I’m going to push my opinion-quota by saying that the US is the least tea-cultured among the other places I’ve lived in (Taiwan, Vancouver, Hong Kong… Beijing). Americans aren’t particularly keen on tea, evidently as some may now defensively refer to Snapple’s along this line as a clownish counter-argument, and now… they shall stand to be mocked by public (no, it’s too late to take it back).
It’s their loss because just like coffee or chocolate, tea is a great agent that brings aroma and flavor to any pastries (or even savory dishes). An ordinary pound/loaf cake can be brought to a unique territory fused with a slightly bitter refreshment by a heavy dosage of say… black tea leaves (aka Irish breakfast tea/Assam black tea/etc), a common Indian variety that… ….Al’right, you know what. I don’t wanna talk today really… The afternoon I baked this cake was followed by a night of nightmares-realized. My oldest 13-years-old dog, Dumpling was practically diagnosed with something incurable-by-China-standard. So no. I can’t talk right now. I’m going to leave you the recipe of this wonderful cake with a best pitch saying “double shot of caffeine for breakfast YAY!!”. …Yah, that’s the most cheer I can pull off right now, at least not without a couple days of coping. Sorry guys. But this cake is really good. Make it.
UPDATES: 09/26/2013. Due to some reader’s comment on the batter being too runny, and request for the recipe in metric, I’ve finally tested the recipe again myself and weighted everything (well… almost). In terms of the runny batter-issue, thanks Elaine for pointing out that it might have been the black tea-milk being too warm and therefore melting the butter, resulting in a very runny batter. My recipe said to wait for the milk to “cool down to room-temperature”, but when in doubt, chill it in the fridge until it’s COLD. It’s much faster than leaving it on the counter to cool, PLUS… better safe than sorry.
Ingredients: derived from Martha stewart’s coconut-buttermilk pound cake
- 3 heaping tbsp (12 g) of black tea/Irish breakfast tea/Assam tea leaves
- 1 cup (207 grams) of whole milk
- 1 1/2 stick (170 grams) of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (106 grams) of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (not extra large), room temperature
- 1/3 cup (96 grams) of honey + 3 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 2 cups (270 grams) of cake flour, or all-purpose
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of fine salt
- Honey whipped cream:
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream, cold
- 2 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbsp of honey
Preheat the oven on 350ºF/175ºC.
Grind black tea-leaves in a spice-grinder until coarsely ground (like the consistency of ground coffee for French-press), then add to the milk in a small sauce pot. If you don’t have a spice-grinder, combine tea-leaves with milk in a blender, and blend to the same consistency. Bring to a simmer on medium-heat then turn the heat off. Leave the ground tea-leaves in the milk and let steep while cooling down to room-temperature (NOTE: see update!).
Cream the butter and sugar together with a stand-mixer/hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, approx 3 min. Add the eggs one at a time and beat it into the creamed butter until the mixture is light and fluffy again, 2 min for each egg. Then add 1/3 cup of honey and vanilla extract, beat until smoothly combined.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the flour-mixture and the black tea-milk (that’s cooled down to room-temp) alternatively into the creamed butter-mixture, starting and ending with the flour-mixture. Basically: 1/3 of flour-mixture + 1/2 of black tea-milk + 1/3 of flour-mix + 1/2 of black tea-milk + the last 1/3 of flour-mix. Mix each step until just smooth and don’t over-work the batter.
Butter the inside of a loaf-pan and dust with flour. Make sure to tap the pan to release excess flour. Pour the batter into the pan, and swirl 3 tbsp of honey into the batter with a spoon. Bake in the oven until golden-brown on top and a wooden skewer comes out clean from the center of the loaf, 50~60 min.
Let the cake cool off slightly. Meanwhile, whisk heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk and honey together vigorously until soft peaks form. Chill in the fridge until needed.
Serve the sliced cake with honey whipped cream. And you know what goes well with this? A cup of strong black milk tea.
SUBSCRIBE TO GET NEW RECIPE NOTICES:
131 responses to “breakfast milk tea & honey pound cake”
really does the USA not like teas? In Australia we have a shop called T2 which has so many kinds of tea and flavoured sugars. I love this shop.
Assam bold is my favourite black tea. I find it works well with dried dates and dark chocolate. This is a beautiful loaf, I can not wait to try this on the weekend.
Belinda, in the us tea is more like a sweetened beverage I think. Not as commonly enjoyed un-flavored compared to say, uk or Asia. And mostly ppl there buy tea bags instead of actual tea leaves, which is generally of lesser quality.
That’s probably true in many places – but on the West Coast and New England, at least, there’s just as many proper tea drinkers as anywhere else I’ve visited (and much more so than some Southern European countries). I worked in a cafe where we scooped tea leaves and tied our own tea bags; there’s boutique-y tea stores where you can smell different blends and vintages and so on. That being said, the “black milk tea” bubble tea I’ve been drinking now that I live in England does contain WAY more tea than American bubble tea!
