Recipe Background
Arnold Palmer Cake blends black tea with cream cheese frosting for a refreshing dessert.
Arnold Palmer Cake brings the refreshing notes of a classic summer drink into dessert form. The tender cake embodies the deep flavors of black tea with a subtle hint of citrus. As it bakes, your kitchen fills with the comforting aroma of tea leaves and warm sugar, inviting everyone to gather before the oven door. This cake has an almost velvety texture, thanks to the careful incorporation of room-temperature eggs—which helps create a smooth batter without over-mixing.
A layer of cream cheese frosting crowns the cake, adding a creamy tang that balances the sweet and aromatic base. The lemon zest and juice brighten each bite, leaving a lingering freshness that mimics a glass of iced lemonade. It's the kind of dessert that's as delightful to share at a family gathering as it is to savor alone with a cup of tea.
Enjoying a slice transports you to a sunny afternoon on the porch, drink in hand. The interplay of tea and lemon across the creamy frosting and moist cake brings laughter and conversation alongside every forkful. This cake is both simple and sophisticated—a comforting nod to tradition with a modern twist.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 family-size tea bags such as black tea
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking pan.
- Place the tea bags in a heatproof glass bowl and pour the boiling water over them.
- Cover the glass bowl with plastic wrap and allow the tea bags to steep in the water for 10 minutes.
- Lift the tea bags out from the water and use the back of a spoon to gently press each tea bag against the side of the bowl to remove the excess liquid.
- Discard the tea bags and allow the tea to cool for 20 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 cup of the butter at medium speed until creamy.
- Slowly add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar to the butter and beat together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, and beat after each addition, until they are just blended.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the baking soda together.
- Alternate adding the cake flour mixture and 1 cup of the tea to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating after each addition on low speed just until blended.
- Discard the remaining tea or reserve it for future use.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and the remaining butter and beat at medium speed until creamy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese/butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, and beat after each addition on low speed until blended.
- Add the lemon zest and the fresh lemon juice to the cream cheese/butter mixture and beat until just blended.
- Adjust the mixer speed to high and beat the frosting until light and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake.
- Serve.
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