Russian rose tea

Ingredients Tea leaves, 200g black cherries, 100g sugar, dried rose petals.

Preparation: X

"In Russia, we sweeten our tea with cherries" said Mikhail Baryshnikov in Sex And The City and amen to that! Being somewhat of a real tea enthusiast, I am pretty passionate about the culture and history of how tea is enjoyed around the world. From Kyoto to Paris and Morocco to Assam I think I have tried it every which way (always loose. Fnar) but having said that, I can't say that I'm a fan of Lapsang - Russian Caravan tea is too bitter and smoky for my tastes, but when served with my rose and black cherry syrup it is transformed and I could sup it by the gallon!

1) Pit the cherries and add to a milk pan along with the sugar, dried rose petals and 50ml water. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and a syrup forms. Pass through a sieve.

2) Make your pot of tea and add the syrup, to taste.

Yorkshire Brack

Ingredients 150ml black tea (I use Earl Grey), 225g self-raising flour, 175g golden caster sugar, 400g dried fruit (I use chopped figs, sultanas and raisins), 1 large egg.

Preparation: 2 1/4 hours (an hour for soaking, an hour for baking)

When I was a little girl, at Christmas my family would always have a slice of cheese with Christmas cake and for the rest of the year, a slice of cheese with everyday brack. It's a very Yorkshire thing to do so in honour of Yorkshire day, here is my favourite Yorkshire recipe. A fat-free cake that is so quick and easy to make that it really has no business being as impressive as it is to eat. The fruit also never sinks as it can sometimes do in fruit cake. But that's Yorkshire for you. As they say, "if it isn't Yorkshire, it's shite."

1) Leave the tea leaves to infuse for 10 minutes, then pour through a strainer into a bowl of dried fruit. Soak the dried fruit for an hour.

2) Beat the egg and sift in the flour and sugar. Pour in the dried fruit and tea and stir through until a smooth batter has formed. If the mixture is a little dry, add a touch of milk.

3) Smooth into a loaf or cake tin and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.

4) Serve each piece with a good slice of cheddar.

Earl Grey & chocolate chip pancakes

Ingredients 1 1/2 cup plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp caster sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg, 2 Earl grey teabags, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 bar dark chocolate

Makes: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

Whether you see these as Scotch pancakes or American style stacks, they are always a favourite breakfast treat in this house. I love to stand at my cooker, ladling slow bubbling circles of fluffy batter laced with different flavours. This recipe was inspired by Choc Affair's bergamot chocolate, which is available for my Leeds readers from the fabulous Millie's. I envisioned the bergamot being further enhanced by Earl Grey, which gives these pancakes a wonderful depth.

1) Add the teabags to a milk pan along with the milk and bring it to the boil. Allow it to cool back to room temperature before removing the teabags.

2) Chop the chocolate into chips, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar along with the chocolate and egg into a bowl and whisk into a batter. Leave to puff up as the milk cools, then whisk in the milk and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.

3) Stir through and ladle a spoon full of batter into a hot pan. Using a spatula, work round the edges, then when bubbles begin to appear in the surface of the pancake batter, flip over.

4) Each side should cook in about 2 minutes, giving you light, fluffy pancakes. These can be eaten immediately or toasted later.

Earl Grey apricot Tartlets

Ingredients dried apricots, 2 earl grey teabags, 25g sugar, Pastry: 1 tsp sugar, 250g butter, 250g plain flour.

Makes: 6 Preparation: X

I am a huge lover of Earl Grey tea. For me the traditional delicacy of assam and ceylon leaves infused with the richness of bergamot oil can only be beaten with a Provenciale twist of lavender. I keep desperately trying to like Teapigs' twist of using Darjeeling leaves, but the flavour is far too alien for me to convince my brain, unless I sugar it, which goes against my purist principles! Sweetness is the key though, and these exquisite little apricot tartlets are just perfect for the unique flavour of Teapigs Darjeeling Earl Grey.

1) Put the apricots into a pyrex jug along with your teabags, and pour over just enough hot water to cover them. Leave to soak (ideally overnight but 5 hours will suffice if you're pressed for time!) until the apricots puff up.

