This very well be one of the most innovative & curiously masterful recipes I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to try it out. Roommates, beware. There will be lots of purple & eating in your future. I’m totally dying the frosting purple.
Fudgy Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
Recipe from What We’re Eating (Click through for her Lavender Ganache & Cream Cheese Frosting recipes to accompany!)
- Tea leaves from 6 bags of Earl Grey tea, ground into a fine powder using a spice mill/coffee grinder
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups (packed) brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter then line the bottoms of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place butter and tea powder into a small sauce pan over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes until the butter has melted and the tea flavors have infused into the butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, place the cake flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk to combine evenly.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture and the cooled tea-infused butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk or beat until just combined. The batter will be slightly lump and that is okay. Do not over work the batter or the cake will be tough and dense rather than light and fluffy.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake cakes at 325 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean with only a few crumbs but no batter.
- Cool on a rack for at least one hour. To remove cakes from pans, run a knife around the edges of the pans to loosen then place a plate over each cake pan and invert onto the plate. Peel off parchment paper and discard.
- Place one cake onto serving dish. Tuck strips of parchment paper under bottom edges of the cake to protect the serving dish from getting messy while frosting.
- Evenly spread the ganache over top of the first cake. Place the second cake over the ganache bottom layer. Evenly spread cream cheese frosting over the top and sides of the cake. For best results, use an offset spatula. You may not use all of the frosting. Once frosted, carefully remove and discard the parchment paper lining the bottom of the cake.
- The cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 12 hours before serving or refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.
