Earl Grey tea cake

Make the glaze: in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup/120 millilitres of cream to the boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the tea, remove from the heat, cover and let steep for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Strain the tea through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, and chill the remaining cream until completely cold, at least 1 hour. Make the cake: heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake tin and line it with baking paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the tea, the baking powder and the salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest and beat to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed, just until combined, then beat in the milk. (Do not overmix.) Add the chocolate and fold it in with a spatula. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and level the top. Bake just until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. To finish the glaze, add the remaining 1/4 cup/60 millilitres of cream and the icing sugar to the tea cream. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream mixture until medium peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat until stiff peaks form. (Do not overmix.) Top the cake with the glaze to serve. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; bring back to room temperature before serving. Tip If you use cream cheese instead of mascarpone, since it has a denser texture, whip the cream cheese with the icing sugar first, then add the whipped cream.