Spiced tea cake; like in Britain

Tea cake with spices - like in Britain

I don't write about every baking recipe I try. But I can’t remain silent here - this cupcake is so simple and gorgeous that you should bake it too. Plus it's vegan, which means it's low in calories. Soft, fragrant and playful.

I'll start with the background. I have a favorite tea shop in Berlin, Paper&Tea, which I have already told you about more than once. They sell trusty hipster tea - the kind that you wouldn’t be ashamed to post on Instagram, and during the collection and production of which not a single living creature was harmed. I saved this tea even in normal times, and even more so in our crisis times. In general, I brewed this tea with bergamot, Golden Earl, for myself this afternoon. And she didn’t drink it completely. The hand did not rise to pour out the tea leaves. And because from time to time I use tea as water, which I add to the dough of vegan cupcakes (recipes here), I thought that there was probably a recipe for some kind of tea cupcake. And by a little googling I found such a recipe. A bomb recipe, no other way. You will never guess that this cupcake contains only 40 grams of butter and there are no eggs, sour cream, or milk. Tea, flour, a little sugar and butter, raisins - that's all! And spices, of course.

wheat flour - approximately 180-220 g
strong tea leaves - glass (180-220 g)
raisins – 200 gr
vegetable oil without aroma - 40 g
sugar - 50-60 g
baking powder (according to instructions on the package)
spices to taste.

I will dwell separately on spices. In the English recipe (well, what other country makes proper pastries for five o’clock tea?) traditional British allspice . I have never come across this title. It turned out to be Jamaican pepper, which tastes like a mixture of pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. I asked my husband if he had heard of such a spice. Pasha said that no, I didn’t hear. I reached into the drawer with spices to find allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon separately, and the first thing I saw was a jar with the inscription allspice, purchased by Pasha, as it turns out, on iHerb. This pepper smells like the right kind of gingerbread, tart, slightly sweet. In general, the magic of finding. This kind of pepper is also sold in Russian online stores - for example.

The process couldn't be simpler:

soak raisins (I had raisins and dried cherries) in tea leaves and leave for as long as you have the patience for. My mixture stood for four hours, but it will stand quietly for a day.
In a bowl, mix flour, spices (don't skimp!), sugar, baking powder.
Pour tea leaves into this mixture along with raisins. Vary the amount of flour yourself depending on how much water your dried fruits absorb.
Add oil and stir.
Fill the mold with dough and bake at 170 degrees, about an hour. See for yourself what kind of oven you have.

It so happened that my cake was cooling in the oven, in which the eggplants laid out on a baking sheet immediately ended up. And when I opened it more than an hour after turning off the oven, it was very wet. And the cake was fantastically moist. Therefore, I think it makes sense to put, if not the eggplants, then a bowl of water in the oven and let the cake cool in a humidified environment.

Tea cake with jam

When you need to quickly prepare something for tea, for example, for the arrival of unexpected guests, a recipe for tea cake with jam will help you out. Jam is available in any home, and if desired, you can replace it with jam or marmalade. It is not for nothing that this cake is called a tea cake, because it contains firmly brewed tea.

The recipe for tea cake with jam can easily be classified as a 5-minute recipe, because it is prepared very simply and quickly. You can add any nuts if you wish, but this is not necessary. It is best to serve this cake with sour cream, then it becomes even tastier.

Ingredients

Strong brew - 0.5 cups
Any kind of jam
(I used blueberry) - 2 tbsp. l.
Sugar - a little less than
a glass
Egg - 1 pc.
Soda - 1 tsp. no slide
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.
Flour - 1-1.5 cups
Any nuts
(optional) - 0.5 cups

{Instructions}

Using a mixer, beat together the sweet sand, egg and jam. This time I used blueberry jam, so the dough turned out gray-blue in color. You can use any jam you like - strawberry, raspberry, currant or jam.
Add slightly cooled tea leaves, baking soda and vegetable oil, mix thoroughly.
We begin to introduce flour evenly. Add flour until the dough resembles thick sour cream.
Grind the nuts (I used walnuts), either in a blender or by hand. I crushed it like this - I put the nuts in two bags, wrapped them in a kitchen towel and hit them with a chop mallet.

Traditional British tea cake

The slogan of the recipe is a lot of dried fruits and not a gram of butter (which is mind-blowing for baked goods from the muffin group). Traditional British tea cake does not contain butter or vegetable oil, or margarine. Agree, a rare option. The dough is kneaded with brewed tea, from time to time with the addition of strong alcohol, it is certainly flavored with ground spices and raisins are not spared.

Without the fat, the traditional British tea cake is anything but lean or dry. Porous, soft, springy throughout the entire height of the cut, very fragrant and sweet. Moreover, a significant amount of water (tea) completely evaporates; there are no damp or wet areas in the crumb. It is baked moderately and, as expected, until a “dry match”.

Mix different varieties of raisins, throw in candied fruits, meaty dried apricots and dried berries. Slices of traditional British tea cake get a cute color sketch. Avoiding the use of strong drinks, brew your favorite tea (herbal infusion), for example, one of the more aromatic and favorite ones is with bergamot. According to your own taste, make a set of ground consistency from nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger. But don't overdo it with spices.

