This cake encapsulates some of my favourite scents.
The malty-ness of black tea with bergamot, the mellow tones of vanilla, and sweet, ripe fig.
There's fresh orange zest, too. Lots of it.
(And a little cinnamon)
Additions come to by my own conclusion, recipe for base stolen from the web.
ENJOY.
For a two-layer cake, from BBC Good Food (my additions/changes in red)
200g caster sugar
200g softened butter
4 eggs, beaten
200g extra fine self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp strong brewed Earl Grey Tea (Jing Tea)
100g butter, softened
140g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste
Half a 340g jar Bonne Maman fig jam, mixed with zest from half an orange
Icing sugar, to decorate
Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract if you’re using it. Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving.
