Best Earl Grey Loaf Cake with Powdered Sugar Glaze

This Earl Grey Loaf Cake is tender with the perfect touch of Earl Grey flavor. It’s the perfect cake for tea time and beyond!

This Earl Grey Loaf Cake is essentially a pound cake with Earl Grey tea baked right into it! It’s not a pound cake in the original sense of the word, where the recipe calls for a pound of each ingredient, but the texture is perfect and that touch of Earl Grey tea flavor is sure to impress the tea lovers in your life. Let’s make it!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

Ingredients

Earl Grey Loaf Cake

Very simple ingredients for this light and tender little Earl Grey tea cake! To make it, you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter – You will need to start with butter softened to room temperature. However, it should still have some firmness to it; you don’t want it to be greasy or too melted.
• Sugar – Just buy regular granulated sugar, don’t substitute brown sugar as it has a higher moisture content and will affect the cake’s structure.
• Eggs: you will need 5 eggs to make this cake! You’ll notice this cake doesn’t call for baking powder or baking soda, that’s because the eggs make up the main leavening source in this pound cake.
• Earl Grey tea – You can simply buy single-serve tea bags and cut them open. I used 4 tea bags of Numi Aged Earl Grey to get the 1.5 tbsp the recipe calls for. You can also use loose leaf tea instead.
• Vanilla extract
• Lemon zest
• All-purpose flour
• Cornstarch

How to make the best Earl Grey Loaf Cake

STEP 1: Preheat Oven

Preheat your oven to 325°F.

STEP 2: Whisk together wet ingredients

First, whisk the eggs, Earl Grey tea, vanilla, and lemon zest together in a large bowl. 

STEP 3: Sift dry ingredients separately

Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a separate, medium mixing bowl. Set this aside until ready to use.

STEP 4: Cream butter

Next, cream the butter by itself in the bowl of a stand mixer (affiliate link) using the paddle attachment, then gradually add the sugar and beat on medium speed until lightened in color and creamy. This will take about 5 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still use an electric hand mixer, but it’s going to be a bit more work.

STEP 5: Add egg mixture gradually

Once the butter and sugar creaming has occurred, gradually add the egg mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer, about 1 tbsp at a time. Beat this mixture for about 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

STEP 6: Add flour mixture gradually

Then, reduce the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually (in 3 additions). Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 

STEP 7: Bake

Scrape the cake batter into a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 325F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This can take up to an hour and fifteen minutes. It’s totally worth it though! Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool further. Allow the cake to cool fully before topping it with icing. To make cleanup easier, place a sheet of parchment paper under the wire rack to catch any drips of icing.

STEP 8: Make icing

Whisk together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk by the teaspoon if you want a thinner consistency. Last but not least, drizzle the icing on top of the cake. I topped mine with dried edible flowers for a fun special touch, but that’s totally optional! Allow the icing to set before slicing. Enjoy!

Storage Instructions

Once the cake has completely cooled and the frosting has set, cover it with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and store it on the counter for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.

What is Earl Grey Tea?

Earl Grey tea is made from black tea that is flavored with oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, which is a citrus fruit mainly grown in Italy. It has a unique citrus flavor thanks to the bergamot oil. 

Is Earl Grey Cake the same as London Fog Cake?

A traditional “London Fog” tea latte includes milk and sugar and is served hot. This cake is inspired by a London Fog latte and thanks to its rich tea flavor and sweet, creamy icing, it’s like a London Fog latte in cake form!

What does the name Earl Grey mean?

Ever wondered where the name “Earl Grey” came from? Me too! It is named after the British Prime Minister from the 1830’s, Charles Grey.

Does Earl Grey have caffeine?

Yes, Earl Grey has caffeine as it is made with black tea. You can, however, find decaffeinated Earl Grey tea. Just keep in mind that decaffeinated teas still contain a small amount of caffeine. I am caffeine sensitive and mostly drink decaf coffee and tea and I do not find that they bother me.

What flavor goes with Earl Grey Loaf Cake?

I think this Earl Grey Cake is delicious all on its own, but it is lovely paired with cream, lemon, orange juice, and lavender. Maybe not all together. But this cake recipe calls for lemon zest and there is a creamy element in a sense with the sweet cake dough and creamy icing! This cake would also be great with buttercream frosting.

Tried this Earl Grey Loaf Cake recipe?

If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you!

You can also connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

Recipes Similar to Earl Grey Loaf Cake

Earl Grey Loaf Cake

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.3 from 3 reviews

This lovely cake is tender and light with the perfect kiss of earl grey flavor. It’s perfect for tea time and beyond.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Bake Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Yield: 12 slices 1x
• Category: Dessert, Snack
• Cuisine: American, English

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Earl Grey Loaf Cake

• 5 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tbsp earl grey tea (about 4 tea bags, emptied)
• zest of one lemon
• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt

Icing

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp milk
• pinch of salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a bowl, separate from the stand mixer, whisk together eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and earl grey tea.
3. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat the butter on medium until creamy.
4. With the mixer still on medium, gradually add the sugar, increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 5 minutes, until lightened in color and texture.
5. Gradually add the egg mixture, one tbsp at a time. Then beat for about 3-4 minutes on medium high. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
6. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour, cornstarch and salt, in 3 additions. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth. You can add the cornstarch and salt all at once with the first addition of the flour.
7. Scrape the batter into a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This may take up to 1 hr and 15 minutes. Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool fully before adding the icing.

Icing

1. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk by the teaspoon if you want a thinner consistency.
2. Drizzle the icing onto the (cooled) cake. Allow icing to set, slice and enjoy.