This high altitude earl grey tea cake or London fog cake is moist, tender and slightly dense, flavored with vanilla and earl grey tea leaves. It’s baked in a Charlotte bundt pan for a simple but lovely cake that can be served warm with tea or coffee. This cake is wonderful plain or topped with honey whipped cream.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for poppy seed Irish tea cake, lemon olive oil cake, and Bavarian cream spice cake.
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What’s a London Fog Cake?
A “London Fog” is a drink, which is basically an earl grey latte, made with earl grey tea instead of coffee, warm frothy milk and a sweetener. It’s an easy concept to carry over into a cake, with crushed tea leaves mixed right into the cake batter, although some recipes might call for steeping the tea in milk first, then adding the flavored milk to the cake batter. And since tea and honey go together so well, I sweetened the whipped cream with honey, and it’s just delicious with the flavor of the earl grey tea cake. If you love the flavor of earl grey tea, you’ll really love this cake!
I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s high altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
Ingredients
Cake
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Earl Grey Tea. You can use either loose tea leaves or tea bags for this recipe. I generally avoid caffeine, so I only keep decaf tea bags on hand, which is what I used for today’s cake. But if you have a favorite brand of earl grey tea, then buy all means use what you love.
- Eggs. Add moisture, as well as strength and structure.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Butter + Sour Cream. These two ingredients add fat and moisture for a tender and flavorful cake.
- Flour. Plain, all purpose flour gives the cake structure.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises as it bakes.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Whipped Cream
- Cream Cheese. Adds stability and a little body to the whipped cream.
- Honey. Sweetens the whipped cream and complements the flavor of the cake.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. Whips to thick, fluffy peaks with its high fat content.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray a Charlotte cake pan thoroughly with non-stick baking spray, or use your favorite “cake goop” to coat the pan. If you don’t have a Charlotte pan, you can also just use a round 8-inch cake pan.
- If using tea bags, you’ll need to cut open approximately 3 tea bags to get 1 tbsp of tea leaves. Depending on the brand of tea, these may already be finely crushed. If using loose tea leaves, you’ll need to crush them before adding them to the batter.
- Using an electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer), beat the sugar, butter and tea leaves on medium speed for 4 minutes, until fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating each for 30 seconds before adding the next. Add the vanilla and the sour cream, beating until well combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix for about 15 seconds on medium low speed, until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the pan firmly on the counter to settle the batter into all the grooves of the Charlotte pan.
- Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the cooling rack, remove the pan, and cool for another 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, honey and vanilla with an electric mixer (either a hand held or stand mixer) for about one minute, until smooth.
- Add the cold heavy whipping cream, and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until thick and fluffy.
- If serving the cake all at once, you can pile the whipped cream on top of the cake before cutting into slices. If you’ll have leftover cake, serve the whipped cream on the side.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Store leftover whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The whipped cream may need to be re-whipped if it deflates.
I used the Charlotte bundt cake pan, which has a 6-cup capacity, and is the perfect size for this recipe. However, you can also just use an 8-inch round cake pan. If you’re on the fence about buying the Charlotte pan because you’re not sure you’ll use it often, I have a few other recipes I’ve tested in this pan, including my original Charlotte cake, pumpkin Charlotte cream cake, and poppy seed Irish tea cake. Any recipe that works in a bundt pan will also work well in the Charlotte pan, as long as it’s scaled down to the correct amount of batter for the pan’s capacity.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Earl Grey Tea Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tbsp loose earl grey tea leaves, finely crushed
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup full fat sour cream, buttermilk or kefir
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Whipped Cream
- 2 oz block cream cheese, cold
- 2-3 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray a Charlotte cake pan thoroughly with non-stick baking spray, or use your favorite "cake goop" to coat the pan.Baker's Note: If you don't have a Charlotte pan, you can also just use a round 8-inch cake pan.
- Using an electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer), beat the sugar, butter and tea leaves on medium speed for 4 minutes, until fluffy.Baker's Note: If using tea bags, you'll need to cut open approximately 3 tea bags to get 1 tbsp of tea leaves. Depending on the brand of tea, these may already be finely crushed. If using loose tea leaves, you'll need to crush them before adding them to the batter.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating each for 30 seconds before adding the next. Add the vanilla and the sour cream, beating until well combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix for about 15 seconds on medium low speed, until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bang the pan firmly on the counter to settle the batter into all the grooves of the Charlotte pan.
- Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the cooling rack, remove the pan, and cool for another 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, honey and vanilla with an electric mixer (either a hand held or stand mixer) for about one minute, until smooth.
- Add the cold heavy whipping cream, and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until thick and fluffy.
- If serving the cake all at once, you can pile the whipped cream on top of the cake before cutting into slices. If you'll have leftover cake, serve the whipped cream on the side.
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