When it comes to thinking what goes with tea best, it ain’t long before the mind quickly flicks over to a high tea kinda situation (probs cause they both have the word tea in it,… this is clearly an Aussie perspective… obviously… i’ve never even been to an official high tea)
So naturally, when I imagine tea’s besty, I see a whole lotta gorgeous cakes, mini triangle cut cucumber sandwiches and pretty much a baked food heaven.
And also somethin’ English like… like, a sponge!
Also, pretty much me and sponge have an awkward relationship… it involves a lot stare offs, long silences, and nervous folding. I respect ya sponge, but you’re a tough nut to crack.
And sometimes, sponge decides to be nice, and cooperates and even sometimes, if i’m lucky, it’s willing to be fluffy and perfectly edible. I like that kinda sponge…. especially this sponge:
– dad taught me how to peel oranges in the cool as spiral… and that’s pretty cool man
– the first cake dad made was a sponge
– plus it’s a cake, and well who doesn’t like cake? (certainly not dad!)
So there you have it folks, a perfectly fitting cake, fit for a celebration.
Happy Belated Birthday Dad/Clifton Springs! (that nickname has a long story behind it….)
Oh yes! Can we also plezzzz talk about this whipped coconut cream for a minute?
It’s actually a mixture of total deliciousness and heaven… delicious coconutty heaven.
So simple, so easy, and can be used for all your coconutty flavor needs! (Oh She Glows has some great tips to making it)
And incase you didn’t notice, yes, I kinda do have a coconut obsession… blame it on the warm weather…
As you can remember from here and here, it ain’t something I take lightly.
This range Tetley’s tea isn’t just any old tea, so I made a sponge that wasn’t just any old sponge… ya followin’ me? (i can be confusing at times…)
Assam (a lush tropical rainforest climate in northern India) deliciously ‘woody and earthy’.
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) perfectly going with the sponge being ‘crisp and floral’.
Kenyan (in Africa) my favorite one with wonderful ‘nutty and sweet’ flavor notes.
This is gonna sound a bit cray cray, but, I kid you not, trying these different types of teas literally took me to the places! Such attention to detail… such good flavours in one mug.
Forget English Breakfast, think Assam Breakfast!
I know how I’m kicking off my days from now on (*cough cough* has something to do with Tetley…)
All up, from the tea rookie I am, I was blown away with this fantastic range of original teas which tick all the boxes! Go Tetley!
BLOOD ORANGE BROWN SUGAR SPONGE WITH COCONUT CREAM
(Sponge recipe adapted from Gourmet Traveller, Blood Orange Caramel recipe adapted from Gourmet Traveller)
Ingredients
Blood Orange Caramel:
zest of 2 blood oranges
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
250ml water + another 80ml
125ml blood orange juice (around 2 oranges)
Brown Sugar Sponge:
6 eggs, at room temperature
80g each brown sugar and caster sugar
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
150g plain flour, triple-sieved
1/8 tsp baking powder
60g butter, melted and cooled
Candied Blood Oranges:
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 blood oranges, sliced
Coconut Whipped Cream:
150g coconut cream (from around 1 can coconut milk) tips for getting this here
150g thickened cream
1/3 cup coconut chips toasted to garnish
Method:
1. Starting with the Blood Orange Caramel remove orange rind with a zester. Juice the oranges setting the juice aside.
2. Stir orange zest, sugar, golden syrup and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the simmer and cook until a crimson-coloured caramel forms (40-45 minutes).
3. Add a pinch of salt, reserved juice and 80ml water (be careful, hot caramel will spit). Swirl to combine and refrigerate until cooled completely (30 minutes).
4. Whilst the caramel is cooking, make the Brown Sugar Sponges. Preheat oven to 180C and line two 20cm cake tins.
5. Whisk eggs, sugars and vanilla seeds on high speed in an electric mixer until mixture is tripled in volume and holds a trail (10-12 minutes).
6. Transfer to a large bowl, sift over flour and baking powder in two batches, gently fold to combine, then fold in butter.
7. Divide among 2 cake tins and bake, swapping tins halfway through cooking, until cakes are dark golden and centres spring back when gently pressed (15-20 minutes). Cool slightly in tins, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. While the cake is baking and cooling, prepare the Candied Blood Oranges by combining the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the orange slices and cook over moderate heat, until the liquid is reduced to a thin syrup and the orange slices are translucent, about 20 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the syrup is thick and the slices are tender but still intact, about 10 minutes. Transfer the orange slices to a rack to cool. Reserve the syrup for another use.
7. For the Coconut Whipped Cream, in separate bowls or one after the other, whip the coconut cream and thickened cream, then fold together to combine.
8. To assemble; place one Brown Butter Sponge on a plate/cake stand and spread over half the Coconut Whipped Cream, then top with the other cake, and spread over the remaining Coconut Whipped Cream. Top with the Candied Blood Orange, and sprinkle over the toasted coconut.
Serve immediately with the Blood Orange Caramel (if left for too long, the sponge will absorb moisture and not be ideal to eat… warning from the experienced old sponge eater)
9. Enjoy! :D
** NOTE; you can make both the Blood Orange Caramel and Candied Blood Oranges ahead of time, days in advance.
Thanks for stopping by!