I think your assessment of Americans and tea is fairly generalized. You have to remember that tea is largely part of the culture in places England and Asia, and coffee is more common in the States. It doesn’t mean one culture is more superior than the other, it’s just a difference in taste and culture. In my experience plenty of Americans enjoy regular teas (tea leaves included). It just depends on a person’s personal preferences. Most Americans aren’t brought up on tea so they wouldn’t necessarily have the refined palette of a culture that was. It’s not a shortcoming, it’s just a different culture. As far as Snapple is concerned… The actual Snapple company may market themselves as “tea”, but Snapple is a pretty dated product. I don’t really know many people who drink it!
Enough of that. Thanks for the recipe – Looking forward to making it with my black tea leaves. Yep – I’m an American and I have a full stash!
Mariah, again, I didn’t say tea is more superior. It’s just as ridiculous as saying mustard is more superior than ketchup. I like coffee MORE THAN I LIKE TEA.
Yum! Wow did my boyfriend and I enjoy this. It was so simple too. We just moved into a place and didn’t have an electric or hand mixer so I tried my best to cream and beat by hand (and let me tell ya the last time i picked up a spatula was probably two years ago, and before that I only used it to to clean the brownie bowl after my mom was finished). Next time I make this I will definitely have a hand mixer in the apartment. Thank you for the recipe, I’ve been loving exploring the blog.
I’m an American (rather embarrassedly, at this point) and I Love Tea!! All kinds. Not Snapple! Can’t wait to make this recipe. ,
Not all Americans are uneducated about tea. I LOVE tea and drink it everyday. More and more tea shops and store like Teavana are opening up and are popular. But in general tea drinkers are second class citizens. Restaurants never ask and serve you lukewarm water with a tea bag and hotels never have kettles. Love to travel to UK and Canada where I feel at home! And I cannot wait to try this recipe. Looks delicious!
americans do like tea.
in the south, they drink it cold and sweetend.
in many places, we drink it like ALLLLL THE OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD DOES.
I was going to veganize this cruelty-filled recipe. But her “dumb americans and their sweet tea”
comment was icky and generalized and doesnt even warrant giving the recipe a cruetly-free clean up.
Imagine being this sensitive about TEA. Americans really make my head spin
It’s not necessarily being sensitive to tea itself, but rather being (in my opinion) justifiably offended at the unjust generalization of Americans.
(P.S. I’m not American, not that that really matters.)
I’m American and me too.
I’m American. There is something about Ms. Landsman’s ridiculous oversensitivity that reminds me of our thin skinned, narcissist president and his minions. Jeez! Lighten up, Landsman; it’s frickin tea.
No, we just don’t like snooty Heads shaped like Butts! Tea is great though. DO NOT DINE NEAR DERRIERES, just icky.
Well, our dislike for tea goes back to the 1700’s. We found the Crowns tea so horrible we threw it into the harbor! Lol
Hey there, American here! (Well, half. My
Mom is from England. Love you,
Mom!)
Unfortunately it’s true that we don’t drink enough tea in the US. Teas vary greatly depending on where in the US you are. New England has a ton of tea drinkers, but there isn’t the largest variety to choose from at your local grocery store unless you want bagged stuff, and then it’s just low quality. You can get loose leaf teas at speciality shops, especially in Boston (oh the irony).
Down south you’ll see Sweet Tea, which essentially an extremely sweetened cold soft drink, kind of like Snapple but by the pitcher. There’s a million varieties of Iced Tea sold by the bottle or the can in convenience stores, and again thats sweetened to hell and has no milk.
If you go to a restaurant and ask for tea, you’ll be asked if you want it hot or iced, so if you want a cup of tea you’ll probably get Lipton or some other laughable variety.
To end my rant, I made this bread recipe and my god it’s delicious. I didn’t make the honey cream but I have put a spot of butter on it and it’s amazing. I’ll definitely be making it again in the future.
I am from the US and I love tea, and I don’t drink Snapple or Lipton or anything else. I actually clicked on the recipe because it’s made with tea……pretty offended
I pretty much live on tea and coffee, so this cake is perfect for me! I love that the milk is steeped in the tea leaves first like a real milk tea, so many (literal) tea cakes just stir the tea leaves in with the dry ingredients. That whipped cream with condensed milk sounds so interesting as well – reminds me of Thai milk tea where condensed milk is used as the sweetener.
Lovely blog and gorgeous photos, by the way!
