London Fog Cake
The classic London Fog drink in cake form: layers of deliciously moist Earl Grey tea-infused cake and silky smooth Earl Grey buttercream, topped with a salted caramel drip for effect. The perfect cozy cold-weather cake!
Servings 15 slices
Ingredients
Earl Grey Milk
- 1 1/3 Cups (315ml) whole milk
- 1 Tbsp (2g) Earl Grey tea, loose leaf
London Fog Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Earl Grey tea, finely ground
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 Cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) Earl Grey milk, room temperature (recipe above)
Earl Grey Buttercream
- 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 1/4 Cups (630g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp (45ml) Earl Grey Milk, room temperature (recipe above)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Salted Caramel Drip (Optional)
- 1/2 Cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp (43g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp salt
Garnish
- 2 tsp Earl Grey tea, loose leaf
Instructions
Make the Earl Grey Milk
- Bring the milk and tea to a boil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Turn the heat off and steep for 10 minutes. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the tea leaves from the milk and be sure to press all the liquid out from the leaves.
- After straining, reserve 3 Tbsp (45ml) of the Earl Grey milk for the buttercream recipe. After this, you should be left with 1 Cup (240 ml) of Earl Grey milk for the cake recipe. If you end up with less, top it up with more whole milk to measure out 1 Cup (240 ml) exactly. If you end up with more, discard the extra Earl Grey milk and measure out exactly 1 Cup. Let the Earl Grey milk cool to room temperature before using it in the recipes.
Make the London Fog Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177ºF. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a baking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground Earl Grey tea, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at high speed for about 2 minutes, until it is creamy. Add the sugar and mix the ingredients at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle at the halfway point. Decrease the mixer’s speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until they are just combined and scraping the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the sour cream and vanilla, increase the mixer’s speed to high and beat the ingredients for 1 minute.
- With the mixer in the off position, add in the dry ingredients all at once. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until just combined, then add the (room temperature!) Earl Grey milk mixture in a slow steady steam and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling.
Make the Earl Grey Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (a hand mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add the Earl Grey milk, vanilla, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Make the Salted Caramel Drip (Optional)
- Have everything pre-measured and ready to go (you’ll be constantly stirring). Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 4-5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, about 2 minutes.
- Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt. Let the salted caramel come to slightly above room temperature before dripping the cake in Step 3 of the Assembly instructions below.
Assembly
- Once the London Fog cakes are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of Earl Grey buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake with Earl Grey buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with Earl Grey buttercream. Place the crumb coated cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the buttercream set firm.
- To create the design pictured, reserve about 1/4 Cup of the remaining Earl Grey buttercream for the piping on top of the cake, then use the rest of the buttercream to frost the cake. Use a cake comb to create the scalloped texture, then place the cake in the refrigerator for another 30+ minutes to let the frosting firm up.
- Once the frosting is cold and firm to the touch, make sure the salted caramel (if using) is slightly above room temperature, then place it into a piping bag. Snip off the end of the piping bag and create the drip halfway around the cake. Place the salted caramel dripped cake back into the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to let the drip set.
- Place all of the remaining Earl Grey buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B. Pipe buttercream stars on top of the cake in a crescent formation using the salted caramel drip as your guide for beginning and ending the piping. Finish the look by sprinkling loose leaf Earl Grey tea on top of the piping.
Notes
*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. If measuring with a kitchen scale, you’ll want to measure out 330g of homemade cake flour (since all-purpose weighs more than store bought cake flour).
Make Ahead Tips:
- The Earl Grey milk can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead. Bring it back to room temperature when you're ready to use it in the cake and buttercream recipes.
- The London Fog cake layers can be baked ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively you can store the cakes in the freezer for up to two months.
- The Earl Grey buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix in your stand mixer to bring it back to smooth buttercream consistency.