london fog cake

edinburgh castle sits swathed in a shroud of cold fog, perched atop a craggy bluff overlooking the scottish capital. while visiting the city in november, my parents and i trekked up edinburgh’s cobbled streets to take a self-led tour of the castle. unfortunately, after five minutes of standing in the wind, my appendages were purple and i couldn’t feel my face, so i sought refuge in a tea house within the castle’s gates.

the tea house held every stereotype i have of great britain crammed into one tiny room: crooked-toothed old women with napkins tucked into the collars of their pale pink dress suits; tiered platters of cucumber sandwiches and scones with clotted cream; kilted waiters cracking jokes out of the corners of their mouths in garbled scottish jargon. i ordered a cup of earl gray and people-watched for an hour.

this cake’s name is taken from the london fog latte – a  concoction of earl gray tea, steamed milk, and caramel – but i think “edinburgh fog” would be an equally fitting title. the frosting, lightly flavored with earl gray, takes me right back to the cloudy castle. the cake is dark and moist. the rich, salty-sweet caramel adds another layer of flavor. it’s incredible.

this cake comes from tessa‘s debut cookbook layered. i followed these instructions for the frosting, caramel, and assembly, and substituted my own chocolate cake in for hers. buy the book. it’s DIVINE. make this cake.