Welcome the freshness of spring and the joy of Easter with our Lemon Earl Grey Cake. Infused with the citrusy notes of lemon and the distinctive flavor of Earl Grey tea, this cake is a celebration in every slice. Perfect for an Easter gathering or a cozy tea time, it pairs beautifully with our range of teas, enhancing each bite with subtle, comforting flavors.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 4 Earl Grey tea bags
• 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• For the Glaze:
  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat and Prepare:
   Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

2. Infuse the Milk:
   Warm the milk without boiling it, then steep the Earl Grey tea bags in the milk for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags to extract maximum flavor and discard them.

3. Mix Dry Ingredients:
   In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Cream Butter and Sugar:
   In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice.

5. Combine:
   Alternately add the dry ingredients and the infused milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

6. Bake:
   Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Glaze:
   Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to create a smooth glaze. Adjust the consistency with more lemon juice or powdered sugar if needed. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

8. Serve and Enjoy:
   Serve slices of this Lemon Earl Grey Cake with a pot of your favorite tea. The zesty flavors will complement any tea selection, making it a perfect dessert for Easter or any springtime gathering.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: Approximately 20 truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
• 8 ounces (225g) high-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Cocoa powder, for dusting
• Optional for decoration: white chocolate and food coloring

Instructions:

1. Infuse the Cream: Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat, add the Earl Grey tea leaves, and allow them to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the cream through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the tea leaves, pressing on them to extract maximum flavor. Discard the leaves.

2. Make Ganache: Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Reheat the infused cream until it simmers again, then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute to soften the chocolate, then add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir gently until the mixture is smooth and glossy. If any chocolate pieces remain unmelted, you can gently heat the mixture over a pot of simmering water (double boiler method), stirring until smooth.

3. Chill: Cover the ganache with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until the ganache is firm enough to shape.

4. Shape the Truffles: Once chilled, use a melon baller or a small spoon to scoop out portions of the ganache. Roll between your palms quickly to form balls. If the mixture becomes too soft, return it to the refrigerator to firm up.

5. Decorate: Roll the truffles in cocoa powder for a classic finish. For an Easter touch, melt white chocolate, divide it into small batches, and tint each with food coloring. Drizzle or dip the truffles to add festive colors. Allow to set before serving.

6. Serving Suggestion: Serve these luxurious Earl Grey-infused chocolate truffles with a selection of teas. The complex flavors of the truffles will beautifully complement the tea, creating a memorable dessert experience for your Easter gathering.

Spring is here, and with it comes the joy of Easter! As the days lengthen and flowers begin to bloom, it's the perfect time to gather with loved ones and celebrate new beginnings. At Mrs Doyle's Tea, we believe there's no better way to warm your heart and home this Easter than with a steaming cup of delicious tea.

A Tea for Every Easter Tastebud

This year, we've brewed up a delightful selection of special Easter tea blends to tantalize your taste buds. Whether you're a fan of fragrant floral teas reminiscent of spring's fresh blooms, or prefer something more decadent like our chocolatey treats blends, we have a tea that's sure to become an Easter favorite.

The Perfect Easter Gift

Looking for a unique and thoughtful Easter gift? Look no further than Mrs Doyle's Tea! We've curated beautiful Easter gift baskets filled with our finest loose leaf teas and delightful treats. It's a gift that's sure to impress any tea lover.

 

Make it a Mrs Doyle's Easter

This Easter, create lasting memories with friends and family over a steaming cup of tea from Mrs Doyle's. visit our store to discover the perfect tea and treats for your Easter celebration.

Wishing you a joyous and hoppy Easter from all of us at Mrs Doyle's Tea!

Belleek Classic Shamrock Mrs Doyle Mug

Belleek has partnered with the Mrs Doyle's Tea to bring everyone two great branded Mrs Doyle's Belleek Mugs, in the fantastic classic Belleek style !

We think it's time that we all came together and enjoyed the Best Tea on the Island from a beautiful Belleek mug!  

These two great mugs are a modern take on the Belleek iconic Shamrock tableware and they are just perfect for Irish Christmas gifts and new years gifts.

 First the large contemporary mug shape which features a ring of embossed shamrocks and the famous Mrs Doyle logo.

It's really functional and durable, this will make a lovely gift and comes packaged in the classic Belleek green gift box.

•  Unique Gift , Made in Ireland , Measures: 11.4 cmD x 9.2 cmH

 

Our second Mug is Mrs Doyle's Tall tea Belleek Mug , and it is totally the best way to drink the best tea on the Island ! So Go On go...

• Made In Ireland, Hand painted, Measures 11cmW x 11.5cmH x 325ml/12flozC

 

Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe

 Sometimes making homemade bread feels like it could be difficult and time consuming, but it's your lucky day. Mrs Doyle's Irish soda bread can be made quickly and easily by almost anyone. Yes this is a shortcut bread but it certainly doesn’t skimp on flavor. 

