Tea & Cake Recipe - Great British Chefs

A sophisticated reinvention of Victoria sponge cake, this tea and cake recipe from Nathan Outlaw makes an impressive summer dessert. There are no difficult aspects to this gastronomic tribute to afternoon tea, but with six components, it may save strawberries,time to make some of the components, such as the elegant Earl Grey tea ice cream or the vanilla ahead of time to get a head start. For more dessert recipes, see our dessert recipes collection.

Ingredients

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Metric

Imperial

Strawberry gel

2kg strawberries
150g of caster sugar
1 gelatine leaf
6g of agar agar powder

Double cream mousse

2 gelatine leaves
75g of egg white
25g of caster sugar
275ml of double cream
1 vanilla pod

Earl Grey tea ice cream

100g of egg yolk
80g of caster sugar
250ml of double cream
250ml of milk
40g of liquid glucose
2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves

Tea syrup

170g of caster sugar
2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves

Sponge cake

45g of butter
3 eggs
1 vanilla pod
90g of caster sugar
90g of plain flour

Vanilla strawberries

100g of strawberries
50g of vanilla sugar

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Ice cream maker
Blender

For the strawberry gel, hull the strawberries and chop them. Put them with the caster sugar in a large stainless steel bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water

2kg strawberries
150g of caster sugar

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 1 hour, or until the berries have broken down. (Top up the pan with boiling water, if necessary, while cooking)

Meanwhile, to make the double cream mousse, soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water until softened

1 gelatine leaf

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a large bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted

75g of egg white
25g of caster sugar

Heat 50ml of the double cream in a pan. Squeeze out the gelatine and stir it into the hot cream, until dissolved

50ml of double cream

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod, put them in a bowl with the remaining cream and whisk until soft peaks form

1 vanilla pod
225ml of double cream

Gently fold both the warmed cream and the whipped cream into the egg whites, then spoon onto a large non-stick tray. Chill for 2 hours to set

Return to the strawberry gel. Soak the gelatine leaf in a bowl of cold water until soft. Strain the strawberry mixture through a fine sieve, pushing the fruit with the back of a ladle

1 gelatine leaf

Measure out 500ml of this strawberry juice into a clean pan and discard the solids

Stir the agar agar into the strawberry juice and simmer over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until dissolved. Remove from the heat

6g of agar agar powder

Squeeze out the gelatine and stir it into the hot strawberry mixture. Once the gelatine has dissolved, cool the strawberry mixture then chill it for 1 hour, or until set

To make the Earl Grey tea ice cream, whisk together the egg yolk & sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy

1g of egg yolk
80g of caster sugar

Combine the cream, milk and liquid glucose in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat immediately. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture over the egg yolk and sugar, whisking thoroughly

250ml of double cream
250ml of milk
40g of liquid glucose

Add the tea leaves, then set aside to infuse for 30 minutes

2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves

Meanwhile, make the tea syrup. Combine the sugar and 50ml of water in a saucepan and heat until the mixture turns caramel

170g of caster sugar

Carefully add another 120ml of water (be careful: it may spit), then simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced to a syrup

Add the tea leaves and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes

2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves

Strain the ice cream mixture, discarding the tea leaves, then churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezerproof box and freeze until serving

Once it has infused, strain the tea syrup through a fine sieve, discard the tea leaves, and set aside the syrup until serving

To make the sponge cake, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 20 x 30cm swiss roll tin with silicone paper. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly

45g of butter

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla seeds and sugar until pale and fluffy

3 eggs
90g of caster sugar
1 vanilla pod

Sift the flour and fold it into the egg mixture, then add the melted butter and mix until smooth

90g of plain flour

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch. Turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack

To make the vanilla strawberries, hull and chop the strawberries and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle over the vanilla sugar and leave to macerate for 30 minutes

100g of strawberries
50g of vanilla sugar

Once the jelly has set, place in a blender and blitz into a smooth gel. Spoon into a piping bag

Then take the set double cream mousse, whisk to loosen it slightly, and spoon it into another piping bag. Remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften ready for scooping

Cut the sponge cake into eight equal-sized triangles. Pipe a layer of double cream mousse onto four of the triangles, followed by a layer of strawberry gel

Place the remaining sponge triangles on top to create four sandwiches and transfer them to your serving plates

To decorate, pipe three dots of strawberry gel around each sandwich, then spoon the vanilla strawberries onto the other side of the plates

To finish the tea and cake, place a scoop of Earl Grey ice cream on top of the strawberries. Drizzle the tea syrup around the sponge and the dessert is ready to serve

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