Earl Grey Pound Cake (Loaf Cake) with Lemon Curd

This Earl Grey pound cake is a loaf cake flavored with Earl Grey tea and topped with homemade lemon curd. The cake is filled with a lovely tea aroma and combines perfectly well with the sweet and tangy lemon curd drizzle.

The cake is easy to make, and quick too. It can be served plain without the drizzle if you like, but either way, it is a perfect treat for tea time and as a snack.

What is Earl Grey Tea?

Earl Grey tea is a black tea blend infused with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus plant and gives the Earl Grey tea a lovely citrus aroma. The tea can be consumed as plain black tea (hot or iced) and can also be used to make milk tea and bubble tea.

Earl Grey tea can also be used in desserts like in this pound cake recipe, as well as in cheesecakes and layered cakes. To use it in dessert, you can steep it in hot water as you would to make tea but in concentrated form (by using less water) and add it into desserts. You can also add the tea directly into your baked goods and desserts, but it is advisable to process it into fine powder before adding it in.

The Earl Grey pound cake recipe on this page uses both the steeped tea as well as finely ground tea leaves for a rich aroma of Earl Grey tea in the pound cake.

How to Make

Ingredients

For the cake

• Self raising flour + baking powder + salt
• Granulated sugar
• Butter
• Eggs
• Earl Grey tea bags (tea leaves)
• Milk

For the drizzle glaze

• Egg
• White sugar
• Lemon zest
• Lemon juice
• Butter

Steeping the tea

1. Add milk into a small saucepan or pot.
2. Cut the tea bags open and add the Earl Grey tea leaves into the milk.
3. Turn on the heat and let the milk heat up to a near boil. Turn off the heat and cover. Let the tea steep for at least 3 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and strain the tea with a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the leaves.

Mixing the cake batter

1. Add the tea leaves into a blender. Since the quantity of the tea leaves is too little, add some granulated sugar into the blender to give volume. Blend until the sugar and leaves are fine. Add the ground tea leaves and sugar mixture into a large bowl. Add the remaining sugar, followed by the butter.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and tea leaves mixture on medium speed in a large bowl with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) until turns light and fluffy.
3. Next, add the eggs into the sugar and butter mixture, one at a time. Each time, beat until all the traces of the eggs are no longer visible. Scrape the sides of bowl halfway through.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold these sifted dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in 2 batches.
5. Alternate each batch with the concentrated tea-infused milk solution in 2 batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
6. Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan (well greased and floured or lined with parchment paper) measuring 8 inches by 4 inches. Level the top and bake the cake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius.

For best results, test the cake for doneness about 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a cake tester or wooden skewer in the middle of the cake. If the skewer comes out without any wet batter, the cake is done and can be removed from the oven.

Let the cake rest in the tin for about 2 to 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool down.

Making the homemade lemon curd drizzle

1. Zest the lemon. Set aside. Cut the lemon and juice it. Strain the juice. Measure sugar into a heat proof bowl (medium bowl).
2. Pour the lemon juice into the sugar.
3. Add the lemon zest.
4. Double boil the sugar and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved.

1. Next, add in the lightly beaten egg. Mix constantly to avoid curdling. Add butter and continue to cook until the mixture thickens. Stir constantly to avoid the egg from curdling. To test for the correct consistency, dip a spoon into the curd and lift it. The curd is ready if it covers the back of the spoon.
2. Remove the curd from heat and strain it to remove any lumps, especially the eggs.
3. Wrap the lemon curd with a piece of plastic wrap. Make sure the cling wrap touches the entire surface of the curd to avoid skin from forming on top of the curd as it cools down. Once completely cooled, fill it into a piping bag (remember to not snip the tip of the piping bag yet) and leave it aside while waiting for the cake to cool down.
4. Once the cake has cooled down, snip the tip of the piping bag and pipe drizzles of the curd on the cake before cutting and serving.

Notes

Can you adjust the amount of Earl Grey tea used in the recipe?

• This recipe makes an Earl Grey pound cake that has a rich tea taste. If you prefer a mildly flavored Earl Grey pound cake, you can reduce the amount of tea used in the recipe. You can also choose to omit the ground tea leaves added directly into the cake batter, if you like.
• I do not recommend adding more tea into the cake than what is recommended in the recipe as this recipe is quite rich in tea flavor.

Can you bake the cake in a round cake tin?

• Yes you can. For the amount of batter in the recipe card below, you can use a 7 inches round cake pan to make a 7 inches round cake with a height of about 1.5inches to 2 inches. Reduce the baking time to 35 minutes.

Tips for a moist loaf cake

• Do not over bake the cake. Test the cake for doneness at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out without any wet batter, the cake is done and can be removed from the oven. If not, let the cake continue to bake a few more minutes and test again. Overbaking can result in dry cakes.
• Also, keep the cake covered with a kitchen towel while cooling down. This also help avoid the cake from drying out.
• Another tip for a moist pound cake is to wrap the cake in cling wrap as soon as the cake cools down to a warm temperature. Wrap it well and refrigerate until the cake it ready to use. Let the cake come to room temperature before removing the wrap to avoid condensation. The cake is also best served at room temperature.

Can you make the cake without the lemon curd drizzle or use a plain glaze drizzle for the cake?

• Yes, you can. This Earl Grey pound cake is perfect on its own and you can definitely make it without the lemon curd drizzle.
• Alternatively, you can also replace the lemon curd with a plain sugar drizzle on the cake. To make the drizzle, sift 60g of icing sugar (powdered sugar) into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Pour the glaze into a piping bag and drizzle on the cake.

Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you should check out

• Earl Grey Milk Tea - How to Make Earl Grey Tea with Milk
• How to Make Lemon Curd - A Homemade Recipe
• Earl Grey Cheesecake - Perfectly Creamy & Simply the Best!
• Lemon Curd Cheesecake - The Ultimate Lemon Cheesecake
• Glaze Icing for Cakes (How to Make)
• Banana Pound Cake Recipe
• Matcha Pound Cake - Moist & Easy
• Easy Moist Banana Bread with Oil

Recipe

Here is the full printable version of my Earl Grey Pound cake recipe.

And that’s my super easy, rich and decadent Earl Grey loaf cake recipe.

Happy baking 😊