Myrtle tea cake

If anything reminds me of being a kid it’s tea cake. My Auntie Sally made the most moist, buttery cake ever, always with white icing and sprinkles. This is a little more grown up but just as much fun.

Lemon myrtle tea cake is a great way to begin using the fragrant and citrusy leaves of the lemon myrtle. Credit: Murdoch Books/Josh Geelen

• serves

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 320 g (11¼ oz) butter, grated and softened, plus extra for greasing
• 3 cups (660 g) caster sugar
• 3 cups (450 g) self-raising flour
• ½ cup (70 g) custard powder
• 3 free-range eggs
• 1½ cups (375 ml) milk
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon myrtle
• 2 tsp ground anise myrtle
• 2 tsp ground lemon myrtle
• Finely grated zest of 2 finger limes

Desert lime icing

• 280 g (10 oz) butter, melted
• 400 g (14 oz) pure icing sugar, sifted
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp desert lime powder or finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (315°F). Grease and line a 20 cm (8 in) square cake tin.
2. Combine all ingredients, except those for the icing, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start on low, then slowly increase speed to high. Beat on high for 4–5 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally if needed, until the batter is pale and fluffy.
3. Pour batter into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut in half lengthwise.
4. For the icing, mix butter and icing sugar in a small bowl until well combined. Stir in egg yolks and desert lime powder. Spread the top and sides of one cake generously with icing, top with the other cake and spread with the remaining icing.

Note: Substitution options (if required)

Cinnamon myrtle - ground cinnamon

Anise myrtle - fennel flowers

Lemon myrtle - lemon zest

Finger lime zest - lemon zest

Recipe and image from First Nations Food Companion by Damien Coulthard and Rebecca Sullivan, photography by Josh Geelen (Murdoch Books $49.99).   

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.