London Fog Cake with Earl Grey Buttercream

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London fog cake with earl grey buttercream — layers of rich, moist, chocolate cake covered with luxurious earl grey Swiss meringue buttercream then topped with decadent salted caramel sauce. The components work perfectly together for one amazing cake.

(Looking for another stunning layer cake to wow your guests? Try this delicious Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Frosting. Fun and festive for the holidays too.)

I’m ridiculously lucky at promos and giveaways. I win free show tickets, small amounts in the lottery (I’m really just waiting for my jackpot prize to come around), I’ve even won an emergency car kit (how random is that?).

But my favourite so far is winning Coco Cake Land’s giveaway for Tessa Huff’s cookbook, Layered. I love baking cakes and this book is all about them.

There are a lot of tips on how to bake them successfully and how to make them pretty. The pictures are stunning and although they intimidated me at first, Tessa’s tips and instructions boosted my confidence — that even a home baker like me can create showstopper cakes too.

Enter Red. Her birthday was coming up and I promised that I’d bake her a birthday cake. I went further and said she can go ahead and pick any cake from Layered (who is this person I’ve become?). So she did and picked the London Fog Cake.

Armed with Layered and my newfound confidence, I proceeded to bake one of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever made and tasted in my life.

What is London fog cake?

The London fog cake is at its heart a chocolate layer cake. And the chocolate cake is great on its own. Soft, moist and bursting with chocolate flavour — the way all chocolate cakes should be.

The star of the show is the earl grey buttercream though. The earl grey butter incorporated into the silky Swiss meringue buttercream results to a flavour so unique, so complex, so brilliant that you wonder why you never thought to do it before.

What completes this sophisticated trifecta of flavours is the salted caramel sauce. There’s a salted caramel sauce recipe provided in the book but I used my go-to salted caramel sauce recipe instead.

History of the London fog cake

Ever wonder about the history of the London fog cake? It has such an interesting name you’d think it originated in London and has something to do with fog.

But it’s actually inspired by the London fog drink — an earl grey tea latte made with steamed milk and vanilla that first popped up in Vancouver, British Columbia (Oh, Canada!).

It’s been popular in this part of the world for years though Starbucks has been serving it for a while now too. (Here’s a great recipe to make it at home.)

The drink is warm, cozy and unique; the cake version is just extraordinary. So let’s get baking!

How to make London fog cake

First let’s make the chocolate layer cakes. (For the detailed recipe, please scroll to the bottom of the page for a printable recipe card.)

1. PREP YOUR PANS. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of 3 8-inch cake pans. For good measure, I also always line the bottom with parchment paper but you don’t have to.

2. COMBINE YOUR DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, sift all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. COMBINE YOUR WET INGREDIENTS. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat oil and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer still running, add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.

4. ADD FLOUR AND MILK TO YOUR BATTER. With the mixer still running on low speed, add your flour mixture to the batter, alternating with milk. Make sure each addition is incorporated well.

5. DRIZZLE COFFEE. Still on low speed, gradually drizzle in coffee (be careful, it will splatter). Mix on low-medium speed for no more than 30 seconds or until combined.

6. TRANSFER BATTER TO PANS. Evenly divide the batter into your 3 pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean or with minimal crumbs. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove cakes from pans and cool on rack completely.

How to make earl grey buttercream

For the out-of-this-world earl grey buttercream, we start by infusing butter with earl grey tea.

1. MAKE EARL GREY INFUSED BUTTER. In a medium saucepan, place butter and loose earl grey tea leaves and cook on medium heat until the butter melts. Switch to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the tea steep for another 5.

2. SOLIDIFY BUTTER. To remove the tea leaves, strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and refrigerate until the butter becomes solid again but only until the consistency of softened butter. In the meantime, you can start making your Swiss meringue buttercream.

3. COMBINE EGG WHITES AND SUGAR. Put egg whites and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using your stand mixer’s whisk attachment, manually whisk the mixture until combined.

