Winter Warmer Special

Warm up this winter with your favourite tea!

Come in and join us in our annual winter warmer sale. There is a massive 25% off our 100g Pouches of Gourmet Tea and Tea Making Accessories. It is perfect time to stock up with your favourite blends for the cold nights ahead. So come on down and check it out today!

If we sell out.... you MISS OUT!

(* No voucher code required - prices have already been reduced)

Visit The Simply Tea Shop

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Frangipane Pear & Pecan Trumble....

It's winter here in Australia for all those on the other side of the world enjoying summer time! I am SO jealous.... anyway if it was summer here I wouldn't be able to enjoy desserts like these Frangipane Pear & Pecan Trumble... Phew say that 20 times with your mouthful! Trumble??? You ask.... what the heck is she on?

Well I will let you in on my craziness - this delectable tart combines the best of both dessert worlds - the buttery base of a tart and the crunchy topping of a crumble. The perfect combination on a winter's night served with custard or a drizzle of fresh cream. Ooohhlala! Trumbles are so in... well in my kitchen they are!

With delicious pears being in season right now I could not go pass creating a dessert incorporating this perfect winter fruit! Pecans are a great addition adding a nice crunch and nuttiness. The frangipane filling adds the gooeyness to off set all those crunchy aspects of the crumble and base.

I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon whipping up this Trumble. It was a cold winter's afternoon, windy and frigid outside but I was warm and cosy in my kitchen with our wood fire burning and the oven on and I was up to my elbows in pastry and crumble. No pressing needs, to do list completed, dinner prepared just me and my "Trumble". For me that's my "Me time", sifting, whipping, stirring, baking. The worries of the world left at the door.

Frangipane Pear & Pecan Trumble

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

Base:
90g Butter
¼ Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Grated Lemon Rind
1 Egg
1 Cup Plain Flour
2 Tbsp Custard Powder

Frangipane Filling:
40g Butter
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Tbsp Castor Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
2 Tsp Plain Flour
½ Cup Almond Meal

2 x Large Pears – peeled, cored and sliced into wedges.

Crumble Topping:
½ Cup Plain Flour
½ Cup Shredded Coconut
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Chopped Pecans
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp Butter, Softened

Method:

Base:
1.    Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2.    Cream butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add rind and egg and beat well until combined.
3.    Stir in flour & custard powder and mix until combined. Press evenly into a lined lamington tin and bake for 10-15 min. Remove and let cool for 10 min.

Frangipane Filling:
1.    Beat butter, extract, sugar and egg yolk in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2.    Stir in flour and almond meal until combined.
3.    Once base has cooled spread the frangipane filling evenly over the base.
4.    Carefully arrange pear wedges in a line across the frangipane filling.

Crumble:
1.    In a small bowl add flour, sugar and butter. Mix the butter in with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2.    Stir in pecans and coconut and spread evenly over the pears.
3.    Place in oven to cook for 25 min or until golden brown.

Serve with warm custard or a drizzle of fresh pouring cream.

You could also make this into a summery dessert by replacing the pears with peaches, nectarines or even cherries and the pecans with macadamia's and serve cold with ice cream or a dollop of Greek yogurt!

YUM...............!

What mad creations have you whipped up in your kitchen lately?

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Trooper Toffee Nut & Oat Squares.....

Are there days that your feet just drag behind you? You can't get into the groove of the day or your energy levels just aren't going above zero? You've woken up on the wrong side of the bed, gone mad looking for your toothbrush, glasses, pen, car keys and it's been in your hand, or on your head, had a bad hair day and you get a BIG zit on the end of your nose!

Day's when nothing seems to go right.... you have a flat tyre before you walk out the door to begin the day, you follow every slow driver when your running late for work and get EVERY red light. Your normal car park is taken and the nearest one is a block away, and as you run that block frantically to work you realised you forgot to bring your lunch........ This is when your in need of a piece of this Trooper Toffee Nut & Oat Square.

Because your going to be "trooping" through the rest of the day after the morning you've just had. A slice of this will boost your energy, it's low GI, gluten free, will give you a sweet hit without the processed sugar and get you through the day! These squares are chocked full of goodness...

 Lots of nuts, seeds & oats to keep you full and energized for the day! They would make a good pre-workout snack or even a great snack for the kids in the afternoon to keep there little tummy's full until dinner!