In the southeastern part of the US where I am from tea is served sweet and over ice. It is usually enjoyed at say lunch, dinner or just on hot days. However if you leave the south you will be hard pressed to find sweetened iced tea, it may only come iced or hot. But it is true we don’t usually find whole leaves without paying a lot of money for it but we do have shops even in the south, lol.
Rachel, haha yeah I know about sweetened iced tea which I consider more of a “beverage”. In Aisa there are SO many different types of teas it’s dizzying and most of them cannot be found in tea-bag form. I find whole-leaf tea carries more flavor and depth. But I will say that a sweetened ice tea (instead of hot brewed tea) definitely sound PERFECT in a hot summer day like this one :)
You mean Asia? Please don’t sound so snoby when speaking about the people in the USA being so “low class” when it comes to good things! I have lived in 8 different states of the Union, and I am glad to say wether I have lived in the heart of Dixie or lived in Great Lakes tea is very much appreciated in its true form.
Bea, I try not to argue/jam space on the comment area but I’m lost at where the snobbish-ness come from? I like COFFEE more than tea, and simply said (a fact by the way) that COMPARATIVELY America has LESS tea culture. Have you lived in Asia? It’s a fact.
You actually said “Americans…defensively refer to Snapple’s along this line as a clownish counter argument, and now…they shall stand to be mocked by the public (no, it’s too late to take it back).”
Maybe take your own words to heart and stop pretending like you don’t know why people thought you were being snobby. Because you were.
The batter looks amazing. As does the resulting cake itself.
Oh my this looks so pretty. I will try to bake this yummy after my wedding!
I love going to tea shops here in the north west (Oregon) this pound cake looks amazing! Looking forward to trying it
What a beautiful loaf of cake, i love drinking tea and do have a variety of tea at home…would love to try this cake soon! Thanks for sharing.
I tried this today! I had a problem with it though, if you see this, Mandy, I’m hoping you can help–I followed your instructions pretty much exactly other than baking it in a small convection oven as my regular oven was broken, and using a square pan instead because I couldn’t find a rectangular one.
It came out looking nice, but after letting it cool I noticed that most of it has sunk quite a bit and after cutting it open, most of the cake’s texture is kind of…gummy…I guess? Gummy and soggy with a really dark color. I put it in for like 60 minutes, and added almost 20 minutes after a toothpick test, so I don’t know how it can still be undercooked, and undercooked so evenly, too. Only the very extreme edges are harder. Would you by any chance know why this is?
Also, although it came out like that it actually tastes pretty good. I can only imagine how it’d taste if it actually came out properly :(
Ginger, oh boy I’m sorry to hear that! The only thing I would suspect is that the small convection oven created uneven baking since it’s such a small space, where the surface of the batter is so close to the heat source. The gummy/soggy texture, I’m assuming, is due to the fact that the center of the batter wasn’t even cooked yet.
If you are interested in trying again, I would think that you be having a much bigger success rate reducing the size of the cake. Say, making it into a muffin-size to accomodate the small space (so the ratio of the cake VS the space it’s baked in is more similar to what I did). Good luck! and please let me know if you try it again!
Thank you Mandy! Will definitely try again!
Loved all the comments I do think the U S drinks more coffee than tea hot but I live in the South East U S and drink sweet ice tea most of the time I do like hot ginger lemon tea with honey would love to have a proper tea and taste them all as for the cake it looks so good will try it I love to bake
I happen to be a frequent tea drinker, and live in the United States. I drik tea morning, noon, and night. But I have to agree with you, that the majority of American people don’t give tea it’s due credit. I like both southern-style sweet tea, classic blends of breakfast teas, and almost anything I drink hot, I do not put sugar in.
I have been a fan of tea since I was a little girl. I just wish people gave tea the adulation it deserves! It is a wonderful drink to both get you out of bed in the morning, and put you to bed at night.
I am really excited to try this recipe!
I made this loaf and it was delicious! When I was busy making this loaf, I thought you probably wouldn’t be able to taste the honey that much, but you can and it is so good! Brought a loaf to my office and seriously the cake was devoured within 10 minutes!
One of my favorite memories of my youth is having lived in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England for a year whenever I was 12-13 yrs. old. One day, my mother made iced tea, and one of our neighbor’s young sons- a teenager- had a glass for the very first time. He was so pleased with the glass of iced tea, he ran home and told his parents about it, and we took some over to them. They liked it, as far as we could tell. I always liked having hot, sweat tea in the winter time as a child, with sugar added for sweetness. Although I enjoy coffee more than tea, usually, I do still like to have a cup of hot tea sometimes, especially during the colder months. And, I do agree with those saying that tea leaves make a much more flavorful tea. Whenever I was the babysitter for a family from England in Texas, whenever the mom of the family would come home after a workday, she’d visit with me, making us some hot tea. I loved watching her going through the ritual, and really liked her Earl Grey tea. Somehow, it just isn’t the same with tea bags. And, somehow, even when making my own with leaves, it just doesn’t taste as good as her tea did to me. Good memories, those…
There’s a strong (and growing)tea culture in NYC and elsewhere in the US like Portland and the SF Bay Area. But I wish good tea was as commonly found as good coffee!
