My first attempt of earl grey loaf turned out flat and bland. So I went ahead and did some research on food pairing and realised earl grey tea is tea flavoured with bergamot. Bergamot is a variety of orange, so I tweaked the recipe a little and added candied orange. Just a handful of it will do, otherwise it might overpower the loaf.
Final touch of dried lavender buds were used to dust the loaf. Lavender's mellow and sweet tasting notes complement the earl grey loaf quite brilliantly.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh milk (full cream please), infuse with 4 x earl grey tea bags (got mine from Dilmah)
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (if you are using salted butter, just a pinch of salt will do)
Handful of candied orange peels, chopped
GLAZE:
1/2 lemon juice
1/4 cup icing sugar
Dried lavender buds
STEPS:
Simmer the milk and soak the teabags for 40 minutes or longer (if you like it more intensive).
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Whisk at medium speed till white and fluffy. Around 3 - 4 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time to the batter. Low speed.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, candied orange in a bowl. Mix well.
Add the flour mixture and milk to the batter at three parts. Starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Combine well. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Tap the pan on the countertop to release any air trapped within.
Bake for 50 - 60 minutes.
Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing it completely.
Allow the loaf to cool completely before glazing, otherwise the icing will melt!
Combine icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk till liquid form.
Pour over loaf and decorate with dried lavender buds.
Can be kept air tight container up to 3 days in room temperature. Do not refrigerate.
Love,
The Headless Baker
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