 This slice is adapted from Healthy Pursuits recipe which is a bit of a inspirational blog for me at the moment.... you know how it is! You find a good thing , a blog, cookbook etc that inspires you and you have to keep trying, tasting, inventing recipes from that inspiration! So bear with me as I go through this phase! :-)

Trooper Toffee Nut & Oat Squares

{Download & Print Recipe}

*Adapted from Healthy Pursuit Toffee Nut & Seed Squares

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter
¾ Cup Golden Syrup (Or Honey)
¼ Cup Sunflower Seeds
¼ Cup Pepita Seeds
¼ Cup Almonds
¼ Cup Walnuts
¼ Cup Pecans
4 Tbsp Oats
4 Tbsp Raisins or Sultana’s
¼ Cup Shredded Coconut + extra to garnish
*2 Tbsp Protein Powder
*Optional

Method:

1.    Line a slice pan with baking paper with the excess paper on the edges for easy lifting. Set aside.
2.    Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3.    Place golden syrup (or honey) in a saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches a    simmer. The honey should begin to foam. This is normal. Just don’t stop stirring.
4.    Continue to stir for another 8 minutes. Add butter and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Continue stirring the honey mixture until it begins to thicken, about 2 – 3 minutes.
5.    When it gets hard to stir, add the dry ingredients and mix quickly until combined.
6.    Immediately drop the hot mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with a damp spatula.
7.    Sprinkle some extra shredded coconut on the top to garnish
8.    Place in the fridge to cool for at least an hour.
9.    Lift out of the pan with the baking paper and cut into squares.
10.    Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to a month.

Simply Tea Selection

After you've trooped through a bad day another way to relieve the stress and tension of the day is with a good cup of warm tea. That's where Simply Tea can help.... we have an amazing selection of the most wonderful, stress relieving tea's. After a day like the one described above I would most definitely reccomend our Sweet Dreams tea.

It is a delicate infusion of chamomile and spearmint to soothe the nerves, promote relaxation and ease indigestion. Enjoy before retiring.

You can purchase 100g Pouch of this delicious tea for $13.00 or a Sample Bag for $2

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Upside Down Apple Cake....... Which is good for you!

I love a good crunchy, sweet apple especially as part of my daily ritual feeding my 3 O'clock munchies. A perfect apple to me must have that loud "crunch", juicy enough to drip off your chin and sweet enough to take away the sugar cravings..... my whole afternoon is a disaster if I bite into one of those floury, dry and rotten apples that are around! I am most disappointed and dissatisfied! My favourite types are the good ole Red Delicious, Pink Ladies, Gala's & Fuji's.... ! Anyway i probably don't need to bore you with the merits of a good apple!

I was able to pick some of these gorgeous Red Delicious apples up at our local farmer's markets this weekend and knew exactly what i wanted to do with them. It was forecasted to be a wet & miserable weekend... which turned out to be half true and wanted to make something warming, spicy and good for you. I was inspired by Healthful Pursuits "Upside Down Apple Pinwheel Cake" and knew i wanted to try something similar with these delightfully delicious apples.

Upside Down Spicy Apple Cake

Free from: Refined White Sugar, White Flour, Dairy

{Download & Print Recipe}

This delicous cake is free from dairy, refined white sugar, white flour and you can change it up and make it gluten free if you wish. It's surprisingly moist, syrupy, sweet  - but not sickly and perfect for an afternoon snack and best of all it is surprisingly "healthy" compared to other Upside Down Cakes recipes which call for a massive 2 1/4 Cups of Sugar and 300g of Butter! I know which one I would rather eat. The protein powder beefs up the cake adding some great health benefits but not comprimising flavour, physllium husks add fibre and the apples are the crowning glory full of goodness! 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Base:
2 Medium Red Delicious Apples, cored, sliced – Do not peel!
2 Tbsp Sunflower or Rice Bran Oil
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
½ Tsp Cinnamon
¼ Tsp Ground Ginger

Dry:
¾ Cup Wholemeal SR Flour
¼ Cup Chickpea Flour
¼ Cup Palm Sugar (Or Brown Sugar)
1 Tbsp Psyllium Husks (or Flaxseed)
2 Tbsp Protein Powder (I used pea protein isolate – this is optional)
¾ tsp Baking powder
½ Tsp Cinnamon, ground
¼ Tsp Ginger, ground
¼ Tsp Mixed Spice
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
1/8 Tsp Salt

Wet:
¼ - ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk* See note
1 Large Egg
½ Cup Apple Puree (Bottles is fine)
1 Tbsp Sunflower or Rice Bran Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
*Start with ¼ cup of Milk and slowly work your way up until a smooth and silk batter is formed. It shouldn’t be stiff.

