Recipe: Milk, honey and tea cake

New Zealand’s iconic Bell Tea is celebrating 120 years of brewing a great tasting cuppa! This historic brand has been a pantry staple in Kiwi homes since it was founded by Norman Harper Bell in 1898. To celebrate this milestone, Bell Tea partnered with The Caker to create a special Milk, Honey and Tea Cake – infused with Bell Original tea, the brew that started it all.

MILK, HONEY AND TEA CAKE

by The Caker | Serves 10

For the cake:

• ¾ cup whole milk
• 3 Bell Original Tea bags
• 100g brown sugar
• 100g honey
• 150g butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 free range eggs
• 150g plain or spelt flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch sea salt
• Contents of one Bell Original Tea bag

For the Bell Original Tea infused cream cheese icing:

• 150g butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 100g cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the decorations:

• 2 tbsp crumbled freeze-dried raspberries
• 2 tbsp toasted coconut flakes
• 2 tbsp toasted oat crumble
• A few fresh spray rose buds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. First, in a small saucepan, heat the milk until bubbles start to appear on the surface. Take off the heat, add in the 3 tea bags and leave them to steep into the milk while you make the cake.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar, honey, butter and vanilla until pale, light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.
4. Gradually fold through the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stop your mixer once everything is just combined, being careful not to overmix.
5. Finally, fold through ½ cup of the tea-infused milk (leaving the remaining ¼ cup of the milk for the icing) and ¾ of the contents from a ripped open tea bag (leaving the remaining ¼ of the leaves for the icing).
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and spread out to the sides.
7. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool in its tin before turning out onto a cooling rack.
9. Meanwhile, make the icing. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter by itself until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat on high until seriously light and fluffy. Gradually add the cream cheese, followed by the vanilla.
10. The icing should be smooth, creamy and thick.
11. Finally, fold through the ¼ cup of tea infused milk and the remainder of the tea bag contents.
12. Once the cake is fully cooled, neatly ice the top of the cake and decorate as desired.
13. Serve at room temperature.