Although I’ve flirted with coffee over the years I am, at heart, a tea drinker.
I like English Breakfast or Japanese green tea in the morning, Earl Grey or Lady Grey in the afternoon and Rooiboos (African bush tea) or peppermint tea after dinner. Not to mention the endless cups of Gook Bo (a heady mixture of whole Chrysanthemum flowers and pu-erh tea) I consume when enjoying yum cha (literally, ‘drink tea’).
So I was quietly thrilled when we decided to go with a tea theme for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ dessert-themed blog hop hosted by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and me, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop. 
For this month’s tea-themed dessert hop, I decided to do something with Twinings’ Lady Grey, an afternoon tea I’ve always admired for it’s delicate orange and lemon overtones. So I adapted this Vanilla Bundt Cake by Rosie of the gorgeous Sweetapolita blog, transforming it into a Lady Grey Bundt Cake by adding Lady Grey tea, lemon zest, rosewater and honey.
Ms 5 Year Old helped me to bake this cake and it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon – she greased the Bundt tin and mixed the dry ingredients while I creamed the butter and sugar, then she helped me to crack the eggs, beat the mixture, pour it into the tin and lick the beaters.
After the cake has finished baking you need to let it cool down for two hours before you can ice it. This seems like a very long time because your nostrils are being assailed with the delicious scent of vanilla, butter and lemon. I advise you to leave the house if possible, lest you crack and attempt to ice and eat the cake before it’s fully cooled down.
Resist the temptation and you’ll be rewarded with a wonderfully dense and aromatic cake, almost like a mud cake in texture, with an icing that will make your eyes roll back in your head.
That’s what it did for me, anyway. Enjoy!
Check out JJ’s post to see all the other tea-inspired dessert recipes
Lady Grey Bundt Cake with Rosewater Icing
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Description
A moist and dense Bundt cake, fragranced with Lady Grey tea, orange, lemon and rosewater.
Ingredients
Lady Grey Cake
- 3 cups (360 g) plain flour (I used organic but regular is fine)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Tea from 2-3 Twinings Lady Grey teabags
- Zest from one unwaxed lemon
- 250 grams unsalted Danish style butter (2 1/4 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla essence
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) Greek yoghurt + 1/3 cup (80 ml) water (OR 3/4 cup normal yoghurt + 1/4 cup (60 ml) water OR 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk)
Rosewater Icing
- 1 cup (120 g) icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or essence
- 1 tbsp honey, melted in microwave for 5 seconds
- 1 tsp rosewater essence
- 1-2 tbsp milk
Decoration
- Zest from one unwaxed lemon
- Tea from 1/2 Twinings Lady Grey teabag
Instructions
Lady Grey Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced (350°F) with rack in middle of oven.
- Grease Bundt pan with butter and dust with flour, knocking excess out.
- In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, tea and lemon zest.
- In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar on medium speed for about five minutes, or until pale and airy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl whenever necessary with a silicon spatula.
- Add vanilla and beat for another minute.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.
- In a cup, mix together yoghurt and water so it is a runny consistency.
- Add flour and yoghurt mixture to egg and butter mixture in three batches each, alternating between each i.e. add a bit of flour, mix in, then add a bit of yoghurt mixture, mix in, then add some more flour and so on until all is added and combined.
- Pour batter evenly into the Bundt pan. Jiggle it around on the kitchen bench to even it out and reduce air bubbles.
- Bake for about an hour, until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clear.
- Cool cake in pan for one hour, then invert onto a rack and cool for another hour, until it is completely cold.
Rosewater Icing
- To make icing, whisk icing sugar with vanilla bean, honey, rosewater essence and half the milk.
- Continue whisking and add the rest of the milk if necessary. If should be quite thick, otherwise it will just run off the cake.
- Once cake is completely cool, drizzle glaze on top.
Decoration
- Sprinkle with tea and then decorate with lemon zest.
Notes
- A note on the ingredients of the Bundt cake: 1) Sweetapolita’s recipe called for 1 cup of buttermilk.
- I didn’t have that so wanted to substitute with 3/4 cup yoghurt and 1/4 cup water.
- Unfortunately the only yoghurt I had was Greek yoghurt so I had to add extra water to make it liquidy enough.
- I also think the thicker yoghurt made the cake even denser and richer.
- Next time I cook this I will try regular yoghurt and milk in the smaller quantity. 2) I used 2 teabags for this cake, which resulted in a delicate tea flavour.
- You could try 2 1/2 or even 3 bags for a stronger flavour.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 450
If You Liked This Recipe, You’ll Love These
- Strawberry Swirl Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Chip and Blood Orange Bundt Cake
- Glazed Orange Pound Cake with Orange Zest
- Perfect Lemon Cake with Lemon Syrup
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Lady Grey tea differ from Earl Grey, and does it noticeably flavor the cake?
The article describes Lady Grey as having delicate orange and lemon overtones compared to Earl Grey’s stronger bergamot. The recipe uses the tea from 2–3 Twinings Lady Grey teabags blended directly into the dry ingredients — the article notes that 2 bags gives a delicate tea flavor; the notes say you can increase to 2.5 or 3 bags for a more pronounced result.
Can I substitute buttermilk for the yogurt and water in this recipe?
Yes — the original recipe this was adapted from called for 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk. The author substituted 3/4 cup (180 ml) Greek yogurt plus 1/3 cup (80 ml) water, and notes in the recipe that regular yogurt plus 1/4 cup (60 ml) water also works. The thicker Greek yogurt made the cake even denser and richer, so the choice affects texture.
Why does the cake need to cool for two full hours before icing?
The article is emphatic about this — the rosewater and honey icing is thin by design (1 cup icing sugar, 1 tsp rosewater, 1 tbsp honey, 1–2 tbsp milk) and will simply melt and run off a warm cake. The notes add that the icing should be quite thick; if it looks too runny before applying, hold back on the final milk addition.
