Love tea, cocktails and desserts?
If you are like me who loves tea, cocktails and desserts, then you have to check out these great summer recipes from Edible Hawaiian Islands… don’t they sound yummy? Hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… You can definitely serve them at your cocktail/dinner reception!
Earl Grey Ice Cream Cookies
(makes 24 2-inch cookies)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon water
1 cup white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
24 halved almonds, peeled for cookie tops
Hawaiian sea salt, to sprinkle on top of cookies
2 pints vanilla bean ice-cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind sugar with tea in a coffee mill or blender until fine. Place butter in a medium bowl and whip with a hand mixer until softened. Add the vanilla and water and continue to beat for 1 minute. Add the ground sugar and tea mixture and whip well to incorporate the sugar, about 3 minutes.
Add flour, salt and baking soda and mix until it forms a smooth dough.
Put cookie dough in a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper and roll into a long cylinder; twist the ends of the paper. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.
Cut roll into 1/4-inch-thick slices and press a halved almond in the center of each cookie, lightly sprinkle with Hawaiian sea salt and bake on a lightly buttered cookie sheet until slightly puffed, about 7 minutes.
Remove from oven; transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Place scoops of ice cream between a pair cookies. Gently press together and serve.
Green Tea Martini
(Makes 2 drinks)
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup water
4 tea bags green tea
4 ounces Mandarin-flavored vodka
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Cointreau or Triple Sac
Juice of one blood orange
Ice cubes
Orange twist
A cocktail shaker
Place water in a small pot on the stove. When boiling, add the sugar and green tea bags. Turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes. Let cool.
Put the rest of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with the vodka, Cointreau or Triple Sec and some ice cubes. Shake well and strain into two Martini glasses. Garnish with an orange twist.
Mocha Chai Creme Brulee
(Makes 4 servings)
3-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans, split
1 teaspoon cardamom, ground
40 black peppercorns
3 3-inch sticks cinnamon
15 allspice berries
1 tablespoon whole cloves
4 tablespoons fresh ginger, crushed
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 chai tea bags
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, to torch
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place heavy cream in a medium pot with the vanilla beans, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, clovers and fresh ginger. Simmer for 20 minutes on a very low heat to infuse the flavors.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar and set aside.
To the hot cream mixture, add teabags, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and cocoa. Simmer for 10 minutes on very low heat. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl and let cool; you should have 2 cups.
Whisk cooled cream into egg yolk mixture and thoroughly combine. Then strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
Pour cream mixture into four ramekins. Place them in a toasting pan and add enough warm water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake covered for 40 minutes, until they are set and jiggle slightly.
Remove from oven and let cool in the water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from water bath and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To make the sugar crust: Sprinkle each ramekin with 1 tablespoon of sugar and broil or heat with a torch until sugar is caramelized.
Enjoy,
Tags: desserts
