My story is one you’ve probably heard before. Young Jewish woman is pre-med in college, ends up in law school after a chemistry accident. After a few years of glamorous environmental law, she was off to Geneva and finds herself at the UN listening to terrorists discuss human rights. How to top that? Pastry school in Paris was the obvious choice. A catering business in Geneva, taught a few cooking classes in French and then came back and started a cooking school in the D.C. area. Oh yeah, had four kids at some point. Now I travel the country teaching kosher cooking and baking and proving that Kosher food can be beautiful, elegant and delicious. Along the way, I set out to start a kosher baking revolution. Join me.
Orange Tea Cake (Pareve)
serves 12 to 15
storage
Once the glaze has dried, store covered in plastic at room temperature for up to five days or freeze for up to three months.
Spray oil containing flour or spray oil plus 2 tablespoons flour for greasing and flouring pan
cake
1 Earl Gray tea bag
½ cup boiling water
2 cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
4 large eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated outer peel) (from 1 orange)
¼ cup fresh orange juice (from zested orange)
glaze
1 Earl Grey tea bag
½ cup boiling water
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 350°f. Grease and flour a large Bundt pan.
2 To make the cake: Steep the tea bag in the ½ cup of boiling water. Add 2 teaspoons of the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let steep while you prepare the batter.
3 In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 2 cups of sugar, the eggs, oil, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, orange zest, and orange juice with a whisk or electric mixer on medium speed. Lift the tea bag from the tea and squeeze excess tea into the tea to make it as strong as possible, and then discard the tea bag. Pour the tea into the batter and mix vigorously by hand or for 2 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed until all the ingredients are combined and the batter is creamy.
4 Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn the cake onto a rack and let cool completely.
5 To make the glaze: Place the tea bag in the ½ cup of boiling water and let steep 2 minutes. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the brewed tea and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and you have a white glaze you can pour. Let the glaze sit 5 minutes to thicken and then pour or drizzle over the cake.