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The Guardian
11-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tea-licious! 17 awesome ways to use earl grey, from ice-cream and cocktails to strudel and salad
As you may already know, the title of Britain's Best Loaf 2025 was awarded to a brioche that was flavoured with lemon curd and earl grey tea. The inventor – Miyo Aoetsu, who runs a baking business from her home in Derbyshire – says the loaf was inspired by a recent Japanese trend for foods that combine the flavours of lemon and earl grey. But outside Japan, how many recipes can there be that use earl grey as an ingredient? Here are 17, just for starters. The first, and most basic, is for earl grey itself. The connection between the tea and the 2nd Earl Grey, in whose honour it is sometimes said to have been concocted, is sketchy and possibly nonexistent. There is no official formula or authoritative version; it's just a name given to black tea flavoured with bergamot, a type of bitter orange grown extensively in Calabria. Making your own is as simple as leaving some dried bergamot peel in a jar of black tea for a bit. The result will probably be a bit more subtle than store-bought – which usually contains oil of bergamot – but you may even prefer it. The association between earl grey and afternoon tea is strong, and a number of recipes feature it in teatime treats. If the idea of a tea loaf flavoured with actual tea doesn't sound like overkill to you, here's a tasty version from Ruby Tandoh in which the dried fruit is soaked in earl grey for an additional depth of flavour. Traditional Welsh bara brith also normally contains a strong cup of tea. Anna Jones's personal preference is for earl grey; she recommends two teabags and a long steep. Benjamina Ebuehi's earl grey cardamom buns start with four teabags steeped in milk. They also use a yeast dough, so the buns need time to rise. The syrup to brush the tops of the buns requires another teabag. Also for teatime, here's a simple fig and earl grey jam from Lillie O'Brien. It required only tea leaves, ripe figs, sugar and lemon, heated to setting point, in this case 105C. Earl grey's singular bergamot scent – originally deployed, ironically, to mask inferior teas – can instantly turn an otherwise foreign pudding into something recognisably British. In this spirit, Ebuehi offers an earl grey and lemon panna cotta, while Earl grey 'tea-ramisu' is a version of the classic desert for people who don't like coffee. And Mike Robinson's earl grey burnt cream is an English translation of creme brulee, infusing the milk and cream with loose leaf tea tied up in muslin. A toast, tea and marmalade bread and butter pudding sounds like the sort of dessert you could eat for breakfast, and the use of two earl grey teabags only underscores its associations with the most important meal of the day. As a compromise, you could serve it at brunch. Nikki Duffy pairs earl grey with apricots and mascarpone, for a pudding that mostly makes itself in your fridge, although you could have a long wait: dried apricots are soaked in the tea for anything from six hours to overnight, before the liquid is drained off and reduced on the hob. The result is poured back over the apricots, which then go back in the fridge for up to two days before serving. For a dessert requiring rather less notice, Felicity Cloake poaches pears in earl grey tea (about 750ml) spiked with sugar and lemon zest. If you like the combination, you could also try pear and earl grey strudel with earl grey sorbet. Sign up to Feast Recipes from all our star cooks, seasonal eating ideas and restaurant reviews. Get our best food writing every week after newsletter promotion But while Earl grey may work as a sorbet, can you put it in ice-cream? Of course you can! Proving there's a recipe out there for every idle hankering, here's one for earl grey ice-cream from Cornwall restaurateur Nathan Outlaw. Perhaps because of the bitter tannin contrast it provides, earl grey generally finds its way into puddings and other sweet dishes. But not exclusively. Here, for example, is a pear and walnut salad with earl grey dressing. If you're the experimental sort, you could attempt a tea-brined turkey with tea-and-lemon gravy which requires no fewer than 18 earl grey teabags. The recipe calls for the turkey to be roasted on a closed barbecue grill, although once you've brined it you could cook it any way you fancy. To finish, a pair of earl grey cocktails. The main issue with putting tea in a cocktail is that it will simply water down the drink. Here are two different solutions to that problem: Andy Milz's Mar-tea-ni uses an earl grey syrup made from tea leaves, blackcurrant jam, vanilla sugar and apple juice, while the Come as You Are cocktail starts with earl grey gin – a bottle of gin that's had a teabag in it for six hours. Worth the wait, undoubtedly.
Time Out
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The UK's best loaf of bread has been crowned for 2025
Good bread is one of life's greatest pleasures. If you ask us, few things beat a perfectly chewy slice of sourdough, a gorgeously crisp slab of focaccia or a warm, steaming roll of ciabatta. The joy of bread is that it comes in all sorts of different shapes, sizes and flavours. But which one is the greatest of them all? Every year, British Baker evaluates hundreds of loaves of bread to determine which one can be called the very best in the country. For 2025 a lemon and earl grey tea brioche from Kuma-San Bakehouse in Derbyshire was awarded the grand title of Britain's Best Loaf. The judging panel, made up of 14 experts from Britain's bread industry, praised the sweet, squidgy bake for its 'unique flavour profile featuring earl grey tea and limoncello-soaked candied lemon peel, combined with lemon curd and juice for a zesty, aromatic finish'. Finished off with white chocolate and pearl sugar, one judge said it was a bread that 'took you on a journey' to the Italian Riviera. The loaf was created by Japanese baker Miyo Aoetsu, who won the top prize back in 2023 too, for her matcha, white chocolate and fruit loaf. She told BBC News that the key ingredient of this year's winning loaf is the Japanese citrus fruit, yuzu. Aoetsu revealed that she made around 45 loaves before she felt that she had nailed it. She added: 'In the last few years in Japan, the combination of earl grey tea and citrus fruits like lemon has been really trendy so people make a lot of cakes and cookies with these. 'So I started to think about making a bread with these combinations... I like the subtle aroma of tea when used in baking. 'I baked and baked and baked until I was confident it would be ready for the competition.' There were eight categories in this year's awards. The lemon and earl grey brioche also won in the innovation category while the prize for best flavoured sourdough went to Cumbrian bakery Lovingly Artisan's dark chocolate malt and orange loaf and best wholegrain went to the rye sourdough with sunflower seeds by Oxford's Natural Bread. The overall prize for best loaf has remained in Derbyshire for the past three years, with the 2024 title going to 4 Eyes Bakery in Chesterfield for its garlic and rosemary deep pan focaccia.