4. DISSOLVE SUGAR. Place the bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and whisk until the mixture reaches 160F.

5. WHIP EGGS TO MEDIUM-STIFF PEAKS. Attach the bowl onto your stand mixer and whisk on medium-high speed until you reach medium-stiff peaks (about 8-10 minutes). At this point, when you touch the bowl it should not be hot anymore (should feel more like room temperature).

6. ADD BUTTER TO YOUR MERINGUE. Switch to the paddle attachment and on low speed add vanilla bean paste. Also proceed to add your tea butter and the rest of your butter a couple of tablespoons at a time until the mixture is well combined and incorporated. Switch to medium-high speed again and beat the buttercream until smooth, glossy and creamy (about 3-5 minutes).

Ingredients for London fog cake with earl grey buttercream

While this cake is certainly impressive, the ingredients to make it are surprisingly simple, pantry staples.

For the chocolate cake, you need:

All purpose flour
Unsweetened, natural cocoa powder
Baking powder and baking soda
Salt
Canola oil (or any other neutral oil)
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Milk
Strong-brewed coffee

To make the earl grey Swiss meringue buttercream, you need:

Unsalted butter
Loose earl grey tea leaves
Egg whites
Granulated sugar
Vanilla bean paste (you can substitute with vanilla extract)

I used this recipe for easy salted caramel sauce.

Tools you need to make this London fog cake recipe

I use my stand mixer to make the Swiss meringue buttercream. Other than that, it’s just the usual mixing bowls, measuring cups and measuring spoons.

To decorate the cake, I really like my cake turnable, bench scraper and angled spatula. I’m not the best cake decorator but these make my cake decorating life easier (and fun!).

London fog cake recipe common questions

Here are some common questions I’ve been asked about making this cake.

What can I substitute for coffee?

Coffee in chocolate cakes enhances the chocolate flavour. However, if you can’t or don’t want to include coffee in your cake, you can substitute an equal amount of hot water.

Can I use earl grey teabags instead of tea leaves?

In general, loose tea leaves are richer and impart more flavour than teabags. Teabags are also prone to get dull and stale after a while.

If you’re unable to get earl grey loose tea leaves though, you can use teabags in a pinch; just keep in mind that you may need to use more and steep for longer to get that same full, vibrant earl grey flavour.

How do I make Swiss meringue buttercream without a thermometer?

An important step when making Swiss meringue buttercream is making sure the egg whites are cooked (temperature should reach 160F on a candy thermometer).

If you don’t have a candy thermometer, no worries; you can still make Swiss meringue buttercream. Check for doneness by rubbing the egg white-sugar mixture between your fingers. If the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth, it’s ready.

How to make baking layer cakes easier

Admittedly, there are a lot of steps in making layer cakes but they are really simple steps and the end result is always fantastic. Hard to beat that feeling of slicing into a layer cake and seeing those perfect layers!

I find that the key to making layer cakes (and baking, in general) is mis en place or, simply, hardcore organization. I make sure all my ingredients are measured, laid out and ready to go.

I also make sure to read the recipe thoroughly before I begin.

Easy layer cake recipes

Obsessed with layer cakes? Here are more recipes for you.

: Rainbow Cake

: Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

: Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting

A rainbow cake is a fun, impressive layer cake that’s easier to make than it looks. All you need is your favourite vanilla cake and tint it with the colours of the rainbow!
Here’s another fun one for you — funfetti cake.It really is the most awesome birthday cake you can bake for someone you love.
For the lemon lovers in your life, bake this lemon cake with lemon curd filling — smooth and silky lemon curd filling the layers of the soft lemony cakes frosted with lemon buttercream. Did I mention there was lemon?
And for chocolate fans, it doesn’t get any chocolatier than this chocolate chiffon cake with whipped cream frosting.

I know I’m not a great cake decorator (obviously lol) but I couldn’t be happier with the end result here. The London fog cake looks pretty enough (ha!) and it tastes fantastic. Best of all, my birthday celebrant was over the moon.