I used Iron Goddess of Mercy as it tends to be quite a flavoursome tea, but will definitely experiment with other varieties in the future. I also chopped up the infused tea leaves and sprinkled them on the top of the loaf before baking, just to make it look a little more interesting/scary – its up to you if you want to do the same!

Method
Infuse the oolong into the cup of water for the recommended brewing time, discard the leaves and wait for the tea to cool. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a medium sized loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and 3/4 cup of the tea together until smooth. In another bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add the butter and roughly half of the eggs and mix with an electric beater until smooth. Beat in the rest of the eggs and the cocoa mixture. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40 – 55 minutes. Cool slightly before serving with a cup of freshly brewed oolong.

I came up with the idea of using a lemon flavoured maté in a blueberry muffin simply because I needed to use up some blueberries and wanted to bake something tea infused – lemon was a natural fit. Plus the t leaf T Lemon Maté has an incredibly strong flavour to it, which I knew would come through the batter nicely.

These muffins also have the maté leaves left in the mixture which give them an interesting texture, similar to bran muffins. The lemon flavour is quite strong and you get a lovely aftertaste of maté – if you love yerba maté you will definitely love these muffins! The perfect snack for morning tea when you’re feeling a bit groggy.

Method
Makes 12

Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the milk and maté in a saucepan and heat gently on the stove for around 10 minutes, then set aside to cool a little. Beat in the eggs and butter. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir in the wet ingredients. In another bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining sugar and flour and gently fold into the cake mixture. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes.

These are best fresh from the oven and buttered, they make a great alternative to scones and are perfect with a strong cup of Assam. I can’t wait to experiment with different flavoured gems, particularily tea infused ones!

Method
Makes 12

Preheat the gem irons in the oven at 220C. Cream the sugar, butter and golden syrup. Beat in the egg, then sift in the dry ingredients. Add the milk then gently fold into the batter.
Remove the gem iron from the oven and put a bit of butter in each compartment (if the butter sizzles the pan is hot enough). Brush the butter around the sides of each compartment, then spoon in the batter evenly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Honestly, I think this was the most delicious thing I have ever baked in my entire life! It also made for a great after dinner treat on Christmas day (with a cup of Christmas Tea of course). It is definitely best eaten on the day its baked, I just had the last piece today and it was a little bit dry. But still incredibly tasty…

This is by far my most requested recipe! Mostly because we don’t have egg nog here and people are weirded out by drinking eggs, even though the recipe is similar to a mousse. I make a batch of this every Christmas and have done for years – its also the only reason I have a bottle of brandy in my liquor cabinet!

There are so many recipes around for egg nog and I tried many of them before settling on this one (I find the plain version too sickly, this tastes like chocolate mousse spiked with brandy). Its the uncooked version so its great for those warm summer evenings in place of dessert!

The brandy can be substituted for whiskey or rum, use whichever alcohol you like best. If you for some reason want to make a non-alcoholic version, just take out the brandy and make it up in milk. Drink your nog as soon as its ready to be served, otherwise you’ll need to give it a good stir before pouring because it separates.

Method
Makes approx 1L

Separate the eggs, keeping the egg whites aside in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks, sugar, cocoa and vanilla until thick and smooth. Slowly stir in milk and rum, mixing well. Cover refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or if you’re impatient like me, just until you finish the next step.
Whip cream and fold into chocolate mixture, then beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form and gently fold in. Serve immediately, garnish with grated chocolate or cinnamon.

For crushing the candy canes, I found the best method was to keep them in their wrappers and bash them with a rolling pin for a bit, then you’ll find it easy to crumble any large bits by hand.

375g (one bag) Nestle White Chocolate Melts
Extra 1/3 cup crushed candy canes to sprinkle on top

Method
Makes approx 32

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined then stir in the crushed candy canes.
Divide dough into 3 even pieces and shape into logs. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, or until the tops are cracked and the ends have started to brown. Remove from oven and reduce tempurature to 150C. Cool logs for 10 mintues and slice with a sharp serrated knife. Arrange the pieces standing up back onto the baking sheet.
Bake until cookies are light golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 12 to 15 minutes. Place onto cool rack and cool completely.
Dip half of each biscotti into melted chocolate – shake off excess. Immediately sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes and set on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set.

Merry Christmas!

These are incredibly delicious even though they are such a simple biscuit! I made a trayful for my afternoon tea guests last weekend and they were completely demolished – though they are supposed to keep well in an airtight container! I should have put some aside…

The type of peppermint extract you use makes all the difference. Usually cheap imitation peppermint flavouring (blergh) would be used, but I couldn’t find any when I was buying the ingredients I needed, so ended up picking up a very nice set of 3 bottled minty extracts (including peppermint). The cookies turned out to be a perfect balance of vanilla with just the right amount of tasty peppermint – I was really surprised! I will definitely be making these again, perhaps for little Christmas treats…

Method
Makes 12 medium sized cakes

For the caramelised apples, slice each unpeeled apple into six slices 1cm thick. Cut into smaller rounds with a pastry cutter if desired (so they fit into the bottom of the muffin tray you are using). Stir butter and sugar over a low heat until sugar dissolve and add the apple slices. Cook, turning occasionally for around 3 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 cup muffin tray and place a slice of apple in the bottom of each one. Spoon caramel sauce evenly over the apples.
In a large bowl cream the butter, vanilla and caster sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift in half the dry ingredients followed by half the buttermilk and combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and buttermilk, combine then stir in the grated apple and pour into prepared muffin tray.
Bake for 30 mintues. Stand for 5 minutes before turning upside-down onto a wire rack, dust with cinnamon and serve.

I’ve been a distracted baker lately, but when I make these again I will pay closer attention to the instructions!