green tea wassant-style rolls.

I made these maybe two or three weeks ago, but I've been so behind with everything lately (in preparation for college!) that I hadn't got a chance to share this until now. I guess being inspired by the finale of Masterchef had something to do with it, but I think the larger factor is just my boredom combined with the need to do something productive late at night.

In a lot of blog posts, and especially on Foodgawker, everyone's green tea treats always look so bold, vibrant, and green. Delicious. Inviting. And then I try out those same recipes to get a completely different shade of green. It would be discouraging, if it weren't for the fact that the things usually at least still tasted great. But I'm trying to figure out what it is I'm missing. Is it the powder that makes a difference? Do people add green food coloring secretly and not tell me about it? I just want to know what I'm doing wrong with my green tea! I hope for that bright green color just as much as everyone else who loves green tea, you know?

So I decided to challenge myself, and use green tea powder even though I knew that my results wouldn't look as deliciously green. I ended up getting drawn in by a particular recipe for green tea brioches. It looked exciting, and I was itching to try something new apart from the standard loaf of bread - even the directions seemed a little bit more difficult compared to what I usually followed... Like, what the heck was a tour double? I had no idea, just that it involved a lot of folding, and a lot of rolling. Oh well, what better way to find out what they meant...by testing it out?

The entire process was simple enough, but it kept me bustling about the kitchen for almost the entire time. I thought I'd have enough time to sit back and relax while the dough was in for its first rise (2 hours!) I ended up having to make the matcha filling, and by the time I was done with that, I had to clean the mess of dirty pots and pans that had accumulated. As soon as all of that was over, the two hours I had intended on using to relax was gone, and I had to get back to work again.

This was my end result. A far cry from the pictures on the blog that I was following, but at least it still tasted good. And a tour double wasn't as intimidating as it seemed, even if I did such a poor job on it. Maybe the swirls of green tea and bread would have been more evident if the green was brighter, but we all know that's a problem I've yet to solve right now.

The recipe calls them brioches, but I'm not sure if they're really a brioche, or a wassant, or a weird hybrid of both. So if someone could actually clear that up for me, that'd be pretty neat. But for those who want to give this a shot, here's the recipe:

Green tea brioches (Recipe from Foodbeam)

Brioche dough:

• 300g strong flour
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 tsp dehydrated yeast
• 125g whole milk
• one egg
• 50g butter diced and at room temperature

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the butter and mix until it forms a rough dough.
2. On an unfloured surface, start kneading the dough incorporating the butter as you do so until it forms a smooth ball; around 8 minutes.
3. Place the dough back into the bowl – covered with a cloth – and leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until double in size.

NOTE: When forming the dough, it is going to be really sticky. It was a monster trying to knead this dough. What I found effective was this method of kneading the dough that.... really isn't kneading, but more like beating your dough up on the table by slapping it on there for like, 15 minutes or more. But for me and my lack of stamina and not-so-strong wrists, it was a little suffering, so I cheated a bit and added some flour... I couldn't handle how sticky it was... Oops.

Green tea filling:

• 80g milk
• one egg white
• 50g caster sugar
• 20g flour
• 20g matcha green tea
• 10g butter

1. Bring the milk to the boil. While it’s heating, mix the white and sugar in a bowl until combined. Mix in the flour and matcha green tea, and beat until homogeneous.
2. When the milk is boiling, pour it over the matcha mixture, whisking as you do so.
   
3. Transfer back into the pan, and cook on medium heat until thick. Mix in the butter.
4. Spread it on a baking tray lined with cling film, around 20×15cm. Chill.

Shaping the Brioche:

1. Remove any air from the brioche dough by gently patting it down, then roll it into a 30×20cm rectangle.
   
2. Place the matcha filling in the middle, then fold the dough over it, sealing the extremities together.
   
3. Roll into a longer rectangle, then make a tour double.
   
4. Repeat the folding one more time, then roll the dough back into a 30×20cm.
5. Roll the dough onto itself to form a log.
6. Trim the ends, then using a sharp knife, slice into 3cm-thick segments.
7. Butter 12 5.5cm-wide rings, and place the slices into them, cut side up. Or if you’re making a loaf, arrange six slices into a loaf tin, and the remaining slices into rings.
8. Cover loosely with cling film, and allow to rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

NOTE: View the tour double image that Foodbeam provided if you're a little lost! It helped me a lot when I was trying to figure it out. Also, if stuff starts leaking and oozing out, it's really not a big deal. It might be a little sticky to work with once the matcha filling starts to gush out here and there, but I think it's pretty normal. I was a little too nervous to roll my dough out too thin, so I didn't have that problem the first time around, but the second time, I had stuff oozing out everywhere... it's just a messy experience.