2) To make sweet puff pastry: Add the room temperature butter to the flour and sugar and rub together loosely. Don't mix it too thoroughly - you want to still see the butter. Add about 100ml of COLD water and mix until you have a rough but firm dough. Cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll out from left to right onto a lightly floured surface - you should see marbled butter at this stage. Fold in half and roll out again from left to right. Fold once more, then cover with cling film and chill for another 20 minutes before using.

3) Roll out the pastry and cut out circles of dough.


4) Pour out the tea into the saucepan, add 25g caster sugar and reduce to a sugar syrup.

3) Slice the apricots in half and add to the pan. Allow to simmer in the syrup for 2-3 minutes, then spoon a sticky, syrupy apricot half onto each pastry circle.

4) Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 200 degrees until the pastry has just puffed up and the apricot has just begun to caramelise in the sugar. Serve hot or cold

Chai tea loaf, pancetta, pear & leek stuffing

Ingredients Chai tea loaf, 1 pear, 1/4 leek, 100g pancetta, 1 egg, butter.

For Christmas lunch this year, I thought I would sex up the turkey stuffing to mirror the spices I put in the brine bath. My Chai tea loaf is magnificently spicy but decadently sweet so I added savoury notes with the leek and pancetta and juiciness with the pear. Once it soaks up the turkey juices it is truly magnificent.


1) Crumble the tea loaf into rough breadcrumbs and set aside.


2) Peel and dice the pear and sautee in a little butter until soft.


3) Finely dice the leek and add it to the pear along with the pancetta.


4) Stir through the tea loaf crumbs and add a whisked egg. Pack it tightly into the turkey cavity and roast along with the bird.

Chai tea loaf

Ingredients     75g raisins, 75g sultanas, 75g currants, 300ml chai tea, 250g self-raising flour, 200g brown sugar, 1 egg, cinnamon, allspice, butter,

Serves: 8 Preparation: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus overnight)


Teapigs make, without a doubt the best tea I have ever tasted - unlike most tea it comes in tea temples (little silk bags, not paper) and contains real tea-leaves (not dust). Gorgeous tea also makes gorgeous tea loaf so give Teapigs a try. Annoyingly I forgot to take a picture of this before I started tearing it up to make Christmas turkey stuffing with so here... this is the biggest remaining piece!!!


1) Soak the raisins, sultanas and currants overnight in 300ml of chai tea.

2) Add the flour, sugar, a beaten egg a teaspoon of cinnamon and allspice into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour in the tea and fruit and mix with a spatula until the batter is smooth.

3) Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean).

Chilli chai teacakes

Ingredients 225 strong white bread flour, 225      strong wholemeal flour, 55g butter  cut into small pieces, 7g yeast, 30g   caster sugar, 170g dried fruits,  300ml milk, salt, 2 teapigs chilli chai teabags.

Teapigs make, without a doubt the best tea I have ever tasted - unlike most tea it comes in tea temples (little silk bags, not paper) and contains real tea-leaves (not dust). Gorgeous tea also makes gorgeous teacakes so give Teapigs a try.


1) Warm 300ml milk and add 2 chilli chai tea temples to infuse in the milk.


2) Sift together the 2 flours, yeast and a pinch of salt and rub in the butter.


3) Stir through the dried fruits (I used cranberry, sultana and raisins) and make a well in the centre of the bowl. Pour in the tea infused milk and mix through until a dough is formed.


4) Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth, then set to rest somewhere warm in a covered bowl for 2 hours (or until the dough has doubled in size)


5) Knock back the dough and knead again for a further 5 minutes on a floured surface before separating into 8 dough balls. Leave to rise for an hour before baking for 15 minutes.


These teacakes will keep for 2-3 days but are best toasted and eaten the same day.

Earl Grey tea loaf

Ingredients    75g raisins, 75g sultanas, 75g currants, 300ml Earl Grey, 250g    self- raising flour, 200g brown sugar, 1 egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter,

Teapigs make, without a doubt the best tea I have ever tasted - unlike most tea it comes in tea temples (little silk bags, not paper) and contains real tea-leaves (not dust). Gorgeous tea also makes gorgeous tea loaf so give Teapigs a try.


1) Soak the raisins, sultanas and currants overnight in 300ml of Earl Grey tea.


2) Add the flour, sugar, a beaten egg a teaspoon of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour in the tea and fruit and mix with a spatula until the batter is smooth.


3) Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean).