Recipe
Baking with Tea: Black Rose, Cardamom and Orange Tea Loaf
Recipe & Photography by Sara Cobley
Ingredients
For the Tea Loaf:
125g butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g self raising flour
3 tbsp milk
3 tsp black rose tea leaves
3 Cardamom pods
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp vanilla extract
For the Syrup:
Zest of 2 oranges
140g caster sugar
For the Icing:
150g icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Grease a 2lb loaf tin thoroughly. Over a low heat, melt the butter then add the tea leaves and leave to infuse for at least one hour. When infused, strain into a separate bowl.
Beat the caster sugar and infused butter mixture together, before adding the eggs one at a time. Grind two Cardamom pods until finely crushed, then add to the mixture together with the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour, milk and grated zest of one orange until well combined.
Pour the batter into the loaf tin and level out the top. Bake for 40 minutes at 180C or until a skewer inserted at the centre appears clean. Leave to cool. Whilst the cake is cooling, make the syrup. Add the juice of two oranges to 140g caster sugar and stir until a smooth liquid is formed.
Once the loaf is completely cooled, turn on to a wire rack. Brush the syrup over the top, allowing it to run down the sides of the loaf. For the icing, beat together the icing sugar and grated orange zest until it forms a thick but spreadable consistency. Drizzle over the top of the loaf.