Kumquat Jasmine Honey Cake 茉莉花茶金桔蜂蜜蛋糕
I love tea. If I have to choose between coffee and tea, I will always choose the latter. I grew up watching my grandparents and my parents drinking tea. I was not allowed to drink it when I was little because I was told the caffeine was not good for little kids. When I was old enough, I started this lifelong habit of drinking a cup of hot tea after each meal. I love having sweets with tea. And I enjoy tea flavored desserts as well.
This is a gorgeous cake to bring to any party or serve at your dinner table. I particularly love the subtle jasmine tea aroma and flavor in the cake, as well as the elegant color from the tea. The kumquat gives such amazing tartness to balance the sweetness of the cake. The butter is infused with jasmine tea and mixed together with the kumquat to create such an interesting and refreshing cake flavor. The additional egg white here provides a lighter texture to the cake, it’s similar to the technique used in making sponge cake.
The cake can be enjoyed on its own, or with some honey drizzle. The whipped cream and the toppings are just an optional final touch. Without the whipped cream, the cake can be stored in room temperature for up to three days.
Kumquat Jasmine Honey Cake 茉莉花茶金桔蜂蜜蛋糕
Cake Ingredients
Butter, 113g
Dried Jasmine tea leaves, 8g, ground
All purpose flour, 200g
Baking powder, 7g
Salt, 7g
Lemon, 1, zested
Honey, 200g
Eggs, 1
Egg white, 2
Vanilla extract, ½ tsp
Heavy cream, 120ml
Kumquat, 60g, pitted and thinly sliced to get 50g
Topping Ingredients
Heavy cream, 120 ml
Vanilla extract, ¼ tsp
Honey confit kumquat, 4-5, halved and seeded
Kumquat honey, ½ TBS
Water, ¼ tsp
Small mint leaves, topping
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F, line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
Melt the butter, off heat add in the ground tea leaves. Set aside to cool.
Once the melted butter is cooled, add the honey in a large bowl together with the egg, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together with the lemon zest. Add the dry ingredient mix into the wet ingredient bowl. Continue to mix until just incorporated. Fold in the sliced kumquat.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks. Carefully fold the egg white into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, lightly smooth and level the top, bake for 50-55 minutes until, when you insert a cake tester, it comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the whipped cream, whisk the heavy cream with vanilla extract until stiff peaks. Add the kumquat honey with the water and mix to combine.
Once the cake is cooled completely, spread the whipped cream on top, decorated with some confit kumquat, drizzle on the kumquat honey, and top with some mint leaves.
