Half the Sugar Baker
This black tea citrus loaf tastes sophisticated but is actually so easy to make. It has flavors of black tea and orange with hints of vanilla. It includes black tea two ways – steeped in milk and also added directly to the dry ingredients. The warm flavors make it perfect for winter baking. It’s so fluffy and the best cozy treat.
Tips and notes
This black tea citrus loaf is not just a loaf that you eat with tea, it actually includes black tea in the batter! You can use any black tea you would like, including Earl Grey. For this recipe, you will need 5 bags of black tea. If you only have loose leaf tea, simply use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea in place of one tea bag.
In this recipe, black tea is added two ways. First, you will need to steep 2 bags of tea in 3/4 cups of hot milk. You can let it steep while you make the rest of the recipe. The second way black tea is added is by cutting open 3 bags and adding the tea directly to your dry ingredients. This also creates a beautiful black speckling in the finished loaf. Most of the time, the tea in tea bags will already be very fine but if you have big pieces of tea leaves, grind or cut it into small pieces.
It’s very important that your ingredients are at room temperature for this recipe. This makes sure that the butter won’t solidify when it meets the other ingredients. It also helps create a better rise in the oven. If you need to quickly bring your eggs up to room temperature, you can submerge them in a bowl of warm water. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a way to quickly bring yogurt to room temp, so if you have a way, let me know!
This recipe calls for the zest from half an orange, which I find is the best balance of flavors. If you want to have a stronger citrus flavor, feel free to use the zest from a whole orange.
The batter is made with 2 cups of all purpose flour, but here are some variations that I find work well. If you like baking with almond flour, try substituting 3/4 cup of all purpose flour for almond flour. If you want to add more fiber, you can try substituting 3/4 cup of all purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
If you want to achieve the cracked look on the top of the loaf, try cutting down the middle of the batter with a knife right before you bake it. It will help create a crack on the top of the loaf while it bakes.
Lastly, this loaf is delicious on its own, but if you want to elevate it even more, try adding a small drizzle of honey before serving. The floral honey flavors really compliment the citrus and black tea.
If you liked this citrus black tea loaf, you might also like…
Black Tea Citrus Loaf
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups milk
- 5 bags black tea (2 bags will be steeped in milk, 3 bags will be added to the dry ingredients)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup greek yogurt room temperature
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest from 1/2 orange
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- tiny pinch ground cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a standard loaf pan with butter or oil.
- Heat the milk until boiling and then remove from heat. Steep two bags of black tea in the hot milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and granulated sugar. Then add the greek yogurt and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the two eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest until everything is incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Then cut open the remaining 3 bags of black tea and dump into the dry ingredients. Whisk until incorporated.
- Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then remove the teabags from the milk and pour the milk into the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to fold everything together until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Once done baking, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Then run a knife along the edge of the pan and carefully remove the loaf. Let the loaf cool slightly on a wire rack before serving. Optionally drizzle with honey and enjoy!
