Tag Archives: tea

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread

lavender earl grey tea bread
lavender earl grey tea bread

It’s January so the celebration for National Hot Tea Month is in full swing. Although, if you ask me, we should have a hot tea season that would span several months. I love drinking hot tea, especially when it keeps me warm.

What goes well with a cup of hot tea? Tea bread, of course. And the perfect tea bread contains an infusion of tea to permeate the baked good.

To come up with a complementary treat for my cuppa, I found a recipe for a tea cake with Earl Grey tea in it. The classic Earl Grey is black tea flavored with orange-scented bergamot. A new twist has the addition of lavender buds which rounds out the tea nicely, so I knew I wanted to include the floral profile.

I first altered the recipe by including the lavender flowers. Next, I changed it from gluten free to using all purpose flour because that’s what I had on hand. Feel free to use a gluten free flour blend instead.

Then I reduced the recipe so it would make four small loaves that would bake better at high altitude. For altitude I also switched it up to include a combination of baking soda and baking powder. There was no need for vegan changes because the recipe was already vegan.

The resulting mini breads were moist and extremely flavorful, reminiscent of honey cakes. With a hint of lavender when warmed and depth from the maple syrup, they are fantastic alongside a robust tea as well as an herbal blend. I froze a few loaves so I can savor them this month, and also enjoy them on a future tea drinking day.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread adapted from Earl Grey Tea Cake

1.5 cups boiling water
3.5 teaspoons Earl Grey loose leaf tea
1/2 teaspoon culinary lavender flowers
1/3 cup dried currants
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Grease the sections of a mini bread tin (mine makes four breads measuring 5 x 2.5” each) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the water, Earl Grey tea, and lavender in a heat-proof container. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and discard the leaves. Add 1/2 cup of tea back to the container, saving the other 1 cup of tea for later. Place dried currants in the 1/2 cup of tea, cover, and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil and maple syrup to a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the vanilla and 1 cup of tea to the oil-syrup mixture. Whisk until combined, then stir in the tea with the currants.

Add the liquid mixture to the ingredients in the dry bowl and stir until combined and no longer lumpy. Distribute the batter evenly into the sections of the tin. Bake for 34-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a bread comes away clean or with a few small crumbs.

Let the breads fully cool in the tin placed on a wire rack. Run a knife along the outside edges of each bread to loosen, then tip the loaves out.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake Bites

vanilla chocolate chip cake bites
vanilla chocolate chip cake bites

It’s been one snowstorm after another where I live. With the cold, blustery days I just want to cozy up to a hot cup of tea and a sweet snack. The thing is I’m a little burnt out on cookies (see all of the cookie posts I did last month).

Making a cake seems like too much effort, and a bigger treat that I have in mind. What I need is a two-bite snack. Perhaps a cake bite?

My recipe search uncovered an easy, smaller cake that I could convert into mini cakes without much effort. I have a pan that makes individual brownies, which is a life-saver for high altitude bakers, and I realized it was ideal for my cakelets. So, I had the basics covered.

To adapt the recipe for high altitude, I decreased the baking powder and completely omitted the baking soda. The original recipe was for a cake and smaller versions often need quite a bit less leavening. I also added a smidge more liquid to account for dryness at altitude, and reduced baking time for the smaller pastries.

The final change was to add brown sugar. Seeing as I was no longer making a cake but veering into blondie territory, this ingredient was added for a slightly chewier texture. The result was a moist, delectable, and perfectly-sized nibble to chase away winter’s chill.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake Bites inspired by Vegan Choc Chip Loaded Cake

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used Take Two Original Barley Milk)
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1.25 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the cups of a brownie pan. Alternatively, use a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Place the non-dairy milk, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Portion the batter into the sections of the prepared brownie pan (or into muffin liners). Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cake bite comes out clean. Note: It will take a few more minutes to bake cupcakes.

Move the baking pan to a wire rack and allow the bites to cool completely. Remove cake bites from the pan. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Makes 12 cake bites.

Until next time, happy baking!

Apple Cinnamon Brunch Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Brunch Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Brunch Muffins

Upon looking over at the apples in my fruit bowl, I realized they weren’t getting eaten fast enough. I needed to bake them into something quick so I decided to make Apple Cinnamon Brunch Muffins. That, and I had just bought Alisa Fleming’s book “Eat Dairy Free” and wanted to make a treat from it.

The recipe was already already vegan and had high altitude suggestions, so I didn’t need to come up with substitutions for that. But, when I pulled out the ingredients from my pantry I realized that I didn’t have enough light brown sugar. To remedy that I used a combination of light brown sugar, dark brown sugar (which had too strong a taste to use on it’s own), and organic granulated sugar. The mix worked out great, and made muffins that were delicious with vegan sausage and tea.

Apple Cinnamon Brunch Muffins adapted from Wholesome Apple Cinnamon Muffins
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, warmed to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup organic granulated sugar
2.25 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1.25 tsp ground cinnamon, plus additional for topping
.75 tsp baking powder
.75 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups small-diced apple (cored and peeled)
1 TBS light brown sugar
Preheat oven to 400F and line 12 regular-size muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine non-dairy milk, applesauce, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes and then whisk together. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add diced apple and stir to coat. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide batter among muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together 1 TBS light brown sugar and a generous pinch or two of cinnamon. Sprinkle spiced sugar over muffin batter. The cups will be full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the tins before removing the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

waiting (patiently) for apple cinnamon muffins to cool

Matcha Mini Muffins for Mom

matcha mini muffins

matcha mini muffins

Mother’s Day is a good excuse to have brunch. Creating a baked treat that is fast and simple makes brunch easy. These muffins have only a few ingredients and don’t require anything fancy except, perhaps, the mini muffin pan. But mini muffins are great because they cook faster and makes lots to share. And I like saying Matcha Mini Muffins for Mom.

My high altitude adaptations were few – more flour and less baking powder. But I replaced some of the white flour with whole wheat for a healthier treat. If you omit the icing the recipe has no added sugar, but I made the icing with lemon for a good taste pairing with the matcha flavor. Mom is sure to love these muffins because they are not too sweet, even with a little icing. And the subtle green hue and taste from the matcha is fun if you are preparing tea. Here’s to Mom!

Matcha Mini Muffins for Mom adapted from Matcha Latte Mini Muffins
muffins
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 1 TBS all purpose flour
2 tsp matcha powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup vanilla dairy-free creamer (use coconut, soy or almond milk coffee creamer)
3 TBS grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
icing
1/4 cup + 1 TBS powdered sugar
1/2 TBS non-dairy milk
1/4 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400ºF and use cupcake liners in 24 mini muffin wells. In a bowl, whisk together flours, matcha, baking powder and salt until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together creamer, oil, and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Divide batter between muffin wells; they should be ¾ full.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Prepare icing by whisking together the icing ingredients in a bowl. Dip tops of cooled muffins into prepared icing, turn upright, and place back on rack while icing sets.

Until next time, happy baking!