Telegraph
20-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Brioche infused with Earl Grey tea is UK's best loaf
A brioche loaf infused with Earl Grey tea has been crowned as the UK's best. It saw off competition from 200 other loaves to claim the top prize after impressing judges with its 'unique flavour profile'. The loaf, featuring Earl Grey tea and limoncello -soaked candied lemon peel, was combined with lemon curd and juice to provide a 'zesty, aromatic finish'. Its creator, Miyo Aoetsu, 55, said it had taken her 45 trial bakes before she created one worthy of entry to the competition, run by trade magazine British Baker. 'I was speechless when I won,' she told the BBC after winning both Britain's Best Loaf and the Innovation category. 'I was very happy, I was almost screaming on the stage.' Ms Aoetsu said the limoncello gave the loaf a 'kick' but that the secret ingredient had been yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit. 'In the last few years in Japan, the combination of Earl Grey tea and citrus fruits like lemon has been really trendy so people make a lot of cakes and cookies with these,' she continued. 'So I started to think about making a bread with these combinations. I like the subtle aroma of tea when used in baking.' It was the second time Ms Aoetsu had won the best loaf prize, after emerging victorious in 2023 with her green loaf flavoured with matcha, white chocolate and fruit. She now runs Kuma-San Bakehouse from her home in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, having started baking as a hobby. Ms Aoetsu moved to the UK to study at the University of Manchester before meeting her husband. The prestigious award has not left Derbyshire after another baker in the county, 4 Eyes Bakery, based in Staveley, near Chesterfield, won with its garlic and rosemary deep pan focaccia creation last year. 'It's a great thing to keep the award here,' she added.'I know Tom [at 4 Eyes Bakery] who won it last year... he's an excellent baker and I'm glad this award remains in the county. 'To have it still in Derbyshire is a wonderful thing, because the quality of bread in this area is fantastic.'
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lemon and Earl Grey brioche crowned Britain's best loaf
A brioche bread infused with lemon and Earl Grey tea has been crowned Britain's best loaf. On a roll, Miyo Aoetsu - who started baking as a hobby - has now won the prize for the second time after her green loaf flavoured with matcha, white chocolate and fruit scooped the 2023 runs Kuma-San Bakehouse from her home in Darley Dale in Derbyshire, supplying businesses and baking loaves for customers to told the BBC she was delighted with the top award, and added: "I was speechless when I won... I was very, very happy, I was almost screaming on the stage." The bread won top spot in the Britain's Best Loaf competition, run by trade magazine British Baker, and also won in the Innovation said the loaf - which beat 200 others to the prize - impressed them with its "unique flavour profile" featuring Earl Grey tea and limoncello-soaked candied lemon peel, combined with lemon curd and juice for a "zesty, aromatic finish".Miyo, 55, said the limoncello gave the loaf "a kick" but the secret ingredient was a Japanese citrus fruit - commonly known as said: "In the last few years in Japan, the combination of Earl Grey tea and citrus fruits like lemon has been really trendy so people make a lot of cakes and cookies with these."So I started to think about making a bread with these combinations... I like the subtle aroma of tea when used in baking." But she added it was not a perfect bake from the start and made "about 45 loaves" before she was satisfied with the finished product."I baked and baked and baked until I was confident it would be ready for the competition," she winning for the second time on 8 April, Miyo added: "There's always a chance but I didn't really think it would happen... but when they called my name I was speechless but I was really glad and happy because of the effort I had put in."Born in Tokushima, about 93 miles (150km) from Osaka, Miyo first moved to the UK to study at the University of Manchester, where she met her couple later lived in Luxembourg and France, where Miyo got a taste for French bread. She then started baking her own bread after moving back to England. The prestigious award has not left Derbyshire since Miyo won with her green loaf in 2023. Last year, 4 Eyes Bakery, based in Staveley near Chesterfield, won with its garlic and rosemary deep pan focaccia creation."It's a great thing to keep the award here," Miyo said."I know Tom [at 4 Eyes Bakery] who won it last year... he's an excellent baker and I'm glad this award remains in the county."To have it still in Derbyshire is a wonderful thing because the quality of bread in this area is fantastic."On her next creation, Miyo said: "I'm always interested in combining both Western and Japanese cultures in my baking... I'm experimenting all of the time."
