This Earl Grey yogurt cake combines two of my favorite things in the whole world—tea and cake! Whether classic Twinings, or a loose leaf blend from a specialty shop, you can’t go wrong with the citrusy, floral flavor of Earl Grey tea.
Mixed in one bowl, this single layer cake has a soft and moist vanilla base. I grind the tea leaves to a fine powder with some sugar before starting. No one wants large bits of tea leaves in their mouth.
And the icing! Just blackberry juice and powdered sugar. The jewel-toned color makes it look extra special. Want more decadence? Make this whipped cream cheese frosting instead and add blackberry juice for color.
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💞Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s made in one bowl for easy clean up.
✔️ The tea and glaze are customizable to whatever flavors you want.
✔️ It tastes amazing.
📋Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Earl Grey Tea—any brand you like will work.
- Greek Yogurt—full-fat Greek yogurt adds softness and moisture.
Ingredient Swaps
- Earl Grey Tea—you can substitute any tea flavor you like.
- Greek Yogurt—full-fat sour cream is a good substitute for Greek yogurt.
- Vanilla—almond extract is a nice in place of vanilla.
- Blackberries—any berry with a vibrant color will work here. Raspberries are especially good.
- Blackberry Glaze—this homemade vanilla frosting is great in place of the glaze. Add blackberry juice for color if you like.
- Add Lemon Zest—try adding a little lemon or orange zest to the batter! Keep in mind, too much zest may overpower the tea flavor.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳Step-By-Step Instructions
STEP 1—grind the tea leaves with 1 tablespoon of the sugar from the ingredients. A mortar and pestle works great to make a fine powder.
STEP 2—add the tea sugar, plus the remaining sugar, Greek yogurt, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl.
STEP 3—mix on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and mix. Don’t worry if the batter is lumpy.
STEP 4—scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
STEP 5—mash the blackberries with a fork. Reserve the juice and discard the solids.
STEP 6—add the blackberry juice to the sifted icing sugar. Continue until a thick glaze forms, about the consistency of honey.
STEP 7—working quickly, spoon all of the blackberry glaze on the middle of the cooled Earl Grey yogurt cake.
STEP 8—spread the glaze gently from the middle of the cake towards the sides. Using the edge of an offset spatula is great for encouraging slow drips down the sides. Let the glaze set before serving.
🗣Expert Tips
1. This cake bakes at a lower temperature to help prevent a domed top.
2. If you don’t own a mortar and pestle, use a small food processor.
3. Control the thickness of the glaze by adding juice to the powdered sugar ½ teaspoon at a time.
📝Recipe Notes
- One teabag of Twinings is about 1 teaspoon of tea leaves.
- The top of the cake may dome slightly and it may also crack.
- Powdered sugar glaze can go from too thick to too thin very quickly. For slow drips of glaze down the sides that set quickly, keep the glaze on the thicker side.
Storage
- To Store—cover the Earl Grey tea cake loosely with aluminum foil on the counter for up to two days. After that, keep it in the fridge. Don’t store it in an airtight container, as the glaze will melt and run.
- To Freeze—wrap the unglazed cooled cake gently but tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and store it in the freezer for up to one month. Place it in the fridge the day before serving to thaw then glaze as per the recipe.
🙋♀️Recipe FAQ
Black tea mixed with the essence of refreshing, floral bergamot oranges.
The most common is lemon, however, orange and grapefruit are also nice. Berries are also a great flavor match.
If using butter, cream butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Substituting vegetable oil for butter also makes a soft and moist cake.
💃More Easy Dessert Recipes
Did you make this Earl Grey yogurt cake? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!
🖨 Recipe
Earl Grey Yogurt Cake
Equipment
- One 8-inch (20-cm) round cake tin
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- Liquid measuring cup(s)
- Mortar and pestle or small food processor
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Wire cooling rack
- Small bowl
- Fine mesh sieve
- Offset spatula optional
Ingredients
For The Earl Grey Yogurt Cake
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, plus extra for the cake tin
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for the cake tin
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For The Blackberry Glaze
- ½ cup blackberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20-cm) round cake tin with oil. Dust the inside of the tin with flour and line it with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit. Sprinkle a bit more flour over the paper. Set aside.
- Use a mortar and pestle to grind 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the Earl Grey to a fine powder.
- Place the Earl Grey sugar and the remaining sugar, in a mixing bowl with the Greek yogurt, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Mix everything together on medium-high speed until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix on medium-high speed until well combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin. The batter isn’t very thick so the top should smooth itself out.
- Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake it for 45 to 50 minutes. The middle of the cake should be golden and spring back when pressed gently with a fingertip. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Flip the cake out from the tin onto the rack and cool it completely before topping with blackberry glaze.
Make The Blackberry Glaze
- Mash the blackberries with a fork. Press the pulp through a small fine mesh sieve. Save the juice and discard the solids.
- Add the blackberry juice, ½ teaspoon at a time, to the sifted icing sugar. Stir well in between each addition of juice. Continue the process until a thick glaze forms, about the consistency of honey.
- Spoon the glaze onto the middle of the cooled cake. Spread the glaze gently from the middle of the cake towards the sides. Let the glaze set on the cake for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- One teabag of Twinings Earl Grey is about 1 teaspoon of tea leaves.
- The top of the cake may dome slightly and it may also crack. I love the homemade look of a cake with a cracked top, plus, the crack holds more icing.
- Powdered sugar glaze can go from too thick to too thin very quickly. For slow drips of glaze down the sides of the cake that set quickly, keep the glaze on the thicker side.
- The glaze may crackle as it sets. This is normal.
missy bell says
I made this superb and delicious cake earlier this afternoon. After I iced it with the blackberry glaze and waited a bit for it to set, we sliced into it. The verdict is in … and it’s another WINNER recipe Kelly! The Earl Grey scented cake taste and moist texture is so good. Just want to pass along to anyone else baking this that when I made this recipe, I used STASH – DOUBLE Bergamot Earl Grey black tea brand. The tea leaves are already finely ground and I didn’t have to use my immersion blender (with added sugar) too long. I did this because I don’t own a mortar and pestle and the blender worked perfectly as a plan ‘b’. Couldn’t read the comments Kelly from a couple of others who made this cake. Not certain if it is just me or what. Thank you so much Kelly for sharing this terrific recipe. I can’t wait to make it for others to try too!
Kelly Neil says
Yay, thank you so much for letting me know Missy! I love how customizable this recipe is. I made the cake with chamomile tea and lemon cream cheese frosting and it was perfect for spring.🫖🍰