Published August 30, 2022 Okay, how incredible is this… a (fabulous) gluten-free cake, with the most amazing orange glaze and cream cheese frosting, AND it’s infused with medicinal, nervous-system calming plants?! As an herbalist, I truly couldn’t ask for a better dessert. And while it’s not one I’d normally reach for at a bakery (I’m a dulce de leche, carrot, or straight up vanilla girl), I was not only pleasantly surprised but legitimately shocked at how much I appreciated the complex, aromatic layers of herbal flavors in this cake. When you get the hints of rose, lavender, skullcap and chamomile, your brain and taste buds just light up… especially when they’re complemented by sweet vanilla cream cheese frosting and notes of orange blossom honey! If you’ve ever watched The Great British Bake Off, you know how they’re always going on and on about the complexity of flavors and notes? I never understood how the contestants would come up with bakes that featured kiwi, lime, vanilla, and chai all in one dessert. How did they blend together? Wasn’t one going to be overpowering? And yet, after making this tea cake, I’m amazed at how you can truly taste each and every layer of flavor – and how each one makes the next that much more exciting and balanced. I promise you’ve never tasted anything like this before and you’re gonna love it! I adapted this recipe from Cucina Nicolina, who originally used earl grey tea. I of course swapped that out for The Right Mind, reduced the sugar (it was a little too sweet) and added my own twists of vanilla, rose powder, and my own frosting recipe. In order to make this dessert a therapeutic one (as if the cake element wasn’t enough), we’re using my nervous-system calming tea, “The Right Mind” as a star ingredient. This tea is my organic blend of grounding and mood boosting nervine herbs like lavender, chamomile, holy basil and skullcap. Not only do these medicinal plants promote a positive mood, mental clarity, and physical relaxation, they also provide an extra punch of minerals and phytochemicals to make this treat good for your body, brain and gut. To shop this tea in our apothecary and make this recipe complete, visit our store here! Olivia's Apothecary: Gluten-Free Lavender Herbal Tea Cake PREP TIME 60 min COOK TIME 35 min TOTAL TIME 95 min SERVES 8 Print For The Cake loaf pan 1 stick butter – room temperature 1/2 cup coconut sugar 1/4 cup almond flour 1/2 cup sorghum flour (note: if you don’t have sorghum or don’t want to buy another flour, just up the almond flour to a total of 3/4 cup and omit the sorghum) 3/4 cup gluten free oat flour 1/2 cup tapioca starch 2 tbsp “The Right Mind” tea 1 tbsp rose powder (optional) 1 tbsp baking powder 1/4 tsp sea salt 3 large eggs – room temperature 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup plain or greek unsweetened yogurt extra butter for greasing the loaf pan For The Glaze juice of 1 orange a few chunks of the orange peel 1 tbsp honey For The Frosting 56g/2oz cream cheese – room temperature 28g/1oz butter – room temperature 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar dash of salt dash of vanilla extract Directions Grease a medium loaf pan or 8-inch cake round with butter and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F. Make sure that all of your room-temperature-marked ingredients are out on the counter! In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and rose powder if you're using it. Grind up "The Right Mind" tea with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder until a fine-ish consistency is reached. Add the ground tea to your dry ingredients and set that bowl aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the room temperature butter and coconut sugar with an electric mixer on medium until very fluffy – this will take around 3 minutes so stick with it. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the flour mixture on low, until only just combined. You do NOT want to overmix here or else the texture will be too dense. Lastly, beat in the yogurt until just combined. If you can, let the batter rest in the fridge covered for 30 minutes. While the batter is resting in the fridge, make your orange glaze and frosting. For the glaze, add the juice of one orange and a few chunks of orange peel into a small saucepan. Heat on low-medium heat until the juice concentrates a bit and picks up some of the flavor from the peel. Then, add your honey, stirring until dissolved. Let cook for another minute or two then set aside to cool. For the frosting, beat the room temperature cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until you’ve reached a fluffy, frosting texture. Set aside covered or in the fridge. Once the batter is done resting, spoon it into the greased pan and smack it on the table a few times until it looks even. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then tip the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Once your cake is cooled, use a silicone culinary brush (or anything you’d like) to brush the orange glaze onto the cake. Keep glazing until it’s all gone and has soaked into the cake. Once the cake has soaked up some of the glaze and is no longer super wet, frost with your cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!
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