Irish soda bread is so easy because it only needs a few ingredients, and the one that makes it taste so good is buttermilk. The buttermilk is so important because it reacts with the baking soda and so permits the bread’s leavening, and of course it gives the bread that great flavor, so with a cup of the best Irish tea and a slice of soda bread you can relax and if you are living far away from Ireland or if you are with friends and family you will always feel at home with this great soda bread and a nice cup of Mrs Doyle's tea .  

• Mrs Doyle soda bread recipe gives a bread that has a golden brown crust and also a dense crumb, just lovely. Mrs Doyle's Irish bread isn’t heavy, it’s really tender and soft, the crust is perfectly crisp as soon as it comes out of the oven,  and in a day or too it's even better and it is the perfect bread for an great Irish breakfast , so if you are sending a friend or relative an Irish gift for Christmas or a Irish gift hamper well why not make up Mrs Doyle's Irish soda bread and send it to them as well Go On Go

• So how do you make the best Irish soda bread? The method

• First whisk buttermilk and one egg together, at the same time whisk a little sugar, flour, baking soda, together in another bowl. Now cut some butter into the flour mixture, remember that cutting the butter into the flour is an important step, and this is how you get the great flaky texture. Go on use your hands and mix it up, and then using a very good knife, score the dough, so that heat gets into the center so that the bread will bake well. Also please note that Irish soda bread can be made with out an egg, it's really up to you. However an egg will add a little richness to the soda bread. Feel free to skip it to make a slightly lighter loaf. No other changes necessary, and if eggs are not for you ,simply leave out the egg. Finally  bake until it's golden brown as easy as it gets .

Mrs Doyle's Irish Christmas cakes are made in lots of different ways, all with lots of love and in general they are variations on the old fashioned fruitcake. They are very tasty, and they can be light, dark, a little moist, a little dry, sometimes heavy, and even sometimes spongy . Mrs Doyle's Irish Christmas cakes are made in many different shapes, sometimes with a little with frosting, or a dusting of icing sugar and of course they can be as simple and plain as you like .

So what are the special ingredients and what do they represent? well the  dried fruits in the cake may represent the fantastic eastern spices which the three Wise Men brought to the newborn King! And remember just to make things a little more interesting the fruits are sometimes soaked overnight in Irish whiskey.

 

So what are the ingredients of Mrs Doyle's Christmas  cakes ? ok here it comes , now remember , this cake only tastes great if you enjoy it with friends and family and a nice cup of decent Irish tea for everyone  !

 

My Christmas Cake Ingredients:

100ml  Irish whiskey

quarter of table spoon of ground clove

50g ground almonds

grated rind of 1 lemon & 1 orange

150g  raisins

125g  stoned dates

quarter of a block of real Irish butter

125g sultanas

100g glace cherries

extra butter for greasing

200g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

grated rind of 1 lemon & 1 orange

2 table spoons of black treacle 

225g  plain flour

half a table spoon of salt

1 rounded table spoon of baking powder

1 table spoon of  mixed spice

quarter of teaspoon of  grated nutmeg

 grated nutmeg and a little few teaspoons of Irish whiskey 

 

My Method:

        You should Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F), around Gas mark.

Now grease a 20cm cake tin and then line it with greaseproof paper. Next wrap some newspaper around the outside of your cake tin with string. This should  help the outside of the cake from going too brown during the cooking and so help it from  drying out.

Now it's time to beat together in a big bowl all that lovely  sugar & butter until its all very creamy. Next  add the eggs, add a little  flour in with each egg, and some treacle and perhaps a few grated fruit rinds and make sure you mix all  for a few minutes.

it's time to stir the flour and baking powder into the bowl of all these lovely soaked fruits and add some salt, some  spices and a few almonds, again stir all of these great ingredients together and mix well.

Now fold the fruit mix into the amazing egg mix, stir it all evenly. Now spoon the mix into the big cake tin, and maybe pull a little bit back in the middle of the cake , this will help as it rises, it will level itself off perfectly.

So Bake in the oven for 3 hours. If it is browning a lot , then cover it loosely with some tin foil. Now cook for another 30 minutes. You will know the cake is ready if you insert a fine skewer into the middle of the cake , and it  comes out clean and really dry.

Now it's time to leave the cake to cool in the tin. 

When the cake is cool, you can remove it from the tin, take off the lining paper, and  wrap it first in clean greaseproof paper and then in tinfoil.

Here is the secret!  do all this in November and each week leading up to Christmas, pour another little bit of your favourite drink over it. This will help the  alcohol to penetrate to the Christmas cake and will make it taste so Irish Go On Go!

here's a hint for the perfect Irish gift to send to some one you love or may be a self gift ? yes go on try a Mrs Doyle's Irish Christmas breakfast hamper for everyone to enjoy with your Christmas cake , you can check out just how good Mrs Doyle's tea is vs Barry's ! no competition at all ! 

