My vegan Earl Grey cake recipe is soft, fluffy, and lightly sweet. Infused with warm spices and finished with an optional maple syrup glaze, it’s a quick and easy breakfast, snack, or dessert, perfect for pairing with a turmeric tea latte.
I first tried an Earl Grey cake years ago while traveling, and it completely stuck with me. It had that same comforting feel as a slice of coffee cake (or coffee cake muffin) —but lighter, more fragrant, and perfect with a warm drink. Since my husband loves tea (especially Earl Grey), I knew I wanted to recreate a version at home… and of course, make it gluten-free.
This Earl Grey cake loaf is a soft, citrusy quick loaf cake infused with brewed Earl Grey tea. The tea adds subtle notes of bergamot (that signature citrus flavor), which pairs beautifully with lemon or orange zest and a lightly sweet glaze. I kept this recipe dairy-free and egg-free, so it’s naturally vegan-friendly without sacrificing texture. And honestly, the aroma while it bakes is reason enough to make it.And just to clarify—this is different from traditional “tea cakes,” which can range from cookies to richer butter-based cakes depending on the region. This version is more of a tea loaf: simple to make, easy to slice, and perfect alongside your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
My Top Tips Before You Begin
- Tea: Use a good-quality Earl Grey tea for the best flavor. Traditional Earl Grey is black tea flavored with bergamot oil, which gives this cake its signature citrusy aroma. Avoid heavily flavored or floral blends, as they can overpower the loaf.
- Do not overmix: Stir the batter just until combined. Overmixing can create a dense or gummy crumb in gluten-free cakes. I recommend skipping the stand mixer or electric mixer and using a spatula or spoon to whisk the flour mixture by hand to avoid overmixing.
- Rest the batter before baking: Letting the batter sit for 5-10 minutes before baking allows the gluten-free flour to hydrate and can improve the texture of the cake.
- Bake fully: Gluten-free loaves often need slightly longer baking time. Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Softer crumb tip: For an extra tender crumb, you can add 2 tablespoons dairy-free yogurt, like my vegan coconut yogurt, or unsweetened applesauce to the wet ingredients. If doing so, reduce the milk slightly (use about ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons total liquid) to keep the batter balanced.
Ingredient Notes and Possible Substitutions
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete ingredient list and instructions!
- Dairy-Free Milk – I recommend using unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk, but any non-dairy milk will work. Make sure to use liquid coconut milk, not canned coconut milk. Save that for banana coconut milk nice cream! If dairy isn’t a concern, whole milk also works well.
- Earl Grey Tea Bags – Earl Grey flavor can vary by brand. If using loose tea leaves, use about 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons per tea bag. For a stronger flavor, add a small pinch of finely crushed Earl Grey to the batter. I also like to include extra finely crushed tea powder for a stronger flavor.
Ingredient Swap: If you don’t have Earl Grey, you can use Lady Grey or other black tea flavors. For similar citrus notes, try English Breakfast tea and add a little extra lemon or orange zest.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This helps the cake batter lift as it bakes, becoming tall and fluffy without the need for eggs or vegan egg substitutes. If I don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, I use lemon juice instead!
- Gluten-Free Flour – I use a gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Cup4Cup.
Pro-Tip: Gluten-free flour blends vary slightly in weight and starch ratios. For best results, measure flour in grams if possible.
- Leaveners – Because this teacake loaf doesn’t contain eggs, I use both baking powder and baking soda to give it a nice lift.
- Cane Sugar – Feel free to add more or less, adjusting the sweetness to taste.
- Flavor Enhancers – I include vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest to add depth to the cake. The almond extract and lemon zest are technically optional but highly recommended!
- Maple Syrup – A natural sweetener, this enhances the flavor of the loaf and gives it a subtle molasses taste. Honey will also work if you don’t need to keep the cake vegan.
- Refined Coconut Oil – Substitute any other neutral oil, such as light olive oil or refined avocado oil, to add moisture and richness to the cake batter without the need for butter.
- Optional Chopped Nuts – I love to include chopped almonds for a little extra crunch. Walnuts would also taste great!
