Vanilla Bean Cake//Blueberry Jam Filling//Earl Grey Buttercream, cut with a touch of cream cheese
A note on the photographs:
All photos of the outside of the cake were taken by Danielle Arnold. I made this cake for a friend of mine’s baby shower, and just love these dreamy shots that she took of the cake. Her work can be found at:
Insta @daniellearnoldphotography
The photos of the inside of the cake were taken by me.
I’m super excited to share this cake recipe. I think it’s a pretty special one—it’s something I’ve never tasted before, and I find the whole concept pretty cool. The earl grey element of this cake is the buttercream. We take 470 g of butter, and let it simmer away in beautiful earl grey tea leaves until it’s incredibly fragrant. It whips up into the most unique and delightful frosting. I include a little cream cheese, as I often do in my frosting recipes. It isn’t an individually perceivable flavour, but it rather balances out the richness of the butter, and gives it the most lovely texture. I experimented with adding in orange zest, and even blueberry elements such as blueberry powder, purée, extract…I would recommend leaving it as is. Simple is better sometimes.
The next part of this cake is the cake itself. I wanted to create a recipe that had a super fine crumb, that was tender, and of course perfectly moist. Add in the fact that I didn’t want it to be dense, but rather closer to the lightness of a white cake (although not quite that airy, as I still wanted it to have a bit more substance to it to compliment the bolder flavour of the earl grey buttercream), and I had myself a pretty tall order to fill. I’m fairly sure that I’ve been trying to make a vanilla cake like this one for two years now, so you can imagine how elated and happy I felt when this one finally came out exactly how I wanted it! I use cake flour to keep it tender (due to the lower levels of protein and effectively gluten), and the whipped egg whites add further lightness. Both butter and melted refined coconut oil are used, as oil lends more moisture per gram than butter, and so we can add less liquid by using it. For those who don’t know, refined coconut oil is flavourless, and this is why I choose it above all other neutral oils in my baking. I also want to mention my usage of cream in the place of milk (gasp, I know!). I was almost happy with my tests, but just wanted the cake to be a bit more moist, and thought that adding in more liquid would negatively affect the crumb (and added egg whites definitely worsened the crumb). So I asked myself what fattier liquid I could use in the place of milk, and brilliance struck. Cream! And with that swap, I was finally satisfied. This cake is bursting with vanilla between the vanilla bean pod, and the organic pure vanilla extract that I use. Too yum.
Lovely blueberry jam fills the cake, to lend a delicate fruity note to bring it all together. I find that it’s such a classic pairing for a reason. I tested this cake with many, many fillings, and I feel that blueberry is the flavour that doesn’t fight with the earl grey, but rather lets it shine to its fullest. I see a lot of earl grey cakes paired with chocolate and caramel on the internet, and I feel that those flavours fight for the palate’s attention. I also tried the cake with raspberry jam—a friend of mine makes the most wonderful earl grey and raspberry muffins, and I think it’s perfect in that, but I found that the raspberry jam took away from the earl grey buttercream a little. The only jam that I think I would recommend trying if you don’t love blueberry, or want to switch it up, would be apricot. I think that mild sweetness would be delightful. Make sure that you buy an all-natural or organic jam. Bonne Maman or Smuckers are my go-tos (yes, Smuckers is all-natural! Who would have thought? So many things that contained artificial ingredients in my childhood are now free of them, and that makes me very happy indeed.). Just don’t buy a reduced or sugar-free option—tested, not good. You can even make your own cômpote if you feel like it—delicious!
Recipe:
Makes 1 6-inch (3 layer) cake
Notes
I cut the cake cold for the photos, as I was in a bit of a hurry, which caused that textured look! Know that the buttercream is very soft and creamy once it comes to room temperature.
I sometimes like to add fresh blueberries to the batter. If you would like to do this, just do 3 small handfuls, and toss the blueberries in about a teaspoon of flour before folding them into the finished batter. This will ensure that they don't sink to the botttom whilst baking.
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
Top tip for room-temperature eggs: if ever you don’t have the time to take them out of the fridge early enough, or yet if you forget, you can place them in a bowl covered with hot water for 5 minutes, and they will become room-temperature just like that!
