Spice up your reicipes with a dash of tea
Print Edition
FOR years, Japanese matcha has taken quite a considerate share in the dessert universe for its slightly bitter yet refreshing flavor and aspiring green color.
The ground green tea that’s served with hot water can be added in all kinds desserts from cakes to ice creams. Now in Shanghai, there are restaurants and franchises specializing in matcha products like Nana’s Green Tea, and finding a match a matcha fix won’t take long.
But with the wide range of teas available, there are more ways to incorporate tea into pastries and desserts other than sprinkle matcha powder.
And as the dry tea leaves can actually go bad if stored for too long or in improper place, using them in baking is one solution that also makes the perfect food to pair with the same teas.
Tieguanyin is one of the two most notable oolong teas in China that has more fragrance than fresh green tea, yet still is lighter and more subtle than black teas.
Both the tea leaves and drink itself can be used in cooking. The tieguanyin leaves can even be fried or baked as crunchy garnish on savory dishes. But it’s rarely used in baking.
Takuya Terakado, bakery chef of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, a Shanghai Japanese, recently created a tieguanyin brioche using this unique Chinese brew for the bakery shop La Boutique on the ground floor.
“I use the dried tieguanyin leaves which is mixed with the dough and cream. I tried a few times and now I use two kinds of tieguanyin, one is stronger in flavor and one kind is more elegant, so I mix them together,” Terakado said.
The color of the tieguanyin brioche is muted green with small bits of tieguanyin leaves densely packed all over the bun. The light cream filling also balances the tea’s slight astringent and bitter taste.
Teas are bitter slightly pungent, and it’s important to keep a balance. When making the tieguanyin brioche, he uses about the same portion as brewing a cup of the tea.
Adding crushed tea leaves in cookies, scones and muffins with fruits or spices is quick and delicious, like experimenting with the combinations of berry with jasmine tea, peach with oolong and Earl Grey with citrus.
You can follow your favorite classic recipes and just add the touch of tea leaves for something unique.
To get the flavor of the teas into the baked goods, you can grind the tea leaves and add directly into the batter like Terakado’s tieguanyin brioche, steep the tea in the liquid required by the recipe, or add the tea into the cream or ganache fillings.
If baking still seems a bit tricky and time-consuming, tea jelly is an easier option that’s also ideal for the summertime.
In the same way of making any jelly, add tea infusion into the gelatin powder or sheet alongside other flavorings like sugar, honey, lemon juice and textures like boiled oats and fresh fruits. Some classic tea jellies include jasmine, peach oolong, rose and roselle, green tea with grapefruit.
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