This cake is up on da blog. Which means I’m officially out of a slump (I think). I feel like there’s been this little emoji cloud hanging above me as I walk around.
I flunked at making yeasted biscuits. They were boring and bland and made me fall asleep because I hated them so much. I burned rhubarb jam because I was distracted with texting. The carrot soup I made was just ok, but not anything that wooed me. And then this cake exited the oven and I was like….deng...bowchicabowowow.
I feel like it’s a cross between sexy and demure. Like, a girl who can work a stripper pole but who is then capable of putting on a dress and sit in church (or temple, whatever you’re into to) nicely, quietly, prettily. Think of it like a V dimensional cake. She is capable of that 360 life.
This cake is light and fluffy with the faintest hint of chamomile. (I fiddled with this recipe.)
Chamomile is a gentle flavor. It’s not a strong tea flavor but it helps that the milk in the cake recipe is steeped in tea and then tea leaves are added to the actual cake.
The frosting taste like sweet buttery honey with a touch of salt. I had dreams of putting the frosting on a biscuit, which sounds a little gross and something someone who loves food eating contests would do but whatever.
This cake screams spring; it screams the weekends; it screams celebrations. Cakes aren’t made everyday but if you do find yourself with some free time, make this one.
Ingredients
Chamomile Cake:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 teaspoons finely ground chamomile tea leaves from about 3 tea bags, divided
- 5 egg whites will equal to a scant ¾ cup
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour plus more for dusting pans
- 1 ½ cups white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature and cubed
- 2 tablespoons honey
Honey Frosting:
- 1 ½ cups 3 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups of powdered sugar sifted
- 4 tablespoons honey
- Pinch of salt
For Garnish:
- 1 bunch of fresh organic chamomile leaves
Instructions
- To make the cake: Start by flouring, greasing and lining the bottoms of the cake pans with parchment. Set aside.
- Pour the milk and honey in a medium saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Mix 2 teaspoons of chamomile leaves into the milk mixture. Heat the milk until a digital thermometer reads 100 degrees F or until it's warm to the touch (in case you don't have one). Immediately turn off the heat and cover, allowing the tea to steep for about 10 minutes. Run the mixture through a strainer, discarding the used up tea (bits of chamomile leaves might still be in the milk and that's ok!). Whisk in the egg whites. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 3 teaspoons chamomile leaves, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. At a slow speed, add the cubed butter and mix until it resembles soft crumbs. Add about ½ of the milk/egg white mixture and continue beating for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining ½ of the milk/egg white mixture and beat for an additional 30 seconds or so, scrape down the sides and give it one last mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter to pan walls, smooth the tops and give the pans a gentle bang on the kitchen counter. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart (this will help with proper cake circulation, yes this is a thing). Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes. (If you're using nine-inch cake pans, the cake might take around 25 minutes to bake, just keep that in mind.)
- Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely,
- To make the icing: Add the butter, sifted powdered sugar, honey and salt to a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Frost the cake to your liking. I did a crumb coat, which means I gave the cake a very thin layer of frosting, stuck it in the freezer for 5 minutes, and then frosted it with a thick layer of frosting. I arranged organic chamomile flowers all over the cake. These don't taste all that great, they're more for decoration. Feel free to skip the flowers, if you like!
Daniela says
Hello, can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour ?
Angela says
This cake delicious!! It has a wonderful crumb, and if you love chamomile as much as I do, it is perfect. I am looking to try it with another tea, and make into cupcakes. Does this recipe bake well as cupcakes?
Thanks!!
Yug Sharma says
Wow, I really love this cake! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us, I will definitely try to make it.
Adrianna D says
This looks awesome! I just harvested and dried some chamomile so I’m definitely going to use it in this! Any tip on the bake time if I did cupcakes?
Angela says
Hey there, I am looking at doing cupcakes too. Did you try it out? If so, did they turn out well as cupcakes?
Thanks!!
Jess says
Hi, this looks lovely!
But is it correct in the Ingredients list where it says to use a tablespoon of baking powder?
It's just that I haven't ever seen that much called for before.
Adrianna Adarme says
yes that's correct 🙂
Kirstan says
Hi! Do you think after completion and cooling this cake could be frozen (even with flowers and frosting) and then eaten two- three days after freezing?
Kim Stone says
Thanks a lot for this recipe, I was thinking of surprising my parents on their anniversary with my handmade cake. I'm sure they will be much happy ^_^
Sara says
Have you ever tried making this cake with a buttrrcream frosting instead? Do you think they would pair well together?
Adrianna Adarme says
this is technically a buttercream frosting with honey added. So feel free to just leave out the honey! 🙂
Emma says
Thanks for your guide! Simple and easy to follow. I will make this cake on my son's birthday.
Juanna says
This cake looks so nice, wow!
I really don't make cakes but I think I will try this one out.
Thanks for sharing.
Athena says
Love how you describe the frosting because it is one of the main reasons why I want to make this cake. Per your Instagram direction I might have to purchase some tea and make this cake this weekend.
Adrianna Adarme says
Dooo it girlfriend.
Sophia says
Hi! I haven’t made this yet but I’m loving what I’m reading. I was wondering just how strong the aromatics are. I’m hoping to bake this for a friend who hasn’t got the strongest sense of taste but loves the smell of chamomile and would love it if it errs on the side of strong. Thank you 🙂
Neha says
Can this cake be made eggless? My son is allergic. What would you recommend as a substitute?
Adrianna Adarme says
Hi Neha, I've never made this cake eggless so unfortunately I'm not sure.
Adrianna Adarme says
I feel like your best bet would be to find an eggless cake and infuse the flavors of honey and chamomoile in it and then use this frosting recipe.
Neha says
Thanks for the suggestion!
Jim says
It looks absolutely delicious and also nice.Basically, Such a lovely cake , I haven’t seen in my country . I myself and wife must bake this cake. the flavors of this cake is awesome.and also,I like your gorgeous photos along with your post description.Thanks a lot for sharing.
Adrianna Adarme says
Thanks, Jim!
Christopher says
Definitely in love with your recipe! I’ll try this tomorrow! Thank you for the post.
Quinn says
Actually I'm really bad at decorating cake. I'll try this way tomorrow. Guess that my friend will be very surprise with this gift ^^