Recipe: Milk Tea Cake

Do you like Milk Tea, but sometimes wish it was a cake? Look no further!

Ingredients

Milk Tea Concentrate

  • 1.5 cup whole milk
  • 10 black tea bags
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup tapioca pearls (boba)

Cake Mix

  • 2.5 cups flour
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 egg white

Buttercream

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar (powdered)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Part 1: Milk Tea


  1. In a small pot, add milk and heat to a slow simmer
  2. Add in all the teabags
  3. Cover pot and leave on low heat for 30 minutes
  4. After simmering, take pot off the heat

Part 2: Make Cake


  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl
  3. Warm butter, slice, and add into bowl
  4. Use an electric mixer to stir butter is blended
  5. In separate bowl, blend eggs (3 whole, 1 white) and 3/4 cup of milk tea
  6. Add eggs and milk tea into the mixture bowl to combine
  7. Use mixer to blend batter until smooth
  8. Lightly butter up two 9-inch baking pans
  9. Evenly pour batter into the baking pans
  10. Spread the batter surface smooth
  11. Bake cakes for 30 minutes in the 350ºF oven

Part 3: Butter-Tea Frosting

  1. Warm butter, slice, and add into a bowl
  2. Use an electric mix to stir butter until smooth and creamy
  3. Add powdered sugar (run sugar through food processor if not powdered)
  4. Add 3 tbsp of the Milk Tea
  5. Blend to combine

Part 4: Boba & Syrup Preparation

  1. Heat a pot of water to a simmer
  2. Add 1 cup Boba
  3. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar (optional: add some more teabags)
  4. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes
    • Sir occasionally to prevent sticking
    • Water will reduce into a syrup
  5. Cover pot and leave on lowest heat (“Warming Zone” if available)
  6. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar into the Milk Tea from Part 1
  7. Simmer Milk Tea to reduce it into a Tea Syrup

Part 5: Final Assembly

  1. When the cakes are finished cooking, leave out to cool
  2. Take out 1st cake and lay on serving plate
  3. Brush the top layer with the Tea Syrup
  4. Spread a layer of the Butter-Tea Frosting
  5. Take out 2nd cake and lay on top of 1st cake
  6. Apply another layer of Tea Syrup and Butter-Tea Frosting on 2nd cake
  7. Spread the entire cake surface with a layer of Butter-Tea Frosting
  8. Place entire cake in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill
  9. To serve, pour the Boba over the entire cake!

Notes

Milk tea (náaih chà) has always been staple in my Chinese household. My mom always makes a cup for my dad after dinner: two Lipton tea bags and a teaspoon of condensed milk. Its been a popular drink in Hong Kong since the British colonial occupation. Traditional Chinese tea is served straight, while the British prefer to add milk and sugar into their tea.

Tapioca desserts had been around for a while, but its combination with milk tea only started in Taiwan during the late 1980s. Its popularity grew across Asia, and eventually immigrants began opening tea shops in California and New York. I remember in the early 2000s when bubble tea was an obscure drink to non-Asian peers, but nowadays I see all kinds of people lining up for bubble tea in the city. And from its popularity, the concept of bubble milk tea has seen different interpretations, such as cakes or pastries.

I got the original recipe from The Little Epicurean, but I found it too sweet and the tea flavor was too subdued. I’ve made some adjustments to streamline the process and emphasize the unique tea flavor.

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