These recipes originally appeared in the July~August 2012 Issue of Tea Magazine.
Peach Oolong and Bourbon Pop
The natural finishes of stone fruits to be found in Oolongs are played up here in this fun ice pop. The Oolong tea and the bourbon both give depth and complexity to this pop, turning it into more of an adult treat.
Yield: 10 pops, assuming 2.5 ounce molds
- 1.25 lbs peaches or nectarines (roughly 5 medium sized peaches)
- 2 cups of water, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons of oolong tea leaves
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Stir 1 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer until a light syrup is formed, roughly 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in two teaspoons of the tea leaves. Let cool, then strain well.
Bring remaining cup of water to a boil and pour over the remaining 2 teaspoons of tea leaves. Steep for 5 minutes and strain well. Discard the tea leaves.
Wash and pit the peaches leaving the skins on. Puree in a food processor until smooth. You should have roughly 2 cups of puree.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in 3/4 cup of the Oolong syrup, the bourbon, the fresh lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the double strength steeped Oolong tea. Taste and adjust sweetness by adding more syrup or steeped tea as needed. Keep in mind that it should taste a little sweeter than you want the final pop to taste as freezing will tone down the sweetness. Optionally, use the egg test and adjust as needed.
Pour into your Popsicle molds or paper cups. If the mold stabilized the stick in place, the Popsicle sticks should be inserted at this time, and the molds placed in the freezer to freeze fully. If the mold chosen will not hold the stick firmly in place, freeze for an hour first, then insert the sticks and freeze until fully solid.
Mango Woodruff Sorbet
Award winning Pastry Chef Jiho Kim of Boston’s L’Espalier often works with tea or herbal infusions. This wonderful sorbet debuted this past summer in the restaurant as part of a complex multi-component dessert. The flavor combination is so fresh and appealing however that it can stand beautifully on it’s own. One of the other components that graces his dessert is a crumbled matcha sable that he has been kind enough to share with us as well.
Yield: 1/2 gallon sorbet
- 3 1/3 cups mango puree
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 teaspoon dried Sweet Woodruff blossoms
- 5 1/4 cups white sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Bring water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add the Sweet Woodruff.
Let steep to taste, roughly 15 minutes. Strain and return woodruff infusion to the pan.
Whisk in sugar, lemon juice and mango puree. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Freeze, following the directions of your ice cream freezer. Serve optionally garnished with matcha sable crumbs.
Note: Sweet Woodruff is a wonderful herbal infusion, which was enjoyed historically, but has not yet come fully back into common use. As early as the 13th century, the herb, then called Wuderove was gathered for its aroma, taste and medicinal value. If your local tea purveyor does not carry it, it can be found easily online. If you prefer, this recipe is different, but still wonderful with the 2 teaspoons of Sweet Woodruff replaced by 2 tablespoons of Chamomile blossoms.
Earl Grey Frappe
The bergamot in Earl Grey tea always pairs beautifully with chocolate and orange. This is one more variation on that classic theme! In New England a Frappe is the name given to what most of the world calls a milk shake. To an old school New Englander, a milk shake is just that, milk shaken with a flavored syrup. A chocolate milk shake would be milk shaken with chocolate syrup. You can imagine my surprise after moving to Boston a number of years ago and being served a ‘milk shake’ sans ice cream! For a variation, use vanilla ice cream with some added chocolate syrup with your Earl Grey tea and orange juice.
Yield: 1 large frappe
- 2 large scoops of your favorite chocolate icecream
- 1/4 cup or more of triple strength Earl Grey tea, fully cooled
- 1/4 cup or more of orange juice
Place the ice cream into a blender and add 1/4 cup each of the tea and orange juice. Blend until smooth. Taste and add more tea or orange juice as desired. If making this drink for an adult audience, consider adding a large splash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau as well.
