Thank you Smith Teamaker for sponsoring this post and for making exceptional teas.
The Christmas season is no longer in its cute infancy. It’s a scary teenager that is keeping you up worrying late at night “did I label the correct present?” or “do we have enough money to make it through” or “when did my pants shrink”? We can do this, friends. I can do this. We are almost there, in comfy pajamas next to a pile of wrinkled wrapping paper and sipping on peppermint-laced tea while cinnamon rolls rise. We are almost there.
And, while we prepare for the next gathering or reply to the family text group, let’s find comfort in those small moments of bliss. A moment, with a hot cup of tea in cold fingers in the corner of your couch. Just a few minutes of breath before the next thing. Hold onto those moments.
I know that I’ve been flooded with parties, to-do lists, cookies, work, e-mails and all while prepping to leave town to visit family. It’s a lot. So, I’ve taken to finding moments to breath. A walk around the block here, a cup of tea there, just finding my rhythm in an off-beat-time-of-year. I’m already starting to crave the simplicity of January. The lighter calendar, the sparse decorations, the clean slate.
This weekend I made my baking wish-list for when we hit the Bay Area for some much needed time with family. I like to mix my dry ingredients and put them into marked canning jars so that when I get in the unfamiliar kitchens, I can do my best in a different setting. Some things, like Soft Sugar Cookies, I’ll make before and frost when there. Others, I wait for inspiration to strike.
My list includes:
- Dark Chocolate Nugget Cookies
- Orange Spice Scones
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Double Chocolate Cake
And… This cake…
- Meadow Orange Almond Cake
The butter is infused with 4 sachets of Smith Teamaker Meadow. Which is essentially a very floral/apple flavored chamomile tea. So relaxing and aromatic. The butter just soaks up the flavor and permeates the cake with a very soft, non-acidic apple taste that will blow your socks off. And, as if we aren’t scared of anything, we zest 2 whole oranges into the Almond Meal based cake for the best of winter flavors.
As a little reminder, December 19th is the last day to order any of the Holiday Teas from Smith Teamaker. They are a perfect addition to your holiday table or into any stocking. However, Meadow is a year-long tea that you can find in a lot of grocery stores.
Meadow Orange Almond Cake
Meadow Orange Almond Cake is the perfect yummy (and gluten free) cake for any occasion.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter (one stick)
4 Smith Tea Maker Meadow Sachets
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/3 cup super fine almond meal
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 oranges, zest of
8 ounces of Mascarpone or Crème Fraiche
Instructions
Over medium heat in a small saucepan, melt butter. Cut open the tea sachets and sprinkle into the melted butter. Continue to cook over low heat for about 3 minutes. Be careful to not brown the butter. Turn off the heat and let sit to infuse longer while the cake is prepared.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until all the yolks are broken. Add in the sugar, brown sugar and combine with a whisk until uniform. Add in the super fine almond meal, baking powder, and salt and whisk until combined. Add in the zest of the oranges and pour the infused butter into the batter over a sieve to prevent the larger tea from getting into the batter. Discard the tea remanence. Whisk the batter again to incorporate the fat and the zest evenly, about 1 minute.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan and place in the preheated oven on middle rack for 40-45 minutes. The cake will be done when it no longer has any jiggle in the middle and a toothpick will come out clean. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake plate.
When the cake has completely cooled, top with room temperature mascarpone or crème fraiche and dust with powdered sugar.
Keywords: cake, Meadow, Smith Tea
