Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

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Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Somewhere between the gentle rolling hills and foggy mists of England, I fell in love with black tea. After moving to the United Kingdom for a few months, surrounded by a new culture and colorful accent, afternoon tea seemed like a very British tradition to experience. Up until this point, I had never been much of a tea drinker, perhaps only stealing a cup of chai when my mother set the teapot to boil, but I still felt like I would grow to enjoy it.

Originating from a nation of coffee drinkers, tea sounded like a fresh, bright alternative to the acidic touch of a rudimentary coffee maker.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

I remember my first trip to a British supermarket well. I paced up and down the aisles with an unusual level of fascination with the food lining the shelves. When I reached the tea section, I needed to take a moment to look over the vast display, feeling overwhelmed with choosing a place to begin my tea journey. I looked over different boxes in earnest, but with no concept of the difference between Earl Grey and Rooibos or English and Irish breakfast tea, it all felt as foreign to me as the new country I was in. I eventually snatched a box of PG Tips off the shelf, gambling with my future in tea.

Since that very first cup, brewed hot and fresh in my small dorm kitchen, I have not been able to turn back since. Black tea had utterly captured my heart.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Even now, I much prefer a mug of black tea to a mug of black coffee. On the weekends, when the morning is slow and responsibilities have been forgotten, I boil the water and brew the tea, adding a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey. You could, in many ways, call it my drink of choice.

Last weekend, while sipping a mug of tea and watching a winter storm turn the world white outside my window, I envisioned the flavors of my cup of tea as a slice of cake. Staying warm in my apartment, I started up the oven and turned my faint imaginings into a reality, creating a lovely little cake for two. My boyfriend, a strong believer in the powers of a good cup of coffee, fought me for the final piece. I think that speaks more about this cake than anything else.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream is a cup of tea turned into a slice of cake. The black tea cake is made by pouring the contents of three tea bags into warmed milk and allowing it to brew before adding the milk into the cake batter, tea leaves and all. The batter takes on a wonderful color, with specks of tea leaves to add a unique twist. After baking, the cake is topped with a honey buttercream that keeps the flavor without so much of the sweetness. The cake and buttercream taste just as their namesake, giving the classic cup of tea a new life. Tea lovers, this cake is just for you.

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Candy Cane Cupcakes

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Candy Cane Cupcakes

Candy Cane Cupcakes

It is snowing outside. Big, fluffy snowflakes are falling silently from the sky, piling up on window frames and tree branches. The world is covered with white, a blanket of fleece matching the stark ivory of the cloudy sky. Snug and warm in my house, I want to wrap a blanket around my shoulders with a cup of tea in hand, gazing at the postcard outside my window in the soft light of morning. Even though I live in a cold climate, where winter seems to compose half of the year's weather, it is moments like this that make the ice and the cold worth all of those chilled months.

I cannot imagine a winter without snow.

Candy Cane Cupcakes Candy Cane Cupcakes

The appearance of candy canes usually marks the beginning of winter for me. The occasional seasonal snow that comes and goes has finally settled in for a long visit and the time has come to bundle up with winter scarves and over-sized mittens. Candy canes were an intrinsic part of the holiday culture of my childhood. Candy canes weaved themselves into classrooms and daycare, sneaking into craft corners and making an appearance as ornaments on the tree. Even when I was small, I loved the idea of candy canes, enjoying the way the colored stripes twirled themselves up the length of the candy stick. I didn't, however, enjoy the taste. Each year I made it my mission to like candy canes, trying another one just to see if my tastes have changed.

Even now, years after my pursuit began, I may not have completed my mission, but I can assure you I have come so much closer.

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Though I may not enjoy a candy cane by itself, I adore it in combination with a few of my favorite treats, such as hot chocolate, ice cream, or even popcorn. After coming home for the holidays, I noticed a stash of candy canes hidden away in the candy cupboard. The timing seemed right to put them to good use. While some children may have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, I had visions of these cupcakes, with a candy striped peppermint frosting to bring in the flavors of the classic candy cane. Though the candy striped swirl may appear complex, I can assure you that the effect is quite easy to achieve.

