There is perhaps nothing so iconically Southern as Sweet Tea. The house wine of the South, they say. We drink it year-round, but it is so intertwined with summer. That old gallon pickle jar full of tea in the fridge. Or a beat up Tupperware pitcher. Waiting to be poured out into silver pitchers, crystal iced tea glasses, mason jars, massive insulated tumblers or simple red solo cups. How would we make it through the sweltering summer months without is. Whether brewed at a restaurant in a huge drink dispenser or a special family recipe. I have turned sweet tea in to many things – grilled and glazed pork chops, seasoned pecans, jelly, caramel sauce, cookies, bars – so now I turn to a crowd-pleasing cake perfect for the wind-down days of summer, tea infused tender cake with a tangy swirl of lemony frosting. There is lots of room for creative decorating, or leave it simple and plain. Just like a glass of sweet tea.
Use a rich black tea and let it steep to make a dark, dense brew to flavor the cake and squeeze out as much tea from the bags as you can (without breaking them). I use Luzianne. The cake itself is easy to whip up and spreads into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish so it will feed a crowd. You can serve big slabs as a dessert or smaller pieces as a snack. I would love this at the lake or beach!
Mixing bowls, stand mixer, hand mixer, gold touch pan, ceramic pan, offset spatula
Ingredients
- For the Cake
1 cup boiling water
4 family-size iced black tea bags
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
⅓ cup whole milk, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
- For the Frosting
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Zest of one lemon
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions
- For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment, letting excess extend over sides.
- Pour 1 cup boiling water into a small, heatproof bowl. Add tea bags; cover and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing to release liquid from bags. Add more boiling water to make 1 cup. Let cool completely.
- Whisk the melted butter and granulated and white sugars together in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk in tea, eggs and milk until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and fold with a spatula and scraping the sides of the bowl, just until there are no visible streaks of dry ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula.
- Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan to a platter, though you can serve it straight from the pan.
- For the Frosting
- Beat the butter and lemon zest together to break up the butter, then add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on low to combine, then drizzle in the lemon juice and beat on medium high, scraping the sides of the bowl, until smooth and creamy. You can add a touch more lemon juice or a touch more confectioners’ sugar to get the perfect spreadable consistency. Scoop the frosting on to the completely cooled cake, then use an offset spatula to spread it evenly to cover. Leave the frosting to set, then cover with plastic wrap. The cake can be made one day ahead.
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