This cake looks amazing; your photography is brilliant.
This recipe looks amazing and I cannot wait to try it. On another note, I am from the American South. Most people here do enjoy sweetened ice tea, but there are also many who enjoy tea in the traditional manner. We have tea shops throughout the South that sell many varieties of teas. Snapple is definitely not the preferred tea of most Americans.
can’t wait to make this! My parents are from Zimbabwe so we always drank tea. In fact I’m enjoying a hot cup right now. It always makes me laugh when people at work comment on how light my “coffee” is and I have to explain it’s my tea with milk. The looks I get are too funny. Thanks for sharing a yummy recipe
All these comments raging about tea in the US and none saying that I’m sorry about your dog, and that I hope you can enjoy the time you have left. Take care.
Raeann, thank you sooo much. I love you… really…
I work for an herb and tea store. I baked two versions this morning–one with Soluna Breakfast Blend, the other with cream Earl Grey–left samples out for the customers and everyone has been raving about this (including the kids, who kept sneaking back for seconds). The scent of the freshly baked loaves on the way in drove me nuts, smelled so good. Only had one issue, and that’s with the baking temperature/time. Setting for 350 left the first cake not baked enough in the center and the top too browned; I increased the temp to 375 for the second one, which cut the time a little and gave an evenly cooked loaf. The high humidity here in Boston right now could be a part of the problem. *shrugs* Whatever–it worked. :-)
Thanks for an awesome recipe!
(Also, this was put out ONLY for samples, not for sale, and your website was included on the sign to be sure that proper credit was given.)
Riz, thank you so much for sharing my recipe!
Thank you for such an amazing recipe. It made a lot of people happy! (And isn’t that the best reason to bake?)
This is the first recipe I read in your blog. I’m delighted. Even though brazilians are big coffee drinkers, I always enjoyed tea. Can’y wait to see if I can find the proper teas to bake this…
On another note: I failed to see anything snobbish or prejudiced in your post. I guess people read what they want to read… That’s a shame. I loved your writing style, very to the point. And I do wish all the best to your dog, let’s hope he enjoys more happy years!
I am from Virginia on the border of North Carolina. My grandfather was born (1919) and lived in a secluded, rural county. I still cannot find any of his ancestors that were born outside of the U.S…so far I’ve gone back to 1700s. So no recent tea culture brought by recently immigrated ancestors. Though his maternal grandmother’s family was Native American on most records.
Anyways, he made typical Southern food while I was growing up (collards with fatback or side meat, flat cornbread, succotash). It’s interesting because I don’t think I can recall a day that man did not have at least one to two cups of unsweetened hot tea. I agree, that he may have been more of an exception to the norm. He did live into his nineties.
I don’t find your post offensive. :}
this has become my ‘go to’ cake recipe! it is my favorite. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, I tried your recipe today and can’t figure out where I went wrong. For some reason the batter is really loose, like there’s too much liquid in the recipe except I followed the instructions exactly. It’s in the oven at the moment so I’m just going to cross my fingers and see how it comes out.
Nik, that’s bizarre… I haven’t tried this recipe again since this post but some commenters seemed to have success out of it. Let me know how it went. PS, I’m sure you are aware of this but just to make sure, the heavy cream doesn’t go into the cake batter.
Nik, it could be a couple of things (I’ve made this recipes about a dozen or so times). The first time I made it, I realized I needed to set my oven at a higher temperature–I bake this at 375. Also, it could be the size of your loaf pan. If you’re baking in an 8″ loaf pan, you may have a bubble over–I usually bake this in either a 9″ or 10″ pan and put about a cup of the batter in a mini-loaf pan.
Good luck!
(BTW, you can also substitute maple syrup for the honey in a pinch.)
Just put the batter in the oven. Doesn’t bode well. The barrería isn’t like the usual thick butter cake texture but very very runny. Am sure I followed the instructions closely and I am beginning to suspect it is the measuring cup used. Would probably need to try this again sometime soon. Would you be able to give the measurements in metrics instead so that it can be as accurate as possible? Thanks in advance. I really wanted this to work…-_-!
Oh and suffice to say, there was no swirling of the honey in the end…*heartbroken*
Elaine, sorry to hear that! I will test this recipe again this week and update the metric-ingredients list!
Thanks, Mandy! Anyhow, the taste still came out good, though slightly rubbery. I believe I have isolated the problem. The moment it started becoming really runny was when I added the milk tea mixture. So I suspect it could be that the milk did not cool for long enough and in the hot and humid climate I am in, it just wasn’t helping. Basically, the temperature of the batter was just too warm by the end of the mixing.
