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Home » Cakes

Published: May 20, 2020 · Modified: Feb 13, 2024 by Blair Braz · This post may contain affiliate links · 12 Comments

Earl Grey Cake Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

For this Earl grey cake recipe I’ve infused cake layers earl grey tea and paired them with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream to create a superbly flavourful and moist London Fog inspired cake. Earl grey simple syrup and earl grey infused milk add a beautiful black tea flavour to the cake.

Earl Grey Cake with white and pink frosting on a white cake stand and white and pink background.

When I first became interested in cakes-how they were made, the flavour profiles etc, there was one cake I always ordered from my favourite cake shop in Victoria, B.C. Ruth & Dean. Their earl grey tea cake. BOY, is it delicious. I continued to order this cake for a few years (and even had my cousin bring it over on the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver for my baby shower !!!)

Naturally, I decided to make my own version of earl grey cake recipe inspired by Ruth & Dean.

Components of this Earl Grey Cake recipe:

  1. Earl Grey Simple syrup: used to flavour the cake and also helps to maintain moisture in the cake.
  2. Earl Grey Infused Milk: helps to flavour cake!
  3. Swiss Meringue buttercream: silky, smooth, and perfectly sweet buttercream.
  4. Earl Grey Cake Layers: these cake layers are moist, flavourful and have the perfect crumb.

Keys to Success with this Recipe

**There are a few different components to this cake, so I recommend taking two days to bake and decorate it.

  1. Day 1, bake make your simple syrup, bake your cake layers.
  2. Day 2 make your Swiss meringue buttercream, assemble, and decorate your cake.
  • Ensure all of your ingredients are room temperature. This is imperative to having your ingredients incorporate together well —especially since we’re using oil in this recipe!
  • Cream your butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy! Don’t skip this step. It’s important to allow time for these to whip together in order to create a light and fluffy cake.
  • Don’t overmix your batter! If you over mix your batter you will end up with a very dense cake —yuck!

To assemble your cake:

  1. Place your levelled cake layer on your cake turn table.
  2. Poke holes into the cake using a fork and brush the earl grey simple syrup over the cake using a pastry brush.
  3. Apply a moderate layer of buttercream to the cake layer and spread evenly.
  4. Stack second cake layer on cake and repeat as above.
  5. For your final cake layer, turn the cake layer upside down so that the portion that was the bottom of the pan becomes the top of the cake. This ensures a completely flat surface to spread your buttercream on.
  6. Next, apply a thin layer of buttercream to the outer layer of your cake (otherwise known as a crumb coat) and place cake into the fridge to set for about 15 minutes.
  7. Once your cake is chilled you can begin frosting the outside of your cake!

If you try this recipe, make sure you take a photo and tag BAKED by Blair on social media and use the #bakedbyblair. I would love to hear how you enjoyed the recipe, so comment below! If you want to pin this recipe and save it for later, go ahead and click the pin button any of the photos above and save it to your favourite desserts board on Pinterest! ENJOY!

BBBxx

Earl Grey Cake Recipe

Earl Grey Cake Recipe

5 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Servings 3 6" Cake Layers

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup Unsalted Butter At room temperature
  • ½ cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1½ cups Granulated Sugar
  • 5 Egg Whites At room temperature
  • 2¾ cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1½ cups Earl Grey Infused Milk See recipe below
  • 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray. Set aside. 
  • Into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and oil together for 3-4 minutes until they are unified. 
  • Add sugar into the mixture and beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
  • With the mixer on low speed add egg whites in one at a time followed by the vanilla. Beat on high until mixture is smooth and light in colour. 
  • While your mixture is mixing, sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add one third of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and add one half of the earl grey infused milk and again mix until just combined. Repeat this process. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Do not over mix or your cake will become quite dense. 
  • Distribute cake batter evenly between three 6-inch cake pans. I like to use a kitchen scale to ensure batter is divided equally. 
  • Bake for 35 minutes, or until knife comes out clean. Each oven is slightly different, so I suggest setting your timer to 30 minutes and watching carefully from there!
  • Cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes before inverting and removing cakes from can pan to cool completely.
Earl Grey Cake Recipe

Earl Grey Infused Milk

Blair Braz
For this Earl grey cake recipe I’ve infused cake layers earl grey tea and paired them with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream to create a superbly flavourful and moist London Fog inspired cake. 
5 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ cups Whole Milk
  • 1½ tablespoon Loose Earl Grey Tea Leaves About 6 tea bags

Instructions
 

  • Use a small pot to bring milk and loose tea leaves to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 12-15 minutes.
  • Strain to remove loose tea leaves. It's okay if there are some small particles left - I think they add to the cake! Bring to room temperature before using in cake recipe. 
Earl Grey Cake Recipe

Earl Grey Simple Syrup

Blair Braz
Earl grey simple syrup and earl grey infused milk add a beautiful black tea flavour to the cake.
5 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Syrup
Cuisine American
Servings 1 batch

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup Water
  • ½ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1½ tablespoon Loose Earl Grey Tea Leaves

Instructions
 

  • In a small pot, combine water, sugar, and loose tea. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil for 3 minutes.  
  • Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5-7 minutes. Strain loose tea and allow to cool to room temperature before using.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Carolina says

    November 29, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    5 stars
    This is my all time favorite cake!!! Absolutely delectable 😍😍😍 if you haven’t tried this recipe yet you have to!

    Reply
    • Blair Braz says

      December 01, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      It's my favorite cake of all time too!! Yum!

      Reply
  2. Jocelyn Silverman says

    May 26, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    5 stars
    I definitely recommend making this cake. It has the perfect amount of flavor.
    Blair's instructions and directions are, as usual, spot on!!
    Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Blair Braz says

      May 27, 2021 at 8:17 pm

      Thank you Jocelyn, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  3. Sherlen says

    July 12, 2021 at 5:55 am

    Hi Blair! Do you have any photos of the inside of this cake by any chance? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Blair Braz says

      July 13, 2021 at 6:55 pm

      Hello! Unfortunately I don't! Do you have any questions I can answer?

      Reply
      • Sherlen says

        July 14, 2021 at 7:13 am

        I guess I was just wondering how the structure and taste of it is like just because I noticed it's made with only egg whites instead of whole eggs! Thank you!

        Reply
  4. D'Arcy says

    January 20, 2022 at 12:06 am

    5 stars
    This is an absolutely delicious cake. It's moist, yet light and looks stunning when decorated. Blair has so many helpful decorating tips on her blog and if you want to really treat yourself, join one of her decorating classes.

    Reply
    • Blair Braz says

      January 21, 2022 at 4:52 pm

      I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your continued support!!

      Reply
  5. Janelle says

    September 25, 2022 at 12:18 am

    5 stars
    This cake was unlike any other flavor of cake I’ve tried. Every step, the milk, the syrup and the cake were worth the end result which was DELICIOUS. Perfect for an afternoon tea with friends or for a get together.

    Reply
    • Blair Braz says

      September 25, 2022 at 12:48 am

      Isn't it beautiful! It's the cake I ordered from my local bakery that inspired me to try making cakes!

      Reply
  6. Brittany C says

    May 14, 2024 at 11:31 pm

    5 stars
    I made these in cupcake form and they were great! I did add about 2tsp worth of loose leaves to the batter to up the earl grey flavor and I used vanilla paste instead of extract.topped with a lemon american buttercream and a tiny bit of blackberry preserves. Perfect!

    Reply

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