Likewise, you can bring your cream to room temperature by lightly heating it in a saucepan.
Make sure that the bowl used for the egg whites, as well as the beaters, are perfectly clean. Even trace amounts of a fat can hinder the whites from whipping into stiff peaks.
Video link to demonstrate how to fold egg whites into cake batter, for those who haven’t done this before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfgz10xdq6k Skip to the 2 minute 45 second mark.
If you can’t get your hands on a vanilla bean, either because you can’t find it, or if you would prefer to keep the cost of baking lower, feel free to replace it with another splash of vanilla extract.
Vanilla Bean Cake
Ingredients
110 g coconut oil (measured before melting)
230 g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 + 1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
4 egg whites, room temperature
1 vanilla bean
60 g butter, room temperature
330 g sugar
1 cup (250 g) full-fat cream, room temperature
3 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Optional: fresh blueberries (3 small handfuls) + 1 tsp flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and ensure that oven rack is positioned in the middle.
Butter and flour 3 6-inch baking tins.
Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan. Pour into a small bowl to cool.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
Place egg whites in a very clean medium bowl and set aside (egg whites won’t whip to stiff peaks if there are traces of fat in the bowl).
Cut vanilla bean in half, lengthwise, and scrape the beans out with the back of a knife. Place the vanilla bean paste in a large bowl, along with the butter. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.
Add in sugar and cooled coconut oil. Beat on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Add in vanilla extract. Beat on high for 30 more seconds.
Add in dry ingredients and cream, alternating in additions—do 3 rounds of dry ingredients, and 2 rounds of wet ingredients (begin and end with dry ingredients). Each addition should be fully combined on low speed. Do not over mix.
With fresh, clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff, about 2-3 minutes. If you’re not sure if your whites are stiff enough, know that you should be able to turn the bowl completely upside-down without anything budging.
Gently incorporate whites into the cake batter, using a spatula, until fully combined. [For those new to baking—see notes for a link to a video showing how to do this. That is, there’s a specific technique to it to avoid bursting the air bubbles in the whites.]
If you'd like to bake some fresh blueberries into the cake, as I sometimes do, but didn't this time round, toss 3 small handfuls of blueberries in about a teaspoon of flour (cake or all-purpose) before folding them into the finished batter. This will ensure that they don't sink to the botttom whilst baking.
Pour batter evenly into the 3 cake tins. If you feel like being very precise, you can use a kitchen scale.
Place cake tins in the oven, and bake for 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out virtually crumbless. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter, or many wet crumbs, let it bake for 2 more minutes.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then remove from tins and let them cool completely on cooling racks.
Earl Grey Buttercream
Notes
This earl grey frosting is very strong in flavour. I adore it, and so far as have my friends and family. That said, please feel free to use half earl grey butter and half plain butter for the buttercream for a more subtle flavour. Or, three quarters earl grey butter, and one quarter plain butter. I would totally do that even for myself on a day that I feel like a more delicate flavour. If you do this, don’t forget to proportionally decrease the quantity of earl grey tea leaves too, as you make the butter.
We need 315 g of earl grey butter to make the buttercream. We start with 470 g of butter, because as the earl grey butter cooks, some of it evaporates. The finished product is, on average (if the steps are followed accurately), 30% less than the quantity that we started with.
If you end up with more than 315 g, only use 315 g in the buttercream. If you end up with less, just top it up with more plain butter (the flavour will still be strong enough, don’t worry). This made exactly 315 g for me though—it felt like some sorcery when I saw the number on the scale!
The earl grey butter, and effectively the buttercream, will taste exactly like the tea that you choose. Therefore, please use a high quality tea—organic if you can! When I have loose-leaf tea on hand, I choose that, but when I don’t, I cut open individual tea bags, and empty out the contents into my measuring cup. This is usually just under 2 boxes of tea.
For the salt measurement, I’m aware that there isn’t a 1/16 measuring spoon. Just do half of a 1/8 one.
