, softened
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, lemon peel and lemon juice on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat 2 to 3 minutes longer or until light and fluffy.

Assembly:
1. With a serrated knife, cut each cake in half lengthwise.
2. On a plate or cake stand add a small dollop of frosting. This will keep your cake from sliding.
3. Start with adding one cake half to the plate and a generous dollop of buttercream. Frost the layers loosely making sure to spread buttercream all the way to the edges.
4. Continue to stack layers and repeat finishing with frosting on top.
5. Garnish with thinly sliced lemons and washed rose leaves.

Thank you to Robin of Two Chums for allowing me to bake in her beautiful kitchen!

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