As you can tell, I decided to just cram them all together in a little loaf pan instead of putting them each in their separate metal rings like you'd normally do for brioches. I kind of liked them all sitting in their loaf pan, all nice and snug. And they tasted good! I wasn't so sure that they were going to taste of anything but just bread, because I wasn't sure how the green tea filling was going to work its flavor in there, but there was just a...a tiny hint of it, somewhere in there. I wish the green tea had a stronger flavor in the bread, but that might just be me and my love for green tea.

...But I still want to know why my green tea baked goods are always a poopy green. :(

earl grey shortbread cookies.

I love shortbread. And I think I've also shared my love for earl grey tea some time not too long ago. So when I was snacking on some crackers the other day during the afternoon, I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to combine both shortbread and earl grey tea into one thing. Earl grey shortbread cookies, obviously.

As soon as I finished up my little mid-day snack, I decided to get to work on finding a recipe, and ended up satisfied with this one, by Nutrition Kitchen! It seemed too good to be true - 40 calories per cookie? I know it's a large number, but for a shortbread cookie, it is a small price to pay, compared to the 80+ calorie ones I've eaten.

Cookies have always been pretty easy - I don't want to jinx it, but I've always had somewhat good luck with them and the instructions for cookies are as simple as it gets. And these cookies are no exception. You literally measure out everything, mix it all together according to instructions, pop it in the fridge, cut 'em out, and bake!

I didn't follow the instructions to a T, deciding that it was enough dough for one long log, since I had room in the fridge to fit it all in, anyway. I guess it's just a matter of how much space you have in the fridge! But I also decided to cut these out thicker the first time (about 3/4") since my mom liked thicker shortbread cookies, and that came out to be just a little over 2 dozen cookies. The second time around, I cut them a bit thinner (about 1/2") and I got just around 3 dozen - naturally the amount you get just depends on how thick you cut your cookies!

Speaking of cutting these cookies though, that was my favorite part. Getting them out from the fridge and then cutting them all up into tiny circles. I should think you could roll out the dough and then cut out cute shapes with it, but I was getting impatient and I wanted to taste these babies soon! So in the oven they went (about 10 minutes for me) and out came this delicious aroma of earl grey.. I couldn't wait till they cooled down some.

Really though, the phrase, "it's as easy as pie" should be changed to, "it's as easy as cookies" because these are the quickest, simplest yet most delicious shortbread cookies I've ever wanted to come into my life. So without further ado!

Earl Grey Tea Cookies (from Nutrition Kitchen)
makes 3 dozen*

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Earl Grey tea, loose leaf
• 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cooled slightly until softened, diced
• 1 Tbsp brewed Earl Grey tea, cooled

* - Just depends on how thick/thin you slice 'em!

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Set aside. In a spice grinder or food processor (spice grinder works best), process the loose leaf tea until coarsely ground.
2. In a food processor, add the powdered sugar, tea, and butter. Pulse the mixture until the sugar and butter are combined. Add the flour mixture, and process the dough until it starts to comes together. Then drizzle in the tablespoon of brewed tea, and process until all ingredients are combined.
3. Split the dough in half. Form each half into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in a piece of plastic and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until cold (I left mine in overnight).
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the cookies so that they’re approximately 1/2 inch in width. Arrange the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until slightly browned on the edges. Then have some tea time!

Ten minutes allowed them to be kind of softer than how shortbread cookies usually are, but I liked them a bit on the softer side - if you like them crunchier, anywhere from 11-13 minutes might not be a bad idea, though. They tasted so much of earl grey, I could hardly contain my happiness. I know I'll be making these again and again (especially because there's no egg in this!) and I've already made three batches in the past two weeks!