Try the icing before adding in the vanilla. It’s great both ways, but definitely doesn’t need it. Tea purists might prefer it without. I switch it up based on my mood.
Ingredients
470 g unsalted butter *see notes
1/2 cup earl grey tea leaves
495 g powdered sugar
225 g cream cheese, room-temperature
1/8 + 1/16 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
Optional: 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Place butter (it doesn’t matter what temperature it is to begin with) in a saucepan, with the earl grey tea leaves. Set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly bubbling. At that point, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes, take the saucepan off of the heat, and let it steep for a final 5 minutes.
Place a large sieve over a bowl large enough to contain the butter. Pour the contents into the sieve. Using a spatula, mix and press the tea leaves, trying to get as much butter as possible out of it. Discard the tea leaves.
Place the earl grey butter in the fridge, and wait for it to solidify to the point that it’s the same viscosity as room temperature butter. Mix occasionally during this waiting period, so that the contents solidify uniformly.
Place earl grey butter in a large bowl, set over a scale. Check that you have 315 g. If you have more, remove some. If you have less, top it up with some plain butter. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
Add in powdered sugar, and beat on high for 3 more minutes.
Still beating on high speed, add in cream cheese, tablespoon by tablespoon. Beat for a whole minute after the final addition of cream cheese.
Add in salt, and beat in until just combined (I do this on medium-low). Taste the buttercream, and decide if you’d like to add in the vanilla extract or not. If so, mix it in on medium-low, until combined.
Assembly
Ingredients
1/2 cup blueberry jam (natural ingredients or organic)
Whatever you would like to decorate. I used dried florals, but please have fun and be creative!
Instructions
Put a dollop of the buttercream (about a tablespoon) in the centre of the cake stand, and then place the first cake layer on it (don’t level the cake layers off).
Top with a couple of large dollops of icing (for those who don’t feel comfortable eyeballing this—I used 120 g. Feel free to use 100 g if you prefer less icing—it is strong!). Using an offset spatula or butterknife, disperse icing into an even layer across the cake. Next, pipe a ring around the outermost line of the cake. You are creating a "well" for the jam. Repeat these steps with your second layer of cake (just keep it on a plate for now). Refrigerate both of these cake layers for 20 minutes, to firm up your “wells".
Remove your two cake layers from the fridge. Fill each "well" with blueberry jam, and evenly spread it out.
Gently place the second cake layer on top of the first, frosting/jam side facing up. Top with the third cake layer, flat side up (upside down).
Spread buttercream around the sides and top of the cake. I like to start with an offset spatula, and then take over with an icing smoother (also called a scraper). It’s your choice as to how you want to ice the outside of your cake. I personally like to fill in the gaps of the sides of the cake in this first step, to make it all even, and just do a thin outer layer. I then refrigerate it for about 20 minutes.
After that first layer is hardened, I then do a smooth round of icing the cake. Try to get it so that you don’t see the cake peaking through. And, I like to get an unfinished line at the top lip of the cake—it looks modern and naturalistic in style, which is what I’m after. [Since the first layer will have hardened, it will be easy to work with, as the layers wont’t be sliding around. If you’re pressed for time, however, or you are doing a more rustic style of icing application that doesn’t require stability (like big swoops), you can just put it all on in one go (not 2 steps). You do you! I just want to explain how I do it, in case you’re new to baking, and could use the tips on how to make the cake easy to work with as you ice it, with a smoother style in mind.]
Refrigerate cake for another 20 minutes to solidify the buttercream. At this point, I used a paper towel to create the texture that you see in the photos. You can use a piece dipped in extra buttercream to dab on the texture, which gives you more control, and the ability to do a more subtle texture. Or, you can add a thin layer of extra buttercream to the outside of the cake, and then wrap it with a long sheet of paper towels. Lightly press that on, then remove it in a smooth motion. This may take you a few tries before you’re satisfied with the look.
Decorate the top as desired.
Enjoy at room temperature, or just barely chilled. If it has fully chilled in the fridge, the buttercream will be harder, so take it out of the fridge with enough time for the icing to soften before devouring!
Enjoy!
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