- Optional Spices – For a warmer flavor, add a dash of cardamom and cinnamon.
- Optional Glaze – Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, and lemon juice or almond milk to create a light, sweet glaze to drizzle over your Earl Grey cake loaf. Feel free to swap the glaze with buttercream frosting or even coconut whip for a slightly different taste.
Note: If adding the glaze, allow the finished cake to cool first. Pouring too much glaze while the cake is still hot can cause the center to sink.
How to Make Earl Grey Cake
- Prepare the tea. Heat the almond milk on the stovetop just until it is hot and beginning to steam.
- Don’t let it come to a boil! Remove the milk from the heat, add the tea bags, cover, and steep to your desired strength.
- Make “buttermilk.” Remove the tea bags from the milk, and stir in the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Set aside to “curdle,” creating a vegan buttermilk alternative.
- Combine ingredients. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, whisk the wet ingredients in a second bowl. Working in batches, add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Be careful not to overmix!
- Bake. Transfer the cake batter to a prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle sliced almonds on top, if desired. Bake in a preheated oven just until the batter is lightly golden and set, and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Pro-Tip: If the top of the cake begins to brown too quickly, loosely tent the cake pan with foil, and continue to bake until the batter is set.
- Cool. Let the tea cake cool in the pan slightly. Then, transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add glaze and powdered sugar (if desired). While the cake cools, whisk the glaze ingredients in a bowl. Brush the glaze over the cake while it’s still slightly warm. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!
Chill before serving: For the cleanest slices, place the cooled loaf in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before slicing. This allows it to set and prevents it from crumbling once sliced.
Make Ahead and Storage
This Earl Grey tea cake recipe is great to prepare ahead of time and can be stored with or without the glaze.
To store glazed cake: Transfer leftover slices to an airtight container, and store them in the fridge for 4-5 days. Or, wrap individual slices with plastic wrap, transfer them to a sealable bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, bring the teacake to room temperature before serving.
To store unglazed cake: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and store them at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also wrap individual slices with plastic wrap, transfer them to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 2 months.
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Cake Recipes
Earl Grey Cake Loaf Recipe (Gluten-Free)
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 9–10 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Gluten-free Earl Grey tea cake with a soft, fragrant crumb and optional maple lemon glaze—perfect for brunch or dessert. Vegan Friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk (room temperature if using melted coconut oil)
- 3 Earl Grey tea bags (see note)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 ¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Cup4Cup (about 285-300 grams)
- ⅓–½ cup cane sugar (adjust to taste)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1–1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest (optional but recommended)
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup melted refined coconut oil or other neutral oil (light olive oil or refined avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon finely crushed loose leaf Earl Grey tea (optional for stronger flavor)
- Optional topping- ¼ cup sliced or chopped almonds
- Optional spices – ⅛th to ¼th teaspoon cardamom and ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Optional Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice or almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×5 or 8×4 loaf pan with parchment paper or grease well.
- Warm the almond milk over low to medium heat until hot and just beginning to steam (do not boil). Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, cover, and steep for 7–10 minutes depending on desired strength.
- Remove the tea bags and gently squeeze before discarding, then stir in apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 3–5 minutes to create a vegan “buttermilk.”
- In a mixing bowl whisk together gluten-free flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and optional spices.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together the tea milk mixture, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using), lemon zest, and optional crushed Earl Grey tea.
- Working in batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined after each addition. Do not overmix.
- Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle sliced almonds evenly over the top, if desired.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes (check progress at 40 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the loaf begins browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil during the final 10 minutes.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15–20 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack. Optional: Whisk the glaze ingredients together and brush over the loaf while it is still slightly warm. Sprinkle with extra powdered sugar, if desired.
- Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing. Gluten-free cakes continue to set as they cool, and slicing too early can make the center seem gummy. See notes for slicing tip!
Notes
Tea tip: Earl Grey flavor can vary by brand. If using loose leaf tea, use about 1–1 ½ teaspoons per tea bag. For stronger flavor, add a small pinch of finely crushed Earl Grey to the batter.
