Don't Skip This Step When Adding Tea To Your Baked Goods

It's easy breezy to infuse the flavor of any tea into your baked goods. Like that prominent punch of citrus from the bergamot in Earl Grey, it is a fantastic choice for a cake, cookie, muffin, or shortbread. There's an opportunity for a visual aspect here, too. Take these delicate lemon-glazed Earl Grey cookies from cute to adorable by speckling them with bits of tea that can be seen in the final product. But imparting the right amount of flavor while presenting a visually appealing dessert can be a bit of a balancing act. Spiced tea blends can contain whole pieces of spices like masala chai with its zesty cloves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise (and a whole lot more). The goal is to get the tea and spices down to the right size for the aesthetic while releasing and combining all the yumminess for the taste.

Tea and spices release their flavors when they are steeped in liquid or infused with fat. This is how tea works. The soluble compounds (that include flavor) have to be extracted through heat and a liquid. That's why adding dry tea leaves directly to a dough won't impart as much flavor. It has to be coaxed through chemistry. The first step is to grind your dry tea leaves and spices together. This process gently releases their natural oils to maximize flavor. And the best way to do that is with a simple tool every home cook needs in their kitchen.

Yes, a mortar and pestle is just what you need to grind down loose tea leaves and whole spices. A food processor works, too, but usually, the amounts you'll need are not worth the production. Besides, it won't take long to learn everything you need to know about a mortar and pestle, including the different sizes of the bowls. Go for the bigger ones — like HiCoup's Mortar and Pestle Set – with a 2-cup capacity that can handle small and large batches of your favorite spices and teas. Who knows when you will fire up that micro-bakery for your friends and neighbors?

For each tablespoon of butter in your recipe, infuse it with 1.5 tablespoons of ground tea and spices. Gently simmer the butter while grinding your tea blend with the pestle. Add them directly, turn the heat off, and give them a stir. Let the mixture steep for a few minutes and then cool before using it. You can also steep the tea blend in milk, juice, or whatever liquid is called for in the recipe.

Take this crowd-pleasing blueberry lavender coffee cake recipe to the next level by infusing the lavender into the butter, and be bold about adding more whole spices. Cardamon, ginger, fennel seed, and cinnamon all sing here.  And definitely add your custom tea and spice blends to yummy basics like this cinnamon flop cake recipe. It can take on just about any combo for a creative take on a beloved classic.