This post is part of a 30th birthday dinner party series.
Before I left New York a year and a half ago, I stocked up on one of my favorite tea blends called the White Duke from Bellocq, a beautiful tea atelier in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The tea blend is similar to an Earl Grey, but is made with white tea leaves instead of black making it lighter on the palate. I used it to make a chocolate Earl Grey mascarpone cake to cap off the birthday celebrations of my dinner party. Despite the fancy ingredients, this is really a simple black and white cake that looks sophisticated, but is fairly easy to make.
Loose leaf is such a delicate ingredient that it can be lost when paired with something bold like chocolate. To ensure that the flavors shine through, tea is ground, steeped, or imbibed into each component of this chocolate Earl Grey mascarpone cake. It may seem like a lot of tea, but trust me the result is anything but overpowering. The tea’s aroma softly lingers below the super moist, but surprisingly light composition. Not too sweet with just the right amount of chocolate-y goodness, it’s the perfect celebration cake to finish a dinner party with.
I made this cake with Bellocq’s White Duke blend, but it can be made with any Earl Grey variety you have on hand. Just remember that black tea is stronger than white, so steep the leaves for a few minutes less than what the directions indicate.
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Chocolate Earl Grey Mascarpone Cake
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: One 8-inch Cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
Description
A moist chocolate cake with subtle notes of Earl Grey tea, and a tangy mascarpone frosting.
Ingredients
Earl Grey Cake Layers
1 cup (250g) boiling water
3 tablespoons + 1.5 teaspoons (10g) loose Earl Grey tea
1 3/4 cup (210g) all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup (350g) sugar
3/4 cup (65g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon (8g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (3g) salt
1 cup (240g) buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup (112g) grapeseed or vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
Earl Grey Syrup
3 tablespoons + 1.5 teaspoons (10g) loose Earl Grey tea
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons (75g) sugar
1/2 cup (125g) water
Earl Grey Frosting
2 1/4 cup (500g) mascarpone
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (200g) heavy cream
1 2/3 cups (200g) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons (45g) Earl Grey syrup
8-10 chocolate wafer cookies, crushed (optional)
Instructions
Earl Grey Cake Layers
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease.
2. Steep 3 tablespoons for 8g of the Earl Grey tea in boiling water for about 5-7 minutes. Discard the steeped tea leaves. Meanwhile, grind the remaining 1.5 teaspoons of 2g of Earl Grey tea to a rough powder. Combine with the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. When the batter is just combined, add the hot tea.
3. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Leave in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove and cool cake rounds completely on a rack.
Earl Grey Syrup
1. Get the Earl grey tea and place into tea bags. Tie tea bag strings onto a skewer. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Submerge tea bags in the saucepan’s contents and rest skewer on top of the saucepan. Bring contents to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid achieves a syrupy texture.
Earl Grey Frosting
1. To make the frosting, whisk mascarpone, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and 45 grams or 3 tablespoons of Earl Grey syrup together until thick and creamy.
Assemble
1. Brush the remaining Earl Grey syrup evenly between the two cake layers. Poke small holes in the cake to ensure that the syrup imbibes completely. Place one cake round on a cake stand or plate. Spread a portion of the frosting and then place the second cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Optional, decorate sides with crushed chocolate wafer cookies.
Notes
If you don’t have any tea bags, place the loose Earl Grey tea directly into the water, and pass through a sieve after steeping.
Keywords: chocolate, earl grey, mascarpone, cake, birthday, celebration, dessert
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