The third batch I made though, was a green tea version which I don't think I'll blog about, since it's so similar to this one already. It had juuuust a smidgen of green tea, which I love, but it was not enough green tea for me - so I'll be adding more next time. I'm actually very excited to try all different variations with this recipe, especially black sesame since that's one of my favorite flavors.

earl grey tea cupcakes

I've been feeling pretty under the weather the past few days, and because of it, I've been baking non-stop. As soon as I wake up, I'll grab a piece of fruit as breakfast, and then immediately whip out ingredients from the pantry to make whatever I'm in the mood for.

The past few days have very much been all about bread, but I suppose I'll backlog about those later - I decided to make my first "real" entry concerning baking right now because a friend asked me how I made these, and because it's fairly easy, I thought it'd also work for a quick blog post.

Let me start off by saying I know little to nothing about cupcakes. I've only worked with cupcakes maybe once or twice in the past. One of those times, I failed because the tops managed to cave in and refused to give me peaks, and the other time, I decided to use cake mix just to be on the safe side. Yeah, those looked good, but they tasted like cardboard. Knowing this, it's safe to assume that I like to try avoiding cupcakes unless I'm really in the mood for them. I did a good job avoiding them. Partially because I don't like store-bought ones since they throw so much frosting on the top.

And then I woke up this morning, craving cupcakes.




So here it is in all its...close-up glory. My little earl grey tea cupcake. To be honest, I was very satisfied with the taste, as well as that neat little bit of crunch that the top had. I fancy a small bit of that crunch on my cupcakes, since most of the cupcakes I got in the past already have a soggy and wet top from all the frosting that's slapped on top of it. (Can you tell I'm not fond of frosting?)

The recipe I chose was taken from this blog, though I made a little bit of my own changes just because I felt particularly ~adventurous~ today. But not really. They're minor changes, so feel free to just stick with the original instructions as opposed to my somewhat amateur methods! Anyway, the instructions/recipe (with a minor tweak and some confusing sidenotes) are as follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar*
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbs. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 2 tbsp. of loose Earl Grey tea leaves.**

* - I used 2/3 cup sugar, but the original recipe says 1 cup of sugar. My sweet tooth can't take much, and I found that the 2/3 was just the right amount of sweetness for me, so just experiment with this one!
** - I just used two teabags. I like earl grey tea, and I really wanted to taste it in my cupcake. Don't judge me!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Fill a cupcake pan with liners.
3. Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are incorporated thoroughly.
5. In a bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, including the tea leaves.
6. Add half of the dry mixture.
7. Add the milk then the remaining flour, stir until combined.
8. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
9. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking.
10. Let cool completely before frosting.

Since I used two teabags, I decided to cut one of the teabags and pour the loose earl grey leaves into the dry mixture, and the other one, I decided to steep in my milk which I had microwaved beforehand. I wasn't sure how strong the flavor would come out if I had just dumped the unsteeped tea bags into the dry mixture, so I was just experimenting. I wish I knew what I was doing in the kitchen sometimes!

Either way, I put my (now) milktea to the side as I beat together my wet ingredients in one bowl, and combined my dry ingredients in another bowl. Around step 7, I poured the milktea, as well as the tea leaves into the cupcake batter. In summary: everything just gets thrown in eventually, I just decided to be difficult and steep half my tea in the milk first.


I skimped out on the amount of batter I put in my liners. Which is why they kind of look flat, maybe. I'm actually not sure. Sometimes cupcakes look flat, maybe? I'm no expert in cupcakes. It's really not my comfort zone at all. Regardless, my second batch had cute, round peaks, but my family decided to devour those before I had the opportunity to take pictures of them.

I'm very happy with the flavor though! These had such a nice earl grey flavor to them, and it wasn't like "teehee, it's a subtle hint of earl grey," it was like, "woahhh, i'm definitely in your face and all over your taste buds," and I liked that. They were pretty moist and very soft too, two very important features that I had missed because I hadn't had cupcakes in a looooong time. Either way, it's worth trying out if you're a fan of earl grey tea. And cupcakes.