Take note, the stale traditional British tea cake is dried in a toaster (cut into slices), served with morning toast, and optionally brushed with butter, honey, or jam. Another example of waste-free production.

Ingredients

raisins (two varieties) 200 g
candied fruits 100 g
flour 250 g
sugar 200 g
eggs 2 pcs.
bergamot tea 2-3 bags (+ 250 ml water)
baking powder 18 g
sea salt 3 g
honey 30 g
ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon zest to taste

Manufacturing

It is convenient to start the preliminary process the night before and the next day to bake a miracle cake. The longer (within reasonable limits) dried fruits are soaked in moisture, the meatier and tastier they become. I have two varieties of raisins, rinse them under running water and put them in a bowl with freshly brewed strong tea. Cover with a towel/plate and leave alone at room temperature for 8-12 hours. We do not take candied fruits at this step; in water/tea they will lose their elastic density and color. If you decide to introduce alcohol (rum, brandy, cognac, etc.), brew 2-3 tea bags in 150 ml of boiling water, the other 100 ml will be alcohol. In other words, with the indicated calculation of goods, the required size of water is 250 ml. Dried fruits should be in the region of 300-500 g, vary without the help of others.

When starting to knead the dough for a British tea cake, we measure out the wheat flour in a strictly designated amount and be sure to sift it. To enhance the flavor contrast, stir with a pinch of sea salt (small or coarse), a portion of baking powder, and also sweet sand. In addition to ordinary snow-white sugar, it is often prepared with brown sugar, and the dose is increased from time to time to 250 g. As much flour as there is sugar. I think it's very sweet, but it's a personal matter. I will say that with 200 g of sugar (plus sweet raisins and candied fruits), the cake turned out to be more than sweet. I think sugar can be safely reduced to 150 g.

Add flavorings - ground spices - to the flour slide. A large amount or a small pinch, as your heart desires. Additionally, I add lemon zest - narrow shavings from half a large lemon.

In another container, beat two regular eggs. We work with the mixer for about 2 minutes until fluffy but light foam. Another advantage for lazy bakers is that there is no need to separate the whites from the yolks, beat them in different bowls, or add them alternately and in a certain sequence. During heavy traffic, they are controlled with a fork or a hand whisk.

We combine the dry and wet ingredients, either immediately or one after the other. Let's say we first lay out the beaten eggs.

Next we add colorful candied fruits and swollen raisins, along with all the remaining tea. Knead the sticky and almost liquid dough. Knead all the flour lumps. There are so many raisins and candied fruits that they are distributed moderately throughout the entire mass without the help of others.

Pour the cake batter into a rectangular or other shape. Let it “rest” for 5-10 minutes before putting it in the oven. Bake in a preheated oven at a temperature of 160-170 degrees for approximately 60-70 minutes.

We check readiness by piercing it with a torch. Lubricate the still hot bronze “brick” with natural honey and let it cool. Then we extract it.

We divide the traditional British tea cake into similar slices, serve with tea and more. Bon appetit!

Tea cake

Cooking: 30 minutes

I suggest you try the tea cake. We will use freshly brewed tea as a base for the dough.

During fasting, you have to spend more time near the stove than usual, because you can’t snack on a sandwich with sausage, butter or cheese.

Naturally, the market industry does not sleep. In recent years, a huge number of confectionery products have appeared on the packaging with “For Lent” and “Can be used during Lent” labels.

But I buy such products (and buttery ones too) occasionally, because the composition and taste don’t really amuse me. I prefer to take my time, but prepare a savory delicacy from goods that I recognize. If you also adhere to this idea, then this recipe is for you.

Tea Cake Ingredients

for test

for decoration

Tea cake recipe

When I prepare baked goods with berries, fruits or dried fruits, I always start with them. After all, their preparation often takes longer than the kneading of the dough itself.

So, I washed the grapes and removed those berries that seemed unclear to me. I cut it across, and larger specimens into three parts.

I brewed the freshest black tea without additives for the dough base.

If desired, you can also take a flavored one.

Combine tea, sunflower oil, salt and sugar in a mixing container.

I added only 3 tablespoons of sugar, keeping in mind the grapes and honey that would go into the dough next.

If you like sweet baked goods, you can increase the amount of sugar up to 150 g.

Stir the tea until the dry ingredients are completely dissolved.

You can take either watery or candied, because in hot tea it will dissolve in any case.

Add sifted flour, soda and starch.

I beat the mixture with a whisk and poured in the table vinegar.

Carefully stirred the mixture and added the cooked grapes.

Carefully stir the dough with a spoon so as not to destroy the berries.

I poured the dough into silicone molds, moistening them with previously cool water.

I got 10 pieces.

Placed it in an oven preheated to 180-200ºC for 30 minutes.

The golden brown cupcakes were sprinkled with sweet powder on top.

The tea cakes are quite moist, give it a try!