Method:

1.    Preheat the oven to 175 Degrees and line the bottom of a spring form cake pan.
2.    Sprinkle the brown sugar and spices evenly over the bottom of the pan and drizzle oil over the top.
3.    Place one of the sliced apples in a fan shape over the spice and sugar mixture on the bottom of the pan. Set remaining apple aside.
4.    In a bowl add dry ingredients, set aside. In a separate bowl add wet ingredients and combine and add to dry ingredients stirring until mixed through.
5.    Add half of the mixture over the top of the fanned apples. Place remaining sliced apple in a fan shape over the mixture and place remaining cake batter on the apples. Smooth the top.
6.    Bake for 40-45 Min, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7.    Allow to cool for 10-15 min before removing from pan. Invert onto a serving plate.

This cake would make a great dessert served with custard and or ice cream.

Again I implore you to not look at the ingredients list and go...ewww no thanks! Be bold and try something new and know that what your whipping up your body and your families bodies will benefit from. Obviously it shouldn't be eaten regularly but as a treat!

I know my husband was a little unsure of what I was whipping up when I made this cake and was even more disturbed when I started listing off the ingredients in it. But I think I surprised him with how good it really tasted..... (or so he says :-) )

 
 

So be daring and give it a go!

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins......

It's been a while since I posted any recipes and it seems that the weeks just fly by without me realizing it. I got around to baking this weekend as I found i had some spare time to indulge myself with a bit of baking and photography.

Lemons from our lemon tree!

Citrus season is coming into full swing in our Orchard (if you can call it that). We have an assortment of citrus trees in our orchard dripping in fruit. There are lemons, limes, oranges, lemonade, and cumquat's (I think). I thought I would take advantage of this abundance of fruits and whip up some sore of deliciously citrus delight

.

I had an idea in my head of creating some sort of citrus muffin as they always come up a treat. Poppy seeds always compliment citrus well in baking so i thought lets go with a citrus poppy seed muffin. I added a bit of bang by combining the zest of lime, orange and lemon to create these Triple Citrus & Poppy seed Muffins.

Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

125g Butter
2 Tsp Lemon Zest
2 Tsp Lime Zest
2 Tsp Orange Zest
2/3 Cup Castor Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
½ Cup Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

Icing:
2 -2 ½ Cups Icing Sugar
3 Tbsp Butter
Juice of ½ Lemon
Juice of ½ Orange
Water

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 Degrees.
2. In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla essence, beat until combined.
3. Add sifted flour and add milk, zests and poppy seeds. Beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin papers and bake in oven for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
5. Icing: In a bowl sift the icing sugar and add the juice of the lemon & orange. Stir to combine. Add the butter and whip with a whisk if needed to combine until smooth. Add water if the icing needs to be thinner or add more icing sugar if it needs thickening. Garnish with shredded coconut or a sprinkle of poppy seeds.

These are great to pop in lunch boxes for school lunches or even your own lunch box for work!

They are super zesty and very refreshing with a cuppa tea....... 

Simply Tea Selection

Early Grey - one of our classic tea's would be the perfect pairing with one of these Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins. Our Earl Grey is classically scented with natural Bergamot oil which gives a refreshing, lightly citrus flavour.

Order Now

Our Earl Grey tea is available in 100g Natural Pouches ($9.00) or 10g Sample Bags ($2.00).

Enjoy......

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Mulberry Crumble Pie, Competition & Easter Special

 I have to say I adore Autumn it has taken me many years to say that because i always think once autumn has arrived so has winter but it isn't the case. Like my husband says - "it's spring in reverse". The crisp mornings, bright blue cloudless skies, gorgeous autumn coloured leaves and the chance to pull out some favourite "feel good" recipes in preparation for winter. Who wouldn't love Autumn?

This Mulberry Crumble Pie is one of those recipes that just fit the bill for a autumn dessert. I just so happened to have some stewed mulberries lying around in my freezer and I came up with this delicious dessert. It warm and cosy yet still a hint of spring in there with the mulberries. The crumble adds a bit more texture to the pie and I think this combines my two loves crumble toppings and crispy pie crusts! Yum. 

If you don't have stewed mulberries lying around in your freezer like I did you could use tinned pie apples with frozen mixed berries sprinkled over the top of the apple. Make sure you add this to your  recipe list of dessert to try this season.

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

2 Cups Stewed Mulberry Mixture
(Or 4oog Tin Pie Apples & ½ Cup Frozen Mixed Berries)
Packaged Short crust Pastry Sheets

Crumble Topping:
90g  Butter
½ Cup SR Flour
½ Cups Rolled Oats
½ Tsp Cinnamon
¼ Tsp Ginger
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
1/3  Cup Shredded Coconut

Method:

1.    In a bowl rub together the butter, flour, oats and sugar together until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add coconut and mix through. Set aside.
2.    Line a tart tin with short crust pastry and prick base with fork. Place in a 180 Degree oven for 15 min until lightly brown.
3.    Remove and place mulberry mixture into the tart base. Sprinkle crumble topping over the mulberry mixture and decorate with strips of shortcrust pastry.
4.    Brush top of strips with a little milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.
5.    Bake in a 180 Degree oven for 20 min or until pastry is golden brown.
6.    Serve with a dollop of cream, ice cream or custard.

