The secret is, I used to teach cake decorating. It was how I saved up money to pay for my own wedding, and it gave me great joy – along with a lot of added stress, when I would run home to walk the dog after a long day, just to pack up my car, mixer and everything else to teach evening lessons at my local crafts store.
I took pride in, loved it, didn’t mind smelling sickly sweet as frosting, or having fifteen batches of containers of frosting in my fridge at home. But after a while, it was almost a chore and I wondered if I would ever do it again for fun.
Earl Grey Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream
prep time: 30 MINUTES cook time: 30 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR + DECORATING TIME
INGREDIENTS:
For Earl Grey Cake:
1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Cake Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Milk, heated to steaming
2 Earl Grey Tea Bags
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
1 tsp Vanilla Extra
1/2 Vanilla Bean, scraped of seeds
Pinch of Salt
Filling
1/2 cup Lemon Curd (jarred, can be found in jam aisle)
DIRECTIONS:
For Cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a six inch cake pan, and line with parchment paper. In mixing bowl, slowly together flour and cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a cup steep the heated milk with the earl grey tea bags to infuse the flavors. When steeped, discard the tea bags. To the steeped milk, add in the vanilla extract.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat to combine the sugar and butter. Beat until light and fluffy, about one minute. If the butter is cool, this will take longer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
Add in the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk, mixing at a low speed. Scrape the bowl and mix until everything is just combined.
Let the batter rest for about 15 minutes prior to putting into the cake pans.
Fill the cake pan 2/3 of the way. Level with an offset spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Check at 25 minutes.
Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes, before removing from pan and letting cool on wire rack.
Prepare second layer and bake remaining cake.
Villa Bean Buttercream:
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, and slapping the sides of the mixer.
Add one cup of sugar at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. When all the sugar is added in, be sure to add in the vanilla and salt.
Beat the frosting on medium high for about five minutes until light and fluffy. The frosting will increase in volume and become airy.
Use on cake when the cake cools completely.
To assemble cake:
Outfit a piping back with a round piping tip (#12).
Level cake layers. Set one cake layer on cake stand.
Pipe a ring around the top edge of cake layer. Fill ring with lemon curd. Set other leveled cake layer on top.
Top cake with remaining Frosting and smooth frosting over the rest of the cake. Pipe rings around the top and bottom edge of the cake. Pipe a ring around the top of the cake, and fill with any remaining lemon curd.
Slice cake and eat.