Elaine, the metric is up ;) I tested the cake again and the batter wasn’t runny. I think you were right about the milk being too warm, because I chill the tea-milk in the fridge to help it cool down faster, and it was more “cold” than “room-temperature” when it went into the batter. Hope you have success again with the recipe!
Ooooh…thanks a big bunch!!!
I loved this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing :). It’s such a cozy reminder of nice, hot milk tea. And the whipped topping is great!
Also, it gives quite a caffeine buzz… I made the mistake of making it at night and trying it…
Note for other bakers: When I tasted the dough before cooking it, I was shocked by how sweet it tasted and thought I had over done it. However it comes out much less sweet once baked, which is good.
i have tried the cake twice exactly as per the receipe instructios and i get the same texture in your picture and i put it in 9*5 inch loaf cake but in each time the cake come out uncooked i use 175 degree oven tempreture i was dissapointed i realy want this receipe to sucsses what is the problem i don’t know?
ENAS: The only suggestion I can give is bake longer in your oven. I don’t know if our oven’s temperature is exactly the same so if your cake isn’t cooked in 50 min, then bake 10 to 15 min more and see how it works. If the outer surface gets too dark in the prolonged baking time, lower the temperature to 160 and see if that works. I’m so sorry to hear that your cake didn’t turn out expected. I’ve made this a few times and didn’t have a problem with it. Try what I suggested and see.
I am American (NY) and I am NOT keen on tea, so you have me pegged perfectly. I’ve tried it sweet, plain, bagged, and loose leaf. None of it floats my boat and it tastes like swill to me. I suppose the only time I have truly enjoyed tea it’s been a green minty type with lots of ice, no sugar, on a sweltering hot day. And that’s about it.
And that’s what I love about this blog. You share, we share (through commenting) and it should all be okay. I appreciate your opinionated self.
I have been pinning your posts a ton the last few weeks. Your cooking speaks to me. Thank you so much for sharing. I am going to make an effort to comment more often (I rarely do on anyone’s sites), even if it is at times snarky.
JASMINE, welcome!!!
I couldn’t help, but facepalm at some of the comments on this post. Did these readers not realize the general conceit of your blog (“Home cooking with extreme prejudice”)? They are simply failing to understand that personal experience does not extrapolate to the general population. // I was fortunate enough to spend siginificant time in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, and learned a great deal about Chinese tea procedures and tea varietals. Needless to say, I was blind, but now I see. // Thank you.
DAVID, hahaa thanks!!!!!
I made this cake today and the aroma whilst baking was AMAZEBALLS!
I cooked it at 175ºC. for about 50 minutes and the middle was still not baked.
Not sure if it was due to the size of my loaf tin OR the batter was too moist.
But, i definitely chilled the milk tea and left it overnight just to let the flavours stew.
Will try it again till i get it right!!
BARIZA: If your loaf is browning too quickly on the top and not cooked through in the middle, try a lower temperature for a longer baking time. Try it again! This cake is worth it!
I’ve made this once before and it turned out wonderfully, but has anyone ever tried it with Earl Grey tea?
Yes, I’ve made this recipe several times (and have made a few changes for my own tastes).
I’ve made it with Soluna Breakfast Blend, Earl Grey, Cream Earl Grey, Scottish Caramel Pu-erh, Maple Magic (black tea with maple & did a maple swirl instead of honey), and Monk’s Blend. The verdict: pretty much ANY black tea works really well.
One caution: if the cake is not consumed within a day or two, the tea can get slightly bitter.
Just an observation.
Otherwise, it’s a huge hit.
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try it out with a variety of teas
One other comment, re: unbaked middles. The kind of pan (light vs. dark) and the size of the loaf pan also have a huge impact on how the cake bakes (and, of course, your oven).
I have found baking it at 375 in a light-colored 9″ loaf pan works best; also, turning the cake 180 degrees half-way through is also helpful. LISTEN TO MANDY about chilling the tea–I put the hot milk tea in the fridge for at least half an hour before incorporating.
This recipe is excellent–it’s been a huge jumping off point for my experiments with baking with tea.
RITZ, THANK YOU THANK YOU for these fabulous and useful information!!!
Has anyone tried making this with green tea? I don’t keep black tea around the house as I much prefer green tea, but this recipe sounds so good that I’d really like to try it.
I don’t see why you couldn’t–I’ve used matcha in pound cake (for delicious results, but haven’t attempted with this particular recipe), and matcha (green tea powder) is a fairly common sweet flavoring in Asian markets (at least, here in the Boston area). Go for it–grind the green tea leaves (if you don’t have matcha on hand) and try the milk tea brewing style. (And definitely let us know if the experiment works–curious!)
hey, i was wondering if this cake would taste alright if i used earl grey tea leaves?
