Earl Grey Cake

Tea is comforting. Cake is comforting. Being creative and making something with your hands is comforting. All reasons that now is the perfect time to make my vegan version of Bon Appetit’s Earl Grey Yogurt Cake.

As a major Molly Baz fan, I was excited when I saw a DM from a viewer asking me to veganize Molly’s delicious-looking Earl Grey cake. And after reading the comments on BA’s website from some frustrated vegans who apparently had a rough time veganizing this particular recipe, I thought I would give it a go.

Most of the time, my approach to veganizing a non-vegan recipe is simple: swap out the non-vegan products for vegan products. Easy, right? But in this case, using equal amounts of vegan ingredients resulted in a dense, oily mess with a strange aftertaste to boot 😬

Determined to figure out how to veganize this recipe, I tested various amounts of wet and dry ingredients, played around with the amount (and kind) of oil, and added in a few slightly healthier ingredients like flax seeds and applesauce.

Eventually – and I do mean eventually – it all came together into a cake that is now one of my very favorites of all time! It’s perfect. It has the texture of a bakery-style coffee cake, the vibrant citrusy flavor of one of my favorite teas, and it’s actually very easy to make.

Speaking of tea, Molly’s original version called for Earl Grey, and you should absolutely use Earl Grey if that’s what you have on hand. But I found that using Decaf Lady Grey produced a bright citrusy flavor that made this cake irresistible.

There are lots of helpful vegan baking tips in the Notes below, so make sure to give those a look before you get started. I know we’re all a bit on edge and anxious these days, so I hope that making this recipe will help you feel a little more calm and cozy.

Treating myself to a quiet moment with a warm slice of cake and an afternoon coffee felt like the reminder I needed that there is something good in everyday. I hope it will feel that way for you too ☕️ ☀️

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 5 tbsp water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp sea salt (I used Morton’s)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup almond milk yogurt (I used Kite Hill unsweetened plain)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup melted refined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup Lady Grey or Earl Grey tea (about 10 tea bags)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 1 lb (“9 x 5″ or 8½ x 4½”) loaf pan and then line it with parchment paper (optional but recommended) Lightly spray or grease the paper too to prevent sticking.
2. In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp of ground flax seeds and 5 tbsp of water. Stir and set aside to thicken. About 10 mins.
3. In the meantime, combine 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of sea salt, 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine and set aside.
4. Then add 1 cup of cane sugar to a larger mixing bowl along with the now thickened flax + water mixture (it should be thick and gel-like) Beat vigorously for 1 minute, mixing until it’s light and fluffy. If you have a few cooks in the kitchen, or kids that want to help, this would be a great time for them to take turns stirring!
5. Then mix in 1 cup of almond milk yogurt and 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
6. Add 1/2 cup of applesauce and then slowly stream in 1/2 cup of melted refined coconut oil while whisking continually. This will help make sure the oil is well incorporated and it creates a nice texture in the finished cake 🙂
7. Stir in 1/4 cup of Earl Grey or Lady Grey tea and then gradually add in the dry ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined but be careful not to over mix at this stage.
8. Transfer the mixture to your prepared loaf pan and sprinkle some cane sugar on top of the cake if desired (optional) This creates a slightly crispy texture on top that is so good!
9. Bake for 1 hour and then check on it. In my oven, this cake takes 1 hour and 10 minutes, but it may take longer since every oven is slightly different. Keep an eye on it and bake until the cake is deeply golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. See notes below.
10. Allow the cake to cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes, then run a butter knife along the sides to help gently release the cake from the pan. Remove from the pan and then allow it to cool completely on the rack.

My favorite way to have this cake is as a snack in the middle of the afternoon but honestly, it’s great any time of day. For breakfast, I like it toasted with a touch of vegan butter on top or served with a dollop of vegan yogurt and some berries on the side 🙂

Recipe Notes

1. Why “refined” coconut oil? Virgin Coconut Oil has a strong coconut flavor that overpowers this cake. Refined doesn’t impart any coconut flavor into this cake. I used this one.
2. BAKER’S TIP: gather and measure out all of your ingredients before you start! I know it’s tempting to jump right in, but trust me, this will make the process smoother and more enjoyable. Gather, measure, preheat the oven, prep your pan, then start mixing.
3. I tried this recipe with thicker yogurts and even vegan sour cream, and it didn’t come out right. A lighter almond milk yogurt worked the best in my m-a-n-y experiments with this recipe!
4. For future baking, remember that applesauce works very well as an oil replacer, but I like to do half applesauce and half oil instead of forgoing the oil all together.
5. The kind of pan you use matters! I actually don’t have the standard 1 lb loaf pan that is called for in this recipe. I have a smaller 7″ x 4″ inch pan so what I did was scoop out 6 cupcakes using a medium sized ice cream scoop and put the rest of the batter in my loaf pan. If I had tried to fit it all in my smaller pan, it would’ve overflowed in the oven which is why I can’t recommend checking the size of your pan enough! I linked pans + a cooling rack below.
6. Want to save some time? This recipe makes between 16-18 cupcakes that bake for about 20 minutes.
7. Baking time will vary depending on your oven so make sure that you insert a toothpick into the center to ensure that the center is done. Other ways to tell if it’s done include: the cake will take on a deep, golden brown color and the center should feel “set” when you touch the top. Your cake may need 1 hour and 15 or 20 minutes so try to resist pulling it out before the toothpick comes out clean.
8. A cooling on rack is very important because it helps the cake develop a nice crumb structure. You want to let it cool on a rack to make sure that air circulates all the way around the cake and the bottom doesn’t get soggy.
9. I opted for decaf Lady Grey for this recipe. This is the one I used. It’s delicious!
10. This is the yogurt I used, but this one is also really good.

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