Bake With Tea

Have Your Tea and Eat It Too

Teas are essentially no different than spices—they are dried, concentrated bits of flavor. Some are herbal, some are sweet and some are smokey but they can all add a really unexpected, interesting note to your next baking project. Here's a first recipe to get you started on this exciting culinary adventure.

KAAPSTAD CAKE

Ingredients:

1 cups granulated sugar
7 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 2/3 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup strong Kapstaad Tea
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare baking pan by spraying with non stick spray or coating with butter.

To prepare the cake, place the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until well-blended. Add the egg, beating well. Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with the milk and tea, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in rind and extract.

Beat the egg whites with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form using clean, dry beaters (do not over beat). Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, tea, and juice in a small bowl. Poke holes in top of cake using a skewer; drizzle glaze over cake.

Glaze:

1–1.5 cups confectioners's sugar (slowly add sugar until desired consistancy is acheived)
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp brewed Kapstaad tea
Zest from 4 oranges