Victoria, it would probably be milder but still delicious I think :)
I’ve made it with Earl Grey (Maple Magic, Monk’s Blend, Peach Apricot…). It’s good. It’s damned good. :-)
Made this in the morning! Yummy! And I’ve been tempting husband who’s at work with photos…… haha!
i love your blog! your recipes and writing are a killer combo. :)
what do you think about making this in muffin tins and slicing the muffins in half to slather with the honey whipped cream? if not, i’ll just wait and and make it the next time i visit my mom, using her loaf pans.
Ali, yes for sure! The cooking time will be significantly shorter I imagine. I would check at around 25 min I think. But they would make love muffins :)
My husband loves pound cake so I made this for him a few weeks ago. The flavor and scent were amazing but I didn’t’ have enough honey. So 1/4 C of honey apparently made it not sweet enough. Not Sure if it was the lack of honey but it did come out a bit dryer than I liked it to be. Must use precise measurements. That is one rule I should stick to when trying a new recipe. Try first then adjust later.
Would Turkish black tea work with this as well??
Jasmine, don’t see why not :)
This question is maybe answered already, but there were so many comments!!! I was wondering if I could use the ground leaves inside a teabag for this recipe? I know the quality will not be as good as the actual loose leaves, but it would save me buy a whole box. Also, I don’t have a grinder and the blender is broken!!
Thanks
Shirlie, my only concern is that the leaves would be too coarse. If you can find finely ground leaves inside teabags, that would be fine :)
Thanks Mandy! I tried this today, smelt delicious and the batter was yummy! I did however encounter the gummy middle problem. We still did eat it though!! Definitely will make it again in smaller tins, I liked your muffin idea so will maybe do it! The tea leaves in the bags were grand, I ground them down a bit with a pestal and mortar. Ta again!
You know what can go so perfect with this too? Some cardamom, carnation and cinnamon! Oh, can’t wait to try it.. Thank you for the recipe
just tried to make this receipt this weekend, but turned out the cake is bit dry compares to my usual make banana cake, should I increase the portion of liquid or the cut down the oven time
Philip, I would first try substiting 1/2 the butter with vegatable oil. I like the flavor of butter but vegetable oil produces a moister cake
Hi Mandy – Loving the recipes you post! I made this one at the weekend and, whilst it has an amazing depth of taste and texture, like many posters mine didn’t cook through either. I used a light tin, the batter wasn’t deep in it, and my oven is spot-on for temperature, so I know that was right. BUT despite keeping it in for about 70 minutes (I ended up covering the top with foil so it wouldn’t burn) it still didn’t cook through and the bottom half-inch or so is very soggy indeed. Although it did rise very nicely …
(second BUT) it really does have a great taste and will be trying it again – I hate to be defeated by a darn’ recipe!!
Hi, we are an online tea shop and looking for some tea-inspired recipes on our blog. Chanced upon this lovely recipe and we decided to give it a try with our version of tea! Do take a look and give me some comments:)
Might want to watch the way you talk about a whole entire country. Very rude in my eyes and I’ll be looking for a new recipe else where.
Hi Mandy! Not sure if you’re still replying to comments on this post but hopefully you’ll see this!
I’ve made this cake twice and it turned out lovely. However, I’m not a huge fan of the heaviness of pound cakes in general. I keep googling “how to make pound cake less dense” but can’t find any good answers! I could only think of whipping up the egg whites separately, but I remember the batter is already quite thick so I feel like separating out the egg whites would make the rest of the batter really difficult to mix.
Do you have any suggestions on how I could make this cake lighter? Perhaps reduce the amount of flour? I’d really appreciate your help. :)
Amanda, perhaps try replacing all the butter with vegetable oil? Or using cake flour for less gluten? I’m not an expert baker so I’m only guessing here. Let me know if any of it works :)
Thanks so much for the reply! I’ll try it out soon and let you know. :)
Hi Mandy, can’t wait to make this cake but I just wanted to make sure you don’t need to strain out the tea before using the tea milk? Also what size tin did you use to bake yours?
Avery, the tea is grounded so you don’t have to strain, and I don’t have my pan with me now but any loaf pan would do.
I’m making this for the second time around! It was a big hit at work when I made it the first time.
I didn’t have enough of one kind of black tea so I used a mixture: Tazo Orange Chiffon, Constant Comment (bergamot-y!), and Harney and Sons Vanilla Comoro.
I’m hoping the orange and vanilla will play well with the honey. Fingers crossed!
Hey all! I’ve never posted on any food blog but I’ve wanted to bake this for a year now and I just did with Thai Tea and it is damn awesome. Also I didn’t really measure my ingredients LOL and it turned out okay so :) Thank you so much, what a keeper recipe.
