I took this to my parents' house so we could all try it together. My dad is also a fan of Earl Grey tea. Here's the cake pre-caramel sauce. Those black specks are vanilla seeds.
I continue to fail horribly at icing cakes. A rotating cake stand may help...but I don't get enough practice, really. I'm thinking I should have put it in the fridge to firm up a bit before I used the icing comb to make the design around the outside.
This cake was very rich! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, and I should have cut a smaller piece for myself. As much as I like caramel, the cake didn't need it.
The Earl Grey buttercream was AMAZING. I melted butter and boiled and steeped loose Earl Grey, as if making tea. Then I strained it and put it in the fridge, and the melted butter firmed back up into hard butter. The cake part was moist, but it didn't taste very chocolatey to me. My parents liked it, Dave didn't, and I can't decide. I kept the recipe, but I'm not sure if I'll make it again.
