Tea and Cake Cake.

It's your birthday...Woooohooooo. Now I know you're not a giant birthday fan like me, particularly when it comes to your own, so I imagine you're pretty glad about the enormous distance between us right now. But birthdays are for celebrating, for singing and parties and presents and glitter, and although I can't shower you with such joy(for me)/embarrassment(for you) in person, I can do the bloggy version. HA.

They're meant to be balloons...obviously. 

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Biiiirthday dear Hannaaaah

Happy Birthday to you.

Here is my tribute to your love of tea and my love of birthdays and our mutual love of cake. An Earl-Grey Cake. I've gone off piste here a bit and sort of invented this concoction myself...not a problem when tea-time (as in dinner) cooking is involved, but a potential mine-field in the case of proper baking. So Horrah...it worked.

I actually wrote the words for the post before I had made the cake, so am rather pleased that it turned out well. Not quite sure what I would have done otherwise. 

Anyway, make sure you find someone friendly to make it for you and load it with candles and then clap as you blow them out and make a wish.

Have a fabulous day. Eat, drink and be merry. With Love and Cake.

Earl-Grey Cake

A few notes:

• You'll just have to trust me on the courgette situation. I'll go into detail about the genius of vegetable cakes another time.
• Don't look at the pictures too closely. My icing curdled a little bit you see, due to too much beating and then the addition of too much tea I think. That's also why it's a bit runny and is making its way down the side of the cake. It's ok though, I made the mistake so you don't have to.
• I only have two 18cm pans so I'm a tad naughty and make up all the cake batter, cook two thirds in the two that I have and then cook the final third when they're done. Not advisable but necessary.
• I find the easiest thing to do with a recipe like this is to weigh everything out first and then it comes together and can get in the oven nice and quickly. Grated courgette doesn't like to sit around for too long.

Makes a towering 18cm cake

You will need

3x18cm round cake tins

For the cake

4 eggs

200g caster sugar

400g courgette, finely grated

5 Earl-Grey tea bags

220g plain flour

140g ground almonds

3 headed teaspoons baking powder

For the filling and icing sugar

1/2 jar of your fav jam

50g soft butter

50g mascarpone

200g icing sugar

3 tbsp stronglystrongly brewed Earl-Grey tea

• Grease the tins and line the bases with grease-proof paper. Preheat the oven to 180°.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar for around 5 minutes, until voluminous and light. 
• Fold in the courgette then empty the contents of the tea bags into the mixture (sounds weird..tastes delish).
• Fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder.
• Now divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for around 30 minutes, though check after 20 in case they need moving around the oven for even cooking.
• When the cakes are done, remove from the tin and leave to cool completely.
• Meanwhile make the icing. Beat the butter and mascarpone until they come together and increase in volume a bit.
• Next stir in the icing sugar and tea and work together until a light coloured paste is formed.
• To assemble the cake, choose the flattest sponge and leave that as the top one.
• Lay one of the other sponges on a plate and spread over half the jam.
• Pop another sponge on top followed by the rest of the jam and then by the fanciest sponge.
• Spoon the icing on the top and spread over evenly. Decorate if you fancy and serve with tea.