I made this with a custom blend I have of Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey Bravo, and Cream tea’s and it was amazing. It’s become my go to recipe for brunches and rainy days.
Just made this. Only had tea in bags on hand, so the leaves were already ground up pretty small! I used mostly Earl Gray but also put in some Chai. I used Greek Attiki honey, too, and made sure to cool the tea down. Before going in the oven, it smelled AMAZING. Coming out, WOW. I’m not very skilled in the kitchen and this is not only super easy but super easy. Tastes rich yet delicate and I love that you don’t need to strain the milk – it appeals to my laziness ;) I even re-read multiple times to make sure I didn’t miss the straining step. I also thought it would make the texture weird but it doesn’t, at all. I did have to bake mine for well over an hour, a bit too wet. I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for years and it has exceeded my expectations. Might become a staple.
Oh, my, such finger pointing. I’m a tea shop owner in the Sierra Mountains of California, USA. Every year I get lot of British travelers coming through. They always want milk and often sugar in their tea. In my opinion, that’s a good way to ruin tea. I like my Assam & Oolong sans milk (which, by the way destroys the antioxidants in tea) and certainly no sugar. But we all like what we like. And that’s okay! One of the worst things a person can do is to pile anyone else on a mountain of judgment based upon taste. Did you know that North America had tea before Great Britain? Henry Hudson, an Englishman who worked for the Dutch East India Company in search of the Northwest Passage in 1607 established a settlement in the location that is now Albany, New York. Among the supplies on his ship, the Half Moon, was tea. Tea has played a major role in US history. It’s not all sweet iced tea, Snapple (not much tea there), bubble tea (ugh) or tea funk wannabes. I think what is most interesting is that nearly every country in the world has a tea culture, all different, all wonderful. Love your recipe by the way.
Okay, so I found your recipe and had to try it but I did a little substituting?……I sub the tea with a salted caramel black tea I had, sub whole milk with coconut milk and sub sugar with turbinado sugar. Made my honey whipped cream with dulce de leche milk based caramel…drum roll please!!!????
IT IS AWESOME!
This is soooooo delicious, even the batter was yummy! I wanted to let you know that they also make good muffins if you don’t want the oven on for an hour. :) I made this batch with a great earl grey cream, I can’t wait to try other teas in it.
I’m looking forward to making this bread in the next couple days for a tea-infused baked good swap for a Friends’ Christmas gathering and I just have to comment on how hilarious the comment section is – so many Americans getting butt hurt by the insinuation that the U.S. doesn’t drink or appreciate tea like other countries (because culturally speaking, on a generalized/grand whole, it doesn’t). But alas! It’s the internet, always going to stir up folks somehow :)
Excited to report back! Thank you for sharing your recipes and your photography!
This looks so good! What a perfect recipe to make to make for a friend. Would be nice to give with a jelly!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Vanessa, I’d say it’s best finished in a couple days wrapped up :)
You just sound like an asshat for your commentary on Americans.
America is tea-averse thanks to the British. You may want to look up something called the Boston Tea Party incident if you’re unfamiliar, but long story short is that we used to love tea before the British taxed colonials on it 2% then we rioted and boycotted tea. Also, it’s worth noting that we began drinking coffee as an alternative and we make it worth water bc during the civil war, it was cheaper and more attainable for people, namely soldiers than to make with milk. And that’s my story ? this recipe looks so amazing ?????
This loaf was DELICIOUS, even thought the weird stereotype about Americans thinking Snapple was tea (?) felt like it was informed by a stand-up routine from 1998. Is Snapple even a thing anymore? Hot tip: Americans like tea now, there are literally like 5 loose tea shops along Main Street in my small southeastern city.
I love tea especially hot tea with honey and I’m as southern as you can get from Alabama! I made this loaf with a few adjustments with what I had in my pantry and it was delicious!
This is delicious, thanks for sharing your recipe!! ? Sidenote, your pictures of the process are beautiful.
So sorry about your pup! I know this is an old post but thanks for sharing your recipe even despite the crap times!
There’s a lot of food blogs out there and I’m so glad I stumbled across your recipe! Love your honesty, creativity and dog love! Will definitely try this recipe soon. Thank you!
Ps. Also from USA – east coast and I totally agree tea culture is just not the same as Europe and Asia.
So I know that black tea has caffeine, I’m just wondering if you know how much caffeine would be in this loaf (trying to limit my caffeine intake). Thanks!
Might you not make it with decaf tea? Otherwise, I see more math in your future than I like to think about.
Lisa, lol I have no idea how much caffeine is in this.
Going to make this for the Brit relatives (daughter-in-law & her Mum) coming to my house this weekend! Thank you!