This might be one of my favorite ways to enjoy candy canes yet.

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Candy Cane Cupcakes feature a rich peppermint buttercream on top of a chocolate cupcake. Though buttercream frosting has a tendency to get too sweet, this frosting has a good amount of salt to cut back on the sweetness. The stripes in the frosting are created with red gel food coloring to give it a genuine candy cane feel. Sprinkled with a few crushed candy canes, the cupcakes come together to create a festive holiday treat.

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Persimmon Cake

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Persimmon Cake

Persimmon Cake

Two years ago to the date marks the day I took my life into my own hands and changed the course. It feels strange to reflect on my decisions since then. So much in my world has changed that if someone had told me how the direction of my life would zig and zag through different paths, I certainly wouldn't have believed them.

After quitting grad school for physics and moving back home, I jumped headfirst into baking and spent the next year working as a baker in two very different bakeries. The first position was in a small cake shop. While it was a lovely opportunity, it didn't allow me as much freedom in the kitchen as I would have liked. I moved onto a second, more expansive bakery that made dozens of pastries each day from scratch. Even though I had the freedom to create whatever I wished (and I loved this freedom), there was a small, but irksome feeling in the back of my mind that wouldn't quite go away. Something just didn't feel right.

Another change began brewing within me.

Persimmon Cake Persimmon Cake

Though I've alluded to it several times on the blog, I've never outright told you that I no longer bake full-time. In many ways, I was afraid of what you would think of me. I made such a big deal of quitting school to follow my dreams that it seemed like I would be letting you down to suddenly back out on those plans. I feared you'd start to view me as capricious or fickle. Truthfully, I may have been afraid to admit to myself that I had made such a huge decision that didn't work out.

There were many reasons becoming a full-time baker wasn't right for me. The pay was low, the early morning hours were a constant battle, and I was in a constant state of exhaustion from working two to three jobs just to support myself. When I look back on those experiences, I truly loved baking, but the memories are so blurred from fatigue that all I remember is this constant feeling of trying to do everything I could to keep my head above the rising water of responsibilities. It was a bittersweet moment when I realized that I just couldn't afford to be a baker anymore, physically, emotionally, or financially.

I honestly believed baking was where I was supposed to be and it was such a devastating blow to realize the experience wasn't what I thought it would be. I had romanticized the life of a baker and reality was an unwelcome visitor.

Persimmon Cake

The next few months I floundered around, uncertain of myself, uncertain where I belonged, worried my feet would never find the right footing. I continued to bake, but this time it was in my own kitchen, for myself (and for you). Baking has become a passionate hobby and I love enjoying the fruits of my labor. Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

The constant throughout all of these changes in my life was my job as a math and science tutor. It took a few nudges and not so subtle hints from a few people (thanks, Kari!) to help me realize it may have been my calling all along. Right now, I am right back in grad school, but this time for education. In a twist of irony, I plan to become a high school teacher in physics. I begin student teaching in January. Life is full of surprises, it seems.

My mother once shared a few words with her vulnerable daughter that I have never forgotten. She said that some people follow a linear path, the destination laid out in front of them, always in sight. Other people follow a curved path, twisting and turning, the unknown lurking around the next corner. Both of these paths, though very different, lead us to the place we are meant to be. My path may be riddled with curves, but I've learned to embrace the zigs and zags of my road.

Persimmon Cake

Persimmon Cake is a cake to be enjoyed at the start of the winter season. Very ripe persimmons are pureed and mixed into a simple cake batter. The cake bakes up moist and fragrant from the persimmon puree. A splash of apple juice and a hint of spice bring together the flavors in this lightly spiced dessert. A simple sprinkling powdered sugar is all this cake needs to complete an afternoon tea.

Note: Persimmons are typically available in grocery stores from October to December and may take a couple weeks to fully ripen. Buy them now and enjoy them in the weeks to come!

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