Shutterbean recently posted this Real Simple recipe for an Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. And I was torn. Chocolate and Earl Grey? Yes. Dreamy combination. But Real Simple? Not for me. I sometimes want to buy it off a magazine rack, sure, because who wouldn’t want to “Organize Your Whole Life in 15 Minutes” or learn “25 Fast Healthy Breakfast Ideas You’ve Never Thought Of Before”? But those are false promises, or at most two-page spreads, and when I have actually purchased the magazine I have come away with the feeling that it was really just trying to sell me cleaning products all along. And I don’t really like to clean.
Luckily, I didn’t let my issues outweigh my love of cake. Because this is a good one. I love a chocolatey chocolate cake, which this is not. (For a moist, delicious, super chocolatey cake, bake these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes as a cake instead.) This Earl Grey Chocolate Cake has a lighter chocolate flavor, which is a good thing (weird! I know!), because it allows the tea to come through. The Earl Grey flavor is subtle, but definitely noticeable. Intriguing.
The bundt pan that I dug out of the back of my cupboard gave the cake an irresistable chewy-crisp edge. If you’re a middle-of-the-brownie-pan kind of person instead, don’t worry, all but a few millimeters of the cake is fine-crumbed and moist. (But oh! Those few millimeters! If you are an edge-of-the-brownie-pan kind of person, you will love that edge.) The bundt pan also made J refer to me (fondly, I think) as a Midwestern housewife. If you live in the Midwest, do you make a lot of bundt cakes? I think that is a lifestyle I could definitely embrace.
I enjoyed making Earl Grey Chocolate Cake in part because you mix everything in one bowl, so it required relatively little cleanup (see above re whether I like to clean). Boil a cup of water and infuse it for 3-5 minutes with 6 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 Tbsp. loose Earl Grey tea, then set the tea aside. Spray a bundt or tube pan and set it aside. Melt and cool 4 oz. semisweet chocolate.* In your mixing bowl, cream 1/2 c. softened butter with 1 3/4 c. sugar, then mix in 3 eggs. Mix in the melted chocolate. Continue to mix while adding 2 c. all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. plain yogurt and that strong cup of Earl Grey tea. Scoop the cake batter into your pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 or until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs (rather than raw cake batter) attached. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pan. Cool, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
*The original recipe called for 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate and 2 c. sugar, but I didn’t have unsweetened chocolate. Make it easy, use what you have on hand.
Emmy Cooks 
That looks heavenly! I love the shape of the pan and how you have used the sugar to such good effect.
And it tasted fine, too! :)
Now I must run to the store to replace my dinged bundt pan. I have GOT to try this cake.
I always like to have an excuse to go shopping for the kitchen! And this is a good one. :) Let us know what you think!
Oh my! This looks beautiful…and sounds soooooo good. What an interesting combination, one I never would have thought of until I read this. I have got to try this. Thank you for sharing!
Enjoy! I do like the combination, let me know what you think if you try it!
yum! Looks delicious!
I love Earl Grey and chocolate. How was the taste combo? Did the Earl Grey come through subtley or strong?
The Earl Grey flavor is subtle but definitely present. I thought the chocolate and tea flavors were nicely balanced. Hopefully you’ll have a chance to taste it for yourself!
I’ve had Earl Grey chocolates, but not in cake form before. I can’t wait to try it! I guess it’s my love of Bundts: in my ideal world I’d have a cabinet crammed full of them: pine trees, fairy castles, lilies…
My bundt pan was gathering dust! What other other cakes do you make in yours? I am not a frequent baker, though I’ve been on a bit of a roll recently. I’d love your recommendations!
I bake all sorts of cakes in them! I’ve made vanilla cakes, rum cakes, my Gugelhupf recipe (though that’s easier done in a springform pan or Gugelhupf pan)…basically any kind of cake, but with a pretty shape rather than a rectangle. Spice cakes are popular around the holidays too.
Vanilla cake, yum. I will have to keep this pan from gathering dust again.
Earl Grey tea is my favorite. And I can just imagine how awesome the combination of heady bergamot is when paired with chocolate. Great bundt cake!!!!!!
Also, I too have a love/hate relationship with Real Simple. It’s like the Cosmo of home and cooking magazines!
That totally made me laugh. And you are EXACTLY right. :)
Is there a secret to having one’s bundt release perfectly? I always seem to have some stick in the pan which, of course, ruins the whole effect! Don’t like spraying and dusting with flour as then there is that unattractive white residue.
I remember reading recently that you should use a thin bundt pan because it heats evenly and releases well. But I don’t have a thin bundt pan, mine is big and heavy. So here are my tricks: spray or butter your pan VERY well. Let the cake cool for 5 or more minutes (but not until cold!) before you try to remove it from the pan. Bang it on the plate a little if necessary. And here’s my best tip: if you want to flour your pan, but are making a chocolate cake, use cocoa powder!
That sounds SO GOOD! (Hmmm – when can I come up with a good excuse for cake…)
Have you made your Thursday cake yet? Or maybe you’ll be needing a first-day-of-March cake? Or…
This is totally perfect cake! It looks amazing and reminds me of Narnia!
I think I found my birthday cake!! Since I can no longer purchase a cherry cake mix I have not had a new favorite cake to bake for my birthday, so I would ask the family and rotate around everyone’s favorite for my birthday, but this year I will surprise them all and try this one…it looks faaaabulous!! Thanks for sharing… Patty
Oh, this definitely has the potential to become a new favorite cake. Enjoy and happy future birthday!