A moist crumb cake made with cranberry tea and with fresh cranberries sprinkled throughout

3 tablespoons cranberry flavored black tea*
1 1/8 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup quick oats
2 tablespoons brewed tea leaves (see directions)

1. Heat water to just below boiling and pour over tea leaves. Steep for 3-4 minutes. Strain leaves from tea and set both aside.

2. In large mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter, and oil. Beat in eggs. Add milk, tea (which should be about 1 cup of liquid), and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add salt, flour, baking soda, and baking powder, stirring after all have been added. Fold in chopped cranberries.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.

5. Make crumb topping by combining all topping ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. For the "brewed tea leaves", use some of the leaves that were used to make the tea for the batter. If topping isn't crumbly enough, chill for 5-10 minutes until mixture crumbles. Sprinkle over cake.

6. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for about 55-60 minutes or until cake tests done.

*Another fruit-flavored black tea can be substituted, such as orange or berry flavors if you don't have cranberry! If using lower-quality tea, you may wish to omit the tea leaves in the crumb topping.

I created this recipe as a contribution for Adagio Tea's tea chef program [2].

This is a moist and chewy dessert cake. The crumb topping sinks as the cake is baked, leaving tea leaves and spicy sugar patches throughout the cake. The tart cranberries add flavor and softness. Very delicious!! My rating: 10/10