Friday 3 August 2012

Save me from winter cake....


Winter has not been fun for us this week. Freezing temperatures and plenty of rain.

So after much complaining and a bit too much chai' I decided to change my attitude. And how do you do that? You bake a cake.

There's a quote floating around somewhere that says if you can't change something change your attitude towards it. So I decided that taking inspiration from winter might prove a little more productive. When I think of winter I think of chai lattes, honey and milk, and trees overflowing with citrus.  So alas a cake was born!

This cake is scrumptiously moist with a perfect crumb. It's not overly sweet which is a nice change. It's perfect with a cup of tea and almost makes you feel warm inside with hugs of chai, honey and orange. Just right :)


Chai, Honey & Orange Cake
Adapted from Janene Brooks' Earl Grey Tea Cakes- Good Taste, September 2000. The original recipe can be found here.

2 chai tea bags
60mL (1/4 cup) boiling water
80mL (1/3 cup) milk, warm
100g olive oil spread, room temperature (alternatively you could use butter)
2 eggs
1/2 cup raw sugar
190g (1 1/4 cup) wholemeal self-raising flour
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
zest 1 small orange

Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a cake tin.
Cut open the tea bags and empty the leaves into a small bowl/mug. Add the boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk.
Add the spread, eggs, sugar, honey, zest and flour to the tea mixture.
Using an electric beater, mix on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture is pale and creamy. Don't worry if the mixture appears slightly curdled.
Pour the mixture into your lined tin.
Bake for 25-30minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow the cake to rest in the tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Serving suggestion: I made some candied oranges as a decorative garnish, and the added syrup was a delicious bonus atop a warm cake.


I hope this cake is a rescue remedy for you too.
Enjoy x



2 comments:

  1. Yumm.. this looks good! What flavours come through most strongly? I had no idea that you could get teabags of chai and that the leaves would actually be edible.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! The orange, honey and cinnamon from the chai all come through equally. They're a great combination of flavours. The tea leaves also add a textural component to the cake and work well with the wholemeal flour.

      Thanks for stoping by
      :)

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