Got a call from my husband…
Hubby (nervous): I got your XX account locked.
Me: Hey, no worries, babe. So, what’s wrong?
Hubby (sobbing): I failed to answer the security questions.
Me: What questions?
Hubby (burst out crying): Your favorite things, color and stuff.
I’m officially furious!
Earl Grey Chiffon
(Adapted from Savoury Days)
A. Earl Grey Chiffon
For 10” chiffon pan
1 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves (slightly smashed, I use a granite mortar and pestle)
20 ml boiling water
6 egg yolks
20 g sugar
75 ml milk
45 g canola oil
120 g cake flour (or 105 g all-purpose flour + 15 g corn starch, sifted)
6 egg white
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
105 g sugar
B. Boba pearls (optional)
120 g dried boba pearls (I used WuFuYuan brand – you can buy from Amazon here)
25 g dark brown sugar
C. Earl Grey cream
1 egg yolk
25 g sugar
10g corn starch
100 ml milk
1 tsp Earl Grey leaves
50 g heavy cream
D. Cream cheese frosting
60 ml milk
20 g sugar
1 pinch salt
20g unsalted butter
100 g cream cheese
150 g heavy cream
To make Earl Grey Chiffon:
- Preheat oven to 280 F.
- Steep 1 tsp smashed Earl-Grey tea in 30 ml boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until light yellow.
- Add milk, canola oil, and tea (both tea water and tea leaves). Mix well.
- Whisk in sifted cake flour.
- In another large bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt, cream of tartar, and sugar until stiff.
- Whisk 1/3 egg whites into the yolk-flour mixture in (5).
- Fold the remaining 2/3 egg whites.
- Pour the batter into a 10″ chiffon pan.
- Cover loosely with a piece of aluminium foil. Bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the aluminium foil.
- Increase temperature to 310 F. Bake for another 20 minutes.
To make Boba pearls (optional)
- In a large saucepan, boil 7 cup of water.
- Add 1/2 package of dried boba pearls (about 120 g)
- Cook, uncovered, until the boba pearls float to the surface, about 5 minutes.
- Strain cooked boba pearls into a bowl of cold water for 10 seconds, just enough to avoid sticking.
- Reserve boba pearls in a small bowl.
- Add dark brown sugar. Mix well and set aside.
To make Earl Grey cream
- Whisk egg yolk with sugar until light yellow.
- Add corn starch.
- In a saucepan, heat milk with 1 tsp Earl Grey leaves. Turn off the heat and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Discard tea leaves. Strain tea-infused milk into yolk mixture in (2).
- Heat milk-yolk mixture in a saucepan until thicken. Set aside until cool.
- Whip heavy-cream until stiff.
- Fold whipped heavy-cream into yolk custard in (5). Set aside.
To make cream-cheese frosting
- In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, and butter until melted.
- Turn off the heat.
- Whisk in cream cheese until smooth. Set aside until cool.
- Whip heavy-cream until stiff.
- Fold whipped heavy-cream into cream cheese mixture. Set aside.
Assemble the cake
- Slice the cake horizontally into 2 layers.
- Spread a thin layer of Earl Grey cream on the bottom layer.
- Mix the remaining Earl Grey cream with 2/3 of the boba pearls.
- Fill the center of the chiffon cake with Earl Grey – boba mixture.
- Pour cream cheese frosting on top.
- Add the remaining boba pearls.
Another simple way of enjoying this Earl Grey cake: serve the plain cake with cream cheese frosting on the side.