Vegan Earl Grey Cake
Floral, fragrant, and genuinely impressive, this layer cake brings the sophisticated flavor of Earl Grey tea into every single bite. The secret is steeping four tea bags directly into warm plant-based milk, which infuses the batter with that distinctive bergamot aroma before a drop of flour even hits the bowl. A splash of apple cider vinegar curdles the tea milk into a makeshift buttermilk, giving the crumb a tender, moist lift without any eggs or dairy in sight. Unsweetened applesauce quietly does the work of binding everything together, so the texture stays soft and sliceable rather than dense or gummy. The fluffy vegan butter frosting whips up beautifully and pairs with the lightly floral cake layers in a way that feels genuinely elegant. A scatter of loose Earl Grey leaves on top makes it look like something from a fancy bakery window, but the whole thing comes together in your own kitchen and serves 12 — perfect for a celebration or an afternoon tea spread that everyone at the table can enjoy.
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Learn more →Ingredients
12 servings
For the cake
- 1 cup plant-based milk
- 4 earl grey tea bags
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups organic cane sugar
- ½ cup neutral oil (such as sunflower or canola oil)
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tbsp plant-based milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
For serving
- 1–2 tsp loose earl grey tea leaves, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- 2
Heat the plant-based milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat, add the 4 Earl Grey tea bags, and steep for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags, pressing them gently to extract all the liquid. Let the tea-infused milk cool to room temperature, then stir in the apple cider vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes until slightly curdled.
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