1. Good for the immune system

Like other types of tea made from the camellia sinensis tea plant, black tea is extremely high in antioxidants. Cinnamon bark, cardamom, and cloves are also high in antioxidants. Chai tea is a wonderful source of antioxidants, so helping reduce free radicals in your body and promote your cellular health. 

2. Importantly at this time of year it fights off colds

When you’re feeling under the weather, a decent cup of chai can actually help to ease symptoms of the common cold, or even ward off colds . Black tea contains catechins with antiviral properties that may also contribute to the prevention of common illnesses like colds and flu. Ginger contains antimicrobial properties that can help to fight illnesses like sore throat. Cinnamon contains unique antibacterial properties that can sometimes to protect against infection and keep you healthy. Also cardamom and cloves also contain antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, so making a cup of chai tea is a great choice if you want to stay well this winter , Go On Go 

3. Boosts your heart health

Ingredients in chai tea have amazingly been shown to help boost heart health. Basically black tea contains flavonoids, these can help prevent plaque buildup in the body’s arteries, which reduces stress on the heart. Cinnamon is also been shown to help to treat cardiovascular diseases and reduce harmful cholesterol.

5. Improves your digestion

Drinking chai tea can also help to improve digestion. Ginger is also a powerful digestive aid, and drinking ginger can help to improve gastrointestinal symptoms and so help the digestive system to work better, and of course cardamom has many digestive benefits .

6. Good for skin

Black tea is high in a variety of vitamins and minerals that are good for the skin, including zinc, magnesium, and potassium, all of which can help to protect and help rejuvenate the skin, and of course  drinking tea is also a great way to stay hydrated, which will help your skin look healthy and fresh. 

7. Increases your energy and your alertness

Black tea is an energizing tea that can help to increase alertness and focus. Black teas like chai tea contain moderate amount of caffeine to give us all a welcome boost of energy, and the caffeine in black tea helps to encourage our focus and alertness.

8. Reduces inflammation in the body

Chai contains plenty of ingredients that can help with inflammation, including black tea, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Black tea can help  reduce inflammation in your body, which can help soothe muscle soreness and chronic pain, and  ward off inflammation-related diseases .

Cinnamon has also been shown to help reduce inflammation and soothe pain. If you’re suffering from temporary inflammation, or dealing conditions like arthritis, a cup of cinnamon tea can have great  anti-inflammatory effects.

Ginger can help with inflammation too, and has been used for many centuries in herbal medicine for its powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Cardamom also contains anti-inflammatory properties.

These ingredients all make chai tea a great choice if you’ want to reduce inflammation in your body.

9. Good for skin

Black tea is high in a variety of vitamins and minerals that are good for the skin, including zinc, magnesium, and potassium, all of which can help to protect and help rejuvenate the skin, and of course drinking tea is also a great way to stay hydrated, which will help your skin look healthy and fresh. 

10. Good for the old teeth

Many caffeinated beverages, contain  heaps of sugar, tea of course does not and has been shown to be good for oral health. Black tea contains compounds that attack harmful bacteria within your mouth, which can help prevent the buildup of plaque. Ginger and cardamom also contain antimicrobial and antifungal properties that help to kill off harmful oral pathogens. This can help to improve your the health of your teeth .

• The best tea for vegans and those drinking less milk 

Mrs Doyle's Irish breakfast tea is the winner of the best Irish breakfast tea on the island for the last 5 years and is so smooth that it tastes as good without milk as it does with Milk .

Mrs Doyle says its because of the finest teas and her secrete method of blending teas . There are other types of teas that work great without milk so here's Mrs Doyle's list    

• Oolong tea is a perfect tea any time of day
• White tea gives a great choice
• Yellow tea for those of us with an even milder taste
• Green tea is perhaps the best for a healthy option
• Try Ripe Pu’erh for a darker richer choice
• Earl grey is great for the zesty option
• Fruit teas will always  be  great in on a sunny day
• looking for something different try Rooibos tea 
• in the evening try Chamomile 

 

Its almost Saint Patrick's Day and Mrs Doyle is of course Irelands most famous tea lady so here's her favorite green tea mocktail ! So go on enjoy Irelands National day and go green 

Here's how you do it,  make a pot of Mrs Doyle's minty tea, not too hot, add a dash of ENNIS Irish non alcoholic gin, with a dash of lemon and a little lime juice and garnish with a few little Irish shamrocks and if your Canadian , may be a little maple syrup 

ok here's  the ingredients 

• Mrs Doyle's Minty tea 
• Ennis non alcoholic inspired gin
• lemon and a little lime juice  
• Irish shamrock 
• and a dash of maple syrup