I just made this today and it’s delicious! I had Assam tea so I used that and I added some ground cardamom to the milk as well which was lovely. The whipped cream went well but for me personally, it was too sweet so next time I would use only one tablespoon each of the honey and condensed milk. I will definitely make this again!
Terrible! The tea flavor doesn’t come through at all, and the cake is a bit dry. Will not make again unfortunately.
Hi Mandy,
Love this baked treat!!! Not too sweet and the tea comes through nicely, specially when you pair it with a nice cup of black tea (as you suggested). Though I wouldn’t call this a pound cake, as it only has 1-1/2 sticks of butter. Whereas a true pound cake would have a pound (4 sticks). Hence, where the name is derived from. This is more similar to a bread, like a banana or zucchini. I also noticed that your recipe calls for only 2 large eggs. Martha Stewart’s Coconut Buttermilk pound cake uses 3 large in her recipe. Could this be the problem with the batter being too runny? I’m inclined to bake this again with a couple of slight modifications of using a pound of butter and 3 large eggs. I’m sure it’ll be very decadent. Though I’m slightly hesitant because I love your recipe as is. Aaaaaah! The conundrums of baking!
Btw, I’m with you on most Americans not being privy to tea culture. As we do have great coffee (as most people here on the comments section posted), I wish that tea is more prevalent and extensive. I wouldn’t be heart-broken if a couple or more Starsucks get replaced by artisanal tea shops in my neighborhood. Then I wouldn’t be succumbed to having to pay for expensive boxed varieties in Whole Paycheck, only to find that there are more Liver Detox and Calmness teas for my liking. You’re very lucky to have access to great tea. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This looks so good! I’ve never seen these flavors together before!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Vanessa, like other pound cake I guess? I’m not sure!
Hi! I just made this pound cake and cannot wait to serve it tonight with the ladies! It smells wonderful and I did have to make due with the tea I could find but it is a reputable brand. Thank you for this recipe and the insight to how other view our practices as we tend to voice the same I look forward to seeing what other recipes on this site!
American here, love love love tea! All types and kinds. I was raised on iced tea, once I became an adult I was introduced to hot tea and a lovely little shop in the city that serves high tea. I only order high tea there. I also beg for the clotted cream recipe because I cannot for the life of me get it right and I am an avid baker. My hopes are always dashed. I have planting guides for a tea garden with complete hopes of curating my own blends. Sadly I am currently resigned to PG tips, chai, earl grey, and a blend called Paris by Henry & Sons.
I’m looking forward to making this either tonight or tomorrow. I know my husband will enjoy it as well, he loves all scones I make, savory or sweet.
I would agree that this is not a pound cake but more of a breakfast bread. The cream gives a nice touch.
The first time I made this I made as the recipe reads however although tasty the cake was dense and did not rise. I decided to make again with 3 eggs instead of 2 and this came out much better. I will continue to make other variations of this cake. It is great for breakfast!
Hi there! I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you remember how many grams of egg to use. I don’t always have large eggs available so I’d prefer to just use a scale and weight the amount instead. Thanks!
Hope, oh boy this was so long ago I couldn’t say for certain. I would just go with what’s generally advised on the internet? But it won’t be exact.
Well we did dump a ton of it into the harbor bc we thought it was too expensive so can you be surprised it’s a touchy subject lmao
My family from the Missouri Ozarks (in the USA) always drank hot black tea with milk and sugar. A habit my other American friends find very weird. When I want to splurge I use cream instead of milk- usually in the winter now that I live in Wisconsin and deal with -20 f cold.
In the Ozarks you are more likely to drink iced tea only; black tea brewed and poured over ice, Then served with or without sugar. And in that case we drank the iced tea without sugar. lol… we just dont fit in anywhere.
Im particularly crazy about Earl Grey tea, which I drink every morning (with milk and sugar) and Jasmine pearl tea with nothing added in the afternoon as a delicious treat.
No coffee at all for me. Just tea please. And yes I do have an electric kettle as well!
Obviously the name of this delicious looking pound cake caught my eye and I am ALL IN!!
This cake was absolutely delicious! I followed it exactly and it came out amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe. This is a real showstopper in terms of flavor. I want to try a topping with whipped cream and mascarpone next time.
I made this cake but I added cardamom and pistachios and then a honey syrup to drizzle on top. Is was divine, like a baklava pound cake!!!
I’m going to chime in here…I’m an American, live in New England and love my tea. My fav is Bigelowe’s Constant Comment, but I have different teas for when I want a change….Builder’s, Earl Grey, Lipton, and more….Love it iced and love it hot. Love it with lemon more than milk, drink it with a tad of sugar, drink it straight. My husband usually gravitates to coffee, but loves tea too. Will try this recipe soon.