Earl Grey lemon cake - this easy vegan loaf cake is delicately flavoured with Earl Grey tea and lemon.
It is a lovely, light, soft, tender cake that pairs beautifully with a cup of tea!
I love to eat my cake with a cup of tea, but why not also have cake that is flavoured with tea?! This vegan Earl Grey lemon cake is a simple yet delightful loaf cake that is perfect for a mid morning snack, or even for breakfast!
The batter is infused with ground tea leaves and a twist of lemon; the Earl Grey flavour is subtle yet distinct, making this a lovely twist on a classic lemon loaf cake.
I used my vegan American coffee cake recipe as a base, with a few tweaks to make it work as a loaf, and the obvious flavour change!
Ingredient Details:
Earl Grey tea: You can use either loose leaf or teabags for this cake. If using tea bags simply rip them open and tip out the contents, about 5 tea bags should be sufficient.
If the tea is very finely ground then you can add it straight to the batter as is, but if it is larger pieces of tea then you will need to either blend it in a food processor or blender along with the sugar until it is finely ground, or grind it in a pestle and mortar or spice blender.
Lemons: You really want to use fresh lemons, not lemon juice from a bottle as the flavour is far superior. You will also need some lemon zest so make sure that you buy unwaxed lemons.
Non-dairy yogurt: I love using plant yogurt in vegan cakes, it is a great egg replacer and keeps the cake moist as well as adding flavour.
Either soy or coconut yogurt will work, ideally a thick, Greek style one. I haven't tested any substitutes for the yogurt I'm afraid.
Plant milk: You can use any kind you like but it should ideally be unsweetened and soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content.
Olive oil: I like to use olive oil but you can swap it for another neutral oil if you prefer, do not use coconut oil however or the cake will be too dense.
Sugar: Caster or granulated sugar is best. Do not use sweeteners or liquid sugars instead.
Baking powder and soda: Using both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) will give you the best rise and texture. Don't swap one for the other, you will not get the same result.
Plain flour and cornflour: Regular plain (all-purpose) flour with a bit of cornflour (cornstarch) added gives the crumb a nice texture. You can swap the cornflour for an equal weight of plain flour if you don't have any, but I do recommend using it if you can.
How To Make Earl Grey Lemon Cake:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: Whisk together the yogurt, milk, oil, lemon juice and zest, sugar and finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves.
- Step 2: Whisk in the cornflour, baking powder and soda and salt, followed by the flour.
- Step 3: Pour the batter into a lined 2lb loaf tin and bake for 60-70 minutes.
- Step 4: Once the cake is cooled, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the yogurt and lemon juice. Pour over the cake and serve.
Top Tips:
All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.
Be careful not to over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough, just stir it by hand with a balloon whisk (not an electric mixer) until no dry lumps remain.
If you want to make sure that the cake has a perfect crack down the centre, dip a butter knife in oil and run it through the batter before putting it in the oven.
The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
Make sure that you buy unwaxed lemons as the wax used is not usually vegan and probably isn't good to eat anyway!
FAQ's:
Earl Grey is a black tea that has been flavoured with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit and it is the oil from the rind that is added to the tea to give it it's unique taste.
The flavour is fragrant, floral and citrusy yet subtle. Due to the citrus notes it pairs really well with lemon, as in this loaf cake.
You can use any Earl Grey tea in this cake, though the preparation will be different depending on whether it is a finely ground tea or whole tea leaves.
I use bagged tea as it tends to be finely ground so can be added straight to the batter. If using loose leaf, or a very high quality bagged tea, you will need to grind it up to a fine powder first.
You can do this in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, or pulse the tea leaves with the sugar in a food processor or blender.
This vegan Earl Grey lemon cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for around 3 days.
Yes this cake freezes well, either whole or in slices. Make sure that it has cooled completely first then wrap it well to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature.
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Earl Grey Lemon Cake (Vegan)
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 Tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (about 5 tea bags)* (see notes)
- 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 180 g (¾ cup) vegan yogurt, preferably Greek style
- 100 g (6 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 124 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) neutral oil (I use olive)
- finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 45 g (3 Tablespoons) lemon juice
- 20 g (2 packed Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 270 g (2 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
Glaze:
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon vegan Greek style yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160℃ fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper.
- Whisk together the earl grey tea leaves, sugar, yogurt, milk, oil and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl.2 Tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (about 5 tea bags)*, 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar, 180 g (¾ cup) vegan yogurt, preferably Greek style, 100 g (6 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 124 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) neutral oil (I use olive), finely grated zest of 2 lemons, 45 g (3 Tablespoons) lemon juice
- Whisk in the cornflour, baking powder and soda and salt, followed by the flour.20 g (2 packed Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch), 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ¼ teaspoon salt, 270 g (2 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for about 60-70 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled make the glaze; sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and yogurt to form a thick but spoonable glaze. Add more icing sugar if it is too runny or more lemon juice if it is too thick.150 g (1 ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon vegan Greek style yogurt
- Spoon the glaze over the cake and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- *You can use any Earl Grey tea leaves in this cake, though the preparation will be different depending on whether it is a finely ground tea or whole tea leaves. I use bagged tea as it tends to be finely ground so can be added straight to the batter. If using loose leaf, or a very high quality bagged tea, you will need to grind it up to a fine powder first. You can do this in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, or pulse the tea leaves with the sugar in a food processor or blender.
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Raoul Smith
Earl grey cake sounds amazing, will try.
Anna Brown
Just tried it, baked as a tray bake instead of in a loaf tin. It’s soooo thank you.
Melanie
I substituted lemon for blood orange and it turned out great 🙂 Thank you for the amazing recipe!