valentine’s day tea and chocolate cake with raspberry rosewater buttercream

I partnered with Smith Teamaker to create a cake using their Lover’s Leap tea which is a blend of black tea, rose petals, chamomile flowers and citrus that is fragrant, delicious and only around for Valentine’s Day. I had the pleasure of visiting their storefront in Portland last month and not only is their new space beautiful, their menu is amazing (I tried a carbonated chai and the monthly tea latte, the top of which was actually bruleed!). Smith began as and has remained a small-batch tea producer. Their staff and head teamaker are truly the kind of people whose passion for what they do is contagious, if you aren’t a tea lover when you arrive you will be by the time you leave. I discovered Smith Teamaker’s teas when I moved to Seattle and have been enjoying them ever since, and I was so excited to work with them on this tea-infused Valentine’s Day cake.

This is the sort of cake that fills my dreams. It’s tall, dark and heady, filled with a whipped dark chocolate ganache that has been infused with the floral black tea blend and covered in swiss meringue buttercream with fresh raspberries and rosewater. The buttercream is impossibly creamy and balances the dark chocolate cake and ganache beautifully. If the way to a man’s heart (or anyone’s, for that matter) is through the stomach, this cake is destined to inspire many epic love affairs.

Cake recipe adapted from Sweetapolita.

5.0 from 2 reviews

chocolate cake

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Serves: 4 x 6 inch layers

Ingredients

• ¾ c hot water
• 4 sachets Lover's Leap tea (or ¼ cup loose leaf) *
• 2¼ cups (285 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2⅓ cups (470 grams) superfine sugar
• ¾ cup (90 grams) good quality, dark dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2½ teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups buttermilk
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 (or 4, if you have them) 6-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, dust with cocoa powder and tap out the excess.
2. Pour the hot water over the tea bags and steep for 10 minutes, covered.
3. Combine all the dry ingredients including the sugar in a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
4. Squeeze the water out of the tea bags and discard them, then mix the tea, buttermilk,oil, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix by hand with a wooden spoon or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment just until well-combined, being careful not to over mix.
5. Fill the cake pans ½ full, then bake for 20 minutes undisturbed. Rotate the pans in the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the pans on cooling racks.
6. As soon as the pans are cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edges and turn the cakes out onto the racks to come to room temperature. If you are baking the layers in batches you can now wash, dry and prep the pans and bake the additional layers.
   Assembly // Level your cakes, if desired, and place the first layer face-up on a cake board or serving plate. Fill a pastry bag (or large ziplock with the corner cut) with buttercream and pipe a circle of buttercream around the edge of your first cake layer to create a dam. Fill with a spoonful or two of ganache, then place the second layer on top and press down gently. Repeat with the next two layers, then place the last layer face down on top. Ice the top and sides with buttercream and decorate with flowers.
   * If you'd like to make this cake after Lover's Leap is (sadly) sold out, I'd suggest using Lord Bergamot or Ceylon Uva

3.3.3077

5.0 from 2 reviews

dark chocolate tea infused whipped ganache

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Serves: about 1 cup

Ingredients

• ½ c heavy whipping cream
• 2 sachets Lover's Leap tea (or 1 tbsp loose leaf) *
• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions

1. Place the tea bags in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Remove the cream from heat and pour over the tea bags, cover and allow them to steep for 10 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags, then discard.
2. Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is smooth.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate, then add the butter and whip with a whisk until smooth and thickened. Allow to cool slightly before using.
   * If you'd like to make this cake after Lover's Leap is (sadly) sold out, I'd suggest using Lord Bergamot or Ceylon Uva

3.3.3077

5.0 from 2 reviews

rosewater and raspberry buttercream

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: 5 cups

Ingredients

• 5 egg whites
• 1¼ c (198 g) superfine sugar
• 1½ c (3 sticks) butter, cool but not cold and cut into cubes
• 1 c fresh, dry raspberries
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp rosewater
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Wipe the metal bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk attachment and a whisk with vinegar or lemon juice and a paper towel to remove any trace of grease.
2. Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Place a metal mixing bowl over the pot of simmering water (bowl should fit snugly but should not touch the water) and add the egg whites and sugar. Stir constantly with a whisk until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on a candy thermometer or until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is foamy. Remove from heat.
3. Beat egg whites and sugar on high speed until the bottom of the bowl is completely neutral, about 10 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and turn mixer on low speed.
4. Begin slowly adding the butter pieces and mix until the texture is smooth. If the buttercream curdles, keep mixing, it'll come back together.
5. Add the raspberries, vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, rosewater and salt and mix until combined.
6. You can store buttercream in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

3.3.3077

Also, thanks to Woven Magazine for the outside shots of the cake!