Flour tip: Gluten-free flour blends vary slightly in weight and starch ratios. For best results, use a gluten free 1:1 flour and measure in grams if possible. I had the best success with Cup4Cup multipurpose flour and Bob’s Redmill 1:1 flour. Note that they weigh differently per ¼ cup.
Serving tip: For the cleanest slices, place the cooled loaf in the refrigerator for 30–60 minutes before slicing.
Storage: Unglazed loaf: store in an airtight container at room temp up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Glazed loaf: once set, store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4–5 days; bring to room temp before serving.
Freeze slices: wrap individually in plastic wrap or parchment, then place in a freezer-safe bag/container for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- chill time: 10-15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 – 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10th of loaf without glaze)
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 15.8 g
- Sodium: 147 mg
- Fat: 7.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Easy to make and absolutely delicious :)))))
Did the husband like it too? 🙂
Besides a gluten free flour, how can I use almond or coconut flour for this recipe?
I’m not sure it will work those flours unless you use egg. Can you have egg?
Yes I can have eggs (:
Gotcha! Okay well I have this cake that might work. You could try it with the steeped tea in almond milk instead of water here https://www.cottercrunch.com/vegan-white-cake-with-chocolate-coconut-frosting-gluten-free/
I was skeptical, because I never had any luck baking loafs. I had to make a lot of substitutions, because I am trying to use what I have at home during this COVID-19 mandatory social distancing law. I did half Bob Mill’s GF flour and half almond meal; half maple syrup and half barley malt; and almond extract instead of vanilla. It came out better than I imagined. This is my second time working with GF flour and I love the mochi-like consistency of it (I made pancakes the first time).
Oh I am so glad it turned out well! Thanks for the feedback Linh!
Hi there! I just made this and the dough was really dense..not runny in the slightest. Is that normal?
Hmmm, that’s strange. SOrry to hear about that. What kind of flour did you use? Was the ACV fresh?
hi!! this cake looks mouth watering and I really wanna try it but I want to make it using a ring pan!! would that work with this recipe???
Hi Christal! I haven’t tried it with a ring pan, and I’m not sure if it would rise but it’s worth a shot! It’s delicious either way. Let me know if you try it!
Nice recipe, subtle flavors but very good! Next time I might use three tea bags instead of two. My only change was that I used regular all purpose flour since I don’t follow a gluten-free diet. Also, of note, mine took closer to 55 minutes to cook.
thank you kate! I’ll make these notes for sure!
I love this recipe and the bread tastes so good and moist! I have made it exactly how you have it but now I don’t have GF flour. Would I be able to replace it with oat flour? Thoughts?
I think so! What type of flour did you use before, a multipurpose?
I used regular flour but that was for a friend. I tried a little but prefer GF. You think oat flour would be ok?
any way to sub out the oil? perhaps using apple sauce, or doing a pumpkin puree or…? coconut flour or almond flour to make it grain free?
Hmmm that might be tricky. I could try pumpkin. You could try to make this like my vegan/ paleo cake as well. Just replace oil. Want link?
yes that would be great
Try this one, but I would try applesauce with it and use tea leaves perhaps?. Cook longer. Cover it starts to brown on the top earlier. Let it sit to cool or place in fridge to hold. Keep me posted!
https://www.cottercrunch.com/vegan-white-cake-with-chocolate-coconut-frosting-gluten-free/
This looks amazing! I will definately give it a try!
I hope I will manage as I am not a great cook!
Perfect for fall!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Do you think I could use a different flour to reduce the carbs i.e. coconut flour? What do you think?
Hi there! So I tried with coconut and almond flour but it didn’t rise. Still good though. You could try to make it like my paleo/vegan white cake. Or just use coconut flour and have it been a little more dense, ya know?
I’ve made this a few times now and I just LOVE it! I have been replacing the earl grey with chai tea though because that’s what I have on hand and it just works so wonderfully with the cinnamon and cardamom flavors
What a great idea! I need to try this!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Made it this morning and it is so delicious! The cardamom complements the Earl Grey perfectly ?You are a genius!xxx
Wonderful!! So glad! Thanks for feedback El!
