If you enjoy tender, mild baked goods that pair fantastically with tea or coffee, this recipe is for you. And don’t worry, there shall be no rambling of touchy family anecdotes here! Earl Grey just provides a delightful floral note to baked goods of which I happen to enjoy.
This recipe is an adaptation of Helen Rennie’s Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. As I have Celiac Disease, it is gluten free. The original recipe can be found here.
To access the time and activity chart for my adapted recipe, click here.
If you would like to learn more about the chemistry of chiffon cakes, click here.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients
- Wet Ingredients
- Egg Whites
Instructions
- Let about 3 tablespoons of loose leaf Earl Grey steep in 2 cups of hot water. Let cool for ~an hour and a half. While you wait, preheat the oven to 325F!
- Then, prepare a medium mixing bowl. Separate 8 eggs, leaving 5 yolks behind. Transfer all whites to a stand mixer bowl.
- In another mixing bowl (large), begin to mix the dry ingredients together. 128g almond & GF all purpose flour 285g granulated sugar 1tbsp baking powder 1tsp table salt
- To the bowl with the 5 egg yolks, add your wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. 60g veg oil 3/4 cups Earl Grey 1tsp vanilla
- As you now add the wet ingredients into your dry, once NO flour streaks remain, scoop out ~3 tablespoons of tea leaves to add to the batter. This brings a more interesting heterogeneous texture to the cake.
- BACK TO THE EGG WHITES! To the egg whites, which have no dots of yolk--because fat is the NEMESIS of stiff peaks--add 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar. Begin mixing on low, unless you live on the edge. Beat until soft peaks form before adding 2oz powdered sugar. The finer texture ensures they will incorporate more smoothly into the water within the whites. If no one from the future has come to stop you because you've messed it all up, continue until you reach stiff peaks. Stop IMMEDIATELY or YOU WHISK--sorry, risk OVERMIXING!
- Fold your stiff peaks into your consolidated batter. It is best to do this in stages to ensure everything is evenly aerated/incorporated.
- Now it is safe to transfer your batter to a 9.5 inch UNGREASED cake pan. Yes, you read that correctly. For optimal results/successful bribery, it is strongly recommended you use a Bundt pan.
- Tap that pan on the counter (gently) a few times to get rid of any stray air bubbles. Bake 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Start checking at 45 minutes if you would prefer your kitchen not burst into flames!
- Once cooled (upside down), transfer the cake onto a plate and scrape a knife around the pan edges. If you were lucky enough to avoid tearing upon release, you may now consume your cake. Congratulations, you baked something!
Notes
04_04 Lecture Slides (PDF). Lecture Notes Site, Moodle. Eggs. https://lms.dickinson.edu/pluginfile.php/1803069/mod_label/intro/04_04LectureSlides.pdf. O'Neill Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IqQkouHYag (accessed 2023-05-01). [Original recipe video] Low, A. Earl Grey Tea Chiffon Cake Recipe. Honest Cooking. https://honestcooking.com/earl-grey-tea-chiffon-cake-recipe/ (accessed 2023-05-01). [Featured Image] Miller, R. Cakes: Types of Cakes. Encyclopedia of Food and Health 2016, 579–582. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384947-2.00100-8. [Bundt pan info]