Name: Earl Grey Soaking Syrup for Victoria Sponge
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Soaks 2 x 20cm sponge layers
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey Rooibos pyramid bags; 200ml freshly drawn water, brought to a true rolling boil; 50g golden caster sugar; 1 tbsp golden syrup; Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, grated finely; A tiny pinch of fine sea salt; 2 cooled 20cm Victoria sponge layers, ready to assemble (use any reliable Victoria sponge recipe)

This is a brush on soaking syrup that gives a classic Victoria sponge a gentle Earl Grey character, without touching the cake recipe itself. You brew a strong concentrate of Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey Rooibos, cook it down with sugar, golden syrup and lemon zest into a glossy syrup, then paint it over the cooled sponge layers before the jam and cream go in.

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Earl Grey Soaking Syrup for Victoria Sponge recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/earl grey/earl grey soaking syrup for victoria sponge/

Soaking syrups are a quiet patisserie trick: a thin layer brushed onto the crumb keeps the sponge moist and slips a flavour in from underneath. Here it leaves a soft bergamot note running through each bite, while the cake still looks like the Victoria sandwich everyone expects. The same trick works with other teas and cakes, a spiced chai syrup brushed into a carrot cake, say, or a Rooibos one over a rooibos loaf cake. It also suits a blackcurrant tea Victoria sponge.

⏱ 15 min 🍽 Soaks 2 x 20cm sponge layers 📊 Easy 📚 Earl Grey Recipes

You'll need

4 Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey Rooibos pyramid bags
200ml freshly drawn water, brought to a true rolling boil
50g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, grated finely
A tiny pinch of fine sea salt
2 cooled 20cm Victoria sponge layers, ready to assemble (use any reliable Victoria sponge recipe)

Method

Bring the kettle to a full rolling boil; the rooibos and bergamot both want the full 100C for the strongest concentrate.
Put the four Earl Grey Rooibos bags in a small heatproof jug, pour over the 200ml of water, cover and steep for ten minutes for a properly strong brew.
Lift out the bags, pressing each firmly against the side to get every drop, and discard. You should have around 180ml of dark concentrate.
Pour the hot concentrate into a small heavy based pan and add the sugar, golden syrup, lemon zest and the pinch of salt.
Set over a medium heat and whisk gently for three minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is clear and lightly thickened. Take it off the heat.
Let it rest for ten minutes until it cools to warm but is still pourable. A hot syrup can dry the sponge it touches, whereas a warm one soaks in cleanly.
Sit the first cooled sponge layer rounded side up and brush the syrup generously over the top in sweeping strokes, about 60ml per layer.
Do the same with the second layer, brushing the surfaces that will face inwards. The very top of the cake gets icing sugar instead, so leave that dry.
Rest the soaked layers for five minutes to let the syrup settle in, then assemble as usual: jam on the bottom, cream over the jam, the second layer on top, and a dusting of icing sugar.

What you'll end up with: A traditional looking Victoria sandwich with a thin, glossy bergamot syrup hidden between sponge and jam, lending a soft Earl Grey note to every mouthful and keeping the crumb moist.

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🛒 Made with this tea

Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g£4.50