Followed the recipe exactly but threw the whole thing in the garbage. Would not bake just remained a lump of uncooked mush. Too bad; I was really looking forward to eating this.
Oh no! I’m so sorry. I’ve had several readers make this and write back they loved it. Can you send me your ingredients? I will take a look to see if maybe something wasn’t right on my end as well. I do apologize and appreciate your feedback.
my email is cottercrunch at hotmail
Maybe I needed to put it in the oven as soon as everything was mixed but the dough was very dry and floury so I did have to add more milk. Also I live in Calgary which is over 3000 feet above sea level. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Thanks, Lindsay! Looks awesome. If I wanted my loaf to be full of gluten, could I use regular flour? I assume that since the Bob Mill’s is called 1:1 GF then it’s an exact replacement? Looking forward to baking this!
Haha yes just use multi purpose flour. Did you want it still vegan?
Hey! 🙂 How much sugar will i needed if I’m not using palm sugar?
Same amount should work. What type of sugar?
Yess! I love baking with earl grey, this cake looks amazing xo
It’s so good!!
I love your corniness. The combination of cardamom and cinnamon sounds wonderful.
mmmm…. this looks like the PERFECT texture for a sweet cake/loaf. My dad would love this. Who am I kidding? We would all love this. We love tea and bread in our house or tea and cake; I loved that about England when we went. Everybody was good at slowing down for the midday tea and cake. I definitely learned that I needed to do that more.
yea! i hope you all love it! <3 Keep me posted Emily.
looks like I have all the ingredients and I’m obsessed with Early grey too, and breathtaking photos
Lindsay , A must try , very soon!
thank you friend. keep me posted!
Yah! such a yummy recipe. looks simple but filling 🙂
Courtney Bentley || http://www.courtneyvioletbentley.com
earl grey is one of my fav tea flavor…so obvs this sounds like perfect mid-day snack with my dranksss!
Gah! I love this! I’m a big fan of anything with Earl Grey flavor, and this bread looks so incredibly moist. Beautiful photos, too!
A 9×9 pan or a loaf pan? Just curious…and confused.
Oh gosh! Sorry meant 9×3! Will correct that
Fyi – the cake pan measurement is not corrected in step 7 of your recipe.
Also, typos in steps 3 and 5.
Looking froward to trying it!
Oh thank you!! I’ll fix that tonight! Lol. I need to hire someone to help me with typos. Not my strong suit
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Wow that looks amazing Lindsay!
Thanks friend. <3. How are you?
It is just a bit crazy right now Lindsay… just trying to find work & what I find is just not enough to even catch up so… just trying to figure out next steps….
Things sound great there!!! I love all your pics!!! How are you feeling? Are you 100% yet?
Love you!
Let me know how i can help!
You are so sweet! Unless you win the big lotto – nothing can be done.. plus I am all caught up in my own head which is never good for me.. xoxoxoxoxox THANK YOU!!!!
My mom and dad would love this. I pretty much associate my dad with Earl Grey tea (that is all he drank when I was growing up!).
Your dad and my husband could have tea time together
What a brilliant idea to add tea to the cake! And these photos are absolutely breathtaking….
Thanks Casey! Let me know if you try it!
I’m always weary of tea in desserts/sweeter things. BUT I was converted in Paris when I had an Earl Grey macaroon. I just hadn’t had it done correctly before. So yeah, now I need this.
did you try the early grey chiffon cake when you were there? GOODNESS GRACIOUS it’s good!
This was delicious! I didn’t have coconut sugar, so I ended up using brown sugar instead. The flavor is perfect!
Wonderful! so glad!
I love your creativity with flavors!! Early grey- never would have thought that could work, but I’m dying to try this now!
Thanks lovely
Ohhhh I want a slice of this! So I’m thinking it’s because I’m not a tea drinker, but I’ve never had Earl Grey tea before…. BUTTTT I’ve seen it a bunch in baking and I’m totally intrigued.
I have seen it with lavender infused too!! Thought of you!
Oh yum! Wish I had a slice of this to eat right now!
Me too! Come over?