Earl Grey Sponge Cake with Hibiscus Frosting Recipe
Here's a recipe created from two of my favorite teas: an egg free earl grey sponge cake made with Earl grey tea and a creamy hibiscus tea (sorrel/zobo) frosting all in one cake!
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British, Global, Tropical
Servings: 10
Calories: 520kcal
Author: Yummy Medley
Ingredients
The Sponge Cake
400gall-purpose flour
1 1/3cupssugar
¾cup175 ml oil (use an unflavored oil like vegetable or canola oil)
8bags of earl grey tea
½cupof plain yogurt
2tspvanilla extract
2tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
½tspsalt
The Simple Syrup
1cupbrewed earl grey tea
1cupof sugar
The Hibiscus Frosting
1 handful of dried hibiscus petalsaka zobo
1lb./ 16oz / 4 sticks butter
4cupspowdered sugar
¼tspsalt.
Instructions
For the sponge
Bring 2.5 cups of water to a boil, and brew the 8 bags of tea for 5 minutes. And set aside.
Preheat the oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour two 8-inch-wide and 3-inch-deep cake pans and set aside.
In a bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and set aside.
In another bowl combine wet ingredients: the yogurt, 1 1/3 sugar, oil, 1 cup of earl grey tea (it can still be warm), and vanilla extract.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and mix until fully combined. Be careful not to over mix.
Split the cake mixture evenly between the two prepared cake pans and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25- 30 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, and then cool on a cooling rack. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, and keep in the freezer until ready to ready to frost or for at least an hour.
To make the earl grey syrup to soak the cake
Simply warm 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of the brewed earl grey tea over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow the syrup to completely cool before using.
To make the frosting
Heat the hibiscus petals in about ½ a cup of water for 5 minutes. Allow the hibiscus petals to steep in the water until it is completely cooled. Once the hibiscus tea is cooled, drain the petals and set aside.
In a mixer, beat together on low speed, the butter and half of the powdered sugar.
Add in 3 tablespoons of the concentrated hibiscus tea / zobo.
Add in the remaining sugar and keep beating on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated.
Increase the speed of the mixer, and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy. If you need to lighten the texture of the frosting, add more of the hibiscus tea/ zobo, a tablespoon at a time.
To assemble the cake
Place one of the 8 inch cakes on a cake board and drizzle on the earl grey syrup to ensure that the cake is moist.
Spread some of the frosting on top of the cake and place the second layer on top of that.
Soak the second layer with more earl grey syrup and then smooth on more frosting to the top and sides of the cake.
Optional: I stuck some roses (food safe roses) on top of the cake and decorated the sides with some coconut chips.