Tea Cake with Raspberry Filling

16 servings

Experience

June 2020: I made the recipe at 2/3 ratio, and made a large and a small cake with 2 layers. It could have been easily sliced into 3 layers and with more jam to make it more moist. I used less butter (2/3 of 2/3) for the buttercream, and not much was needed to not cover the taste of the cake. The cake was incredibly moist and tasty.

April 2022: made the cake for Easter and for Matthaeus’s family, and they loved it loved it. I made the recipe in full. Cake: baked 2 large cakes, 40 min a bit over cooked and dry, also only piled them up so 2 layers cake, I would slice them in half and do 4 layers next time. Filling: instead of raspberry jam, raw raspberries. It’s fresh it’s sweet it’s acidic it’s perfect. Don’t use jame. Buttercream: cut down butter to 400g , it was still a lot of butter, and frosting left. Id prefer a whipped cream mascarpone frosting.

Other usages of the recipe

• 09/2022: Dani’s birthday when she came to visit us in Israel. Cake with almond, frosting is whipped cream with gelatin and elderflower syrup. Half portions, made 2 layers, should have made 3. The cake is a bit dry and not very sweet tbh, maybe it works better with tea.
• 22/09/2022: for apple cupcakes for Gabriel’s 2nd birthday. Added chopped apples dipped in honey and cinnamon. Mint green frosting (bit of green and blue) from cooked buttercream (1 cup sugar 4 tbsp flour 1 cup milk salt cook, 1 cup butter room temp beaten + cooked roux added https://pin.it/1Ib3vQG). Texture solidified in the fridge, taste is not too buttery, it’s not a bad frosting honestly. Made cake pops with leftover cakes and this frosting https://inthekitch.net/cake-pop-frosting/ : but it was too much frosting too little cake, and the pops should be dipped in white chocolate, not coated in powdered sugar). Again the dough is a bit dry…

Ingredients

Black tea Cake

• 2 cups (500ml) whole milk (demi-écrémé was very good)
• 12 black tea bags
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (I did 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 4 1/2 cups (675g) flour
• 3 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 5 tsp black tea leaves, finely ground (I had to use a mortal, the blender didn’t work)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups (340 g) unsalted butter, room T°
• 3 cups (600 g) sugar
• 6 eggs, room T°

Raspberry Filling

• (I used red fruits jams directly, but you can make it:)
• 3 cups frozen raspberries
• 1 cup (200g) sugar

Vanilla Bean German Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, extract, or the scrapings of one vanilla bean
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp (225g) sugar
• 3 tbsp (24g) corn starch
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 cups (675g, or 6 sticks) unsalted butter, room T° (I used 2 cups, it was fine)
• pinch of salt

Recipe

Black tea Cake

1. Oven: 180 °C = 350 °F. Grease and line three 8 inches cake pans.
2. Place the milk in saucepan. Heat over medium heat until just shy of a simmer. Add the earl grey tea bags, steep for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags, squeezing to get as much flavour as possible out. Measure out 1.5 cups (360ml) of the infused milk, topping up if necessary. Add the vanilla  and cool to room temperature. 
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ground tea, and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition. 
5. Add the flour mixture into the mixer in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Mix until just combined. 
6. Divide the mixture between the three pans. (I baked the cake in a big cake and a small cake pan, and sliced each in half to do a big and a small cake).
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Remove from the oven and cool in the tins for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.
8. Level off the tops of the cakes using a cake leveller or bread knife. If not using straight away, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to use.

Raspberry Filling

1. Place the frozen raspberries in a medium pan, and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then boil hard for one minute. Add the sugar, and boil for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer to a container such as a mason jar, and allow to cool completely. 

German Buttercream

1. In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, egg, egg yolks and salt. In a non-stick saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla to just shy of a simmer. Remove from the heat.
2. Using one hand to whisk constantly, pour half of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. This helps to temper the eggs and stop them from scrambling. Whisk until incorporated, and then pour the whole lot back into the saucepan. 
3. Heat the milk and egg mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. It will thicken quickly. Once it has thickened, cook for one minute, then remove from the heat. Pour into a shallow dish or bowl of a stand mixer and press some plastic wrap over the surface to avoid a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold. If you are in a hurry, you can speed up this process by placing the custard mixture into a bowl, and placing the bowl into an ice bath, stirring frequently. (This works well).
4. Fit mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip the custard mixture on medium until creamy and lump-free. Begin adding the butter, a few cubes at a time, until fully incorporated. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat for a few minutes until smooth and silky. 

Assembly

1. Fit a piping bag with a round tip, or snip the end off a piping bag. Fill the bag with a few scoops of buttercream – this is going to be used to form a ‘dam’ to help hold in the filling. 
2. Place the first levelled layer onto a turntable or cake stand. Spread a small amount of buttercream evenly over the surface of the cake using an offset spatula. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside edge of the cake – this is the dam.
3. Evenly spread about 1/3 of a cup of the raspberry filling over the thin layer of buttercream, keeping within the dam you have piped. (Don’t be shy with this, it should be a thick layer of jam). Top with the second layer of cake. Repeat the process (pipe a dam, fill with raspberry filling), then top with the final layer of cake. 
4. Using the offset spatula, spread an even layer of buttercream over the top of the cake, using the spatula to smooth it down. Spread a layer of buttercream over the sides of the cake, then using a bench scraper or cake scraper, smooth the edges of the cake, adding more buttercream when needed. I went for a ‘semi naked’ look – so I just kept scraping off buttercream and adding it in places where I thought was necessary until I was happy with the look. Level off the top edges of the cake using the offset spatula, holding it level with the top and using it to sharpen the sides. 
5. Chill the cake in the fridge for about an hour to help firm it up.
6. Transfer to your desired cake stand, and decorate as desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
7. The cake is better served back at room T°, when you can taste the black tea better.

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from cloudykitchen