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During tea time one mustn’t forget the sugary treats. Sweets are a classic and time-honored pairing for tea and they present yet another great way to utilize Darjeeling tea in unconventional ways. We’re accustomed to drinking tea but what about eating it? The tea can either be infused into cakes or directly incorporated into loaves to get a wonderful accompaniment for tea time. I would like to share another tried and tested delicious recipe for Darjeeling tea.

Milk tea and honey pound cake:

3 heaped tbsp of Darjeeling black tea

1 cup of whole milk

1.5 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup and 3 tbsp of honey

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

2 cups of cake flour, or all-purpose

1.5 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of fine salt

Honey whipped cream topping:

1/2 cup of heavy cream, cold

2 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp of honey

1. Preheat the oven at 350ºF while preparing the cake.
2. Grind Darjeeling black tea-leaves in a spice grinder until coarsely ground then add to the milk in a small saucepot.
3. Bring to a simmer on medium heat then turn the heat off.  Leave the ground tea-leaves in the milk and let steep while cooling down to room temperature
4. Cream the butter and sugar together with a stand-mixer/hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, approx 3 min.  
5. Add the eggs one at a time and beat it into the creamed butter until the mixture is light and fluffy again, 2 min for each egg.  
6. Then add 1/3 cup of honey and vanilla extract, beat until smoothly combined.
7. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  
8. Beat the flour-mixture and cooled black tea-milk into the creamed butter mixture in small increments and mix until smooth.
9. Butter the inside of a loaf pan and dust with flour.  Make sure to tap the pan to release excess flour.  
10. Pour the batter into the pan and swirl 3 tbsp of honey into the batter with a spoon.  
11. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes until golden-brown on top and a wooden skewer comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
12. While the cake is cooling, whisk heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk and honey together vigorously until soft peaks form.  Chill in the fridge until needed.
13. Serve the sliced cake with honey whipped cream and a strong cup of Darjeeling milk tea.

Meagan Mukhia