_____________________________________________

Simply Tea Selection

I am not actually going to suggest what tea would pair well with this dessert! 

I want YOU to do it for me. 

What I want you to do is go to the SIMPLY TEA website, choose a tea that you would think would best match this dessert and why. Leave a comment with your suggestion and next Tuesday the 20th Of April I will pick a winner.

What will you win?? A free 100g Bag of Tea that you suggested for this Dessert*! 

So I cannot wait to hear what your suggestions are!!

(*excluding Buddha's Tears Tea & Australian Residents Only)

_____________________________________________________________

Simply Tea Easter Special

It's Easter time again and Simply Tea would like to celebrate with you by offering 10% off all our products. All orders over $50 (ex postage) will receive a FREE Chocolate Easter Bunny.

Stuck for gift idea's for Easter? Remember we can do up Easter packs for you and your loved ones for that something a little bit different to give this Easter? All budgets considered. Simply email info@thesimplyteashop.com.au for more information.

Don't forget to check out new "Tea Time" range for some other great gift idea's.

Simply type in the Voucher Code:  steaster  upon check out to receive your discount.

Click to: ORDER NOW
*Please note: To receive the discount payment will have to made via direct deposit, cheque or money  order.
Pay Pal will not accept the discount voucher.

Valid Until 1/5/2011


 

Happy Sipping!!!

Linking up to:

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Golden Syrup Dumpling Cupcakes.....

 Do you ever get cravings? One's that seen to overtake your every thought and that's all you think about and nothing seems to satiate your cravings until you have that one little things that your taste buds are crying out for!

Well this is what happened to me this week. Golden Syrup Dumplings was all.I.thought.about! I think i also talked about them a lot to my poor husband. Phrases such as "you know what would go down really well now".... or "do you know what i really want".

It all started with watching My Kitchen Rules earlier this week and the teams had to cook in the outback over open coal fires. One of the teams whipped up Golden Syrup Dumplings for dessertas part of their menu. After that I was enamoured with the thought of tucking into a deliciously soft and moist dumpling drizzled in golden syrup sauce. I normally can get over most of my cravings by not thinking about it. Not this one - not a chance! I had to go and make them. 

The normal recipe for making golden syrup dumplings is by boiling them in the golden syrup sauce for 20 min. I didn't love the thought of the mess that would create so i thought why not make the dumpling as a cupcake and drizzle a bit of the sauce over at the end. Perfect idea!

These warming cupcakes are a perfect dessert or even afternoon snack now that Autumn has arrived and the cooler change is here. Whip a batch up this weekend for the family and sit back with a cuppa in hand and indulge in a little Golden Syrup pleasure! I know i did!

 {Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

Dumpling:

1 ½ Cups Self Raising Flour
50g Butter
Pinch Salt
1/3 Cup Golden Syrup
1/3 Cup Milk

Golden Syrup Sauce:

30g butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:

1.    Sift flour into a bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Whisk golden syrup and milk together. Add to flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix to form a soft dough. Roll heaped tablespoons of mixture to make 12 balls and place in muffin papers. Cook in a moderate oven for 15 min or until golden brown.
2.    Make syrup: Place butter, sugar, golden syrup, lemon juice  in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

3.    Remove dumplings from muffin papers and drizzle with syrup. Enjoy while still warm.

Simply Tea Selection

I would have to reccommend a simple black tea with these dumpling cupcakes. They are quite sweet and I think a good cup of plain black tea would go down a treat with them to cut through the sweetness.

 We have a number of great Black Tea's to choose from in our range. Here are some of them

Afternoon Tea:  A light infusion blended from Darjeeling and Ceylon teas, perfect for that afternoon cuppa.

Australian Daintree: A superb black tea, grown near the Daintree rainforest of northern Queensland. The rich, fertile, lowland soil produces a well-rounded, medium strength tea.

Ceylon Orange Pekoe: Long, wirey, beautiful leaves giving an exquisite taste, almost oaky, with body and strength.

Earl Grey Premium: Classically scented with natural Bergamot oil which gives a refreshing, lightly citrus flavour.

English Breakfast Supreme: A traditional blend of the finest Assam and Ceylon teas, producing a delicate aromatic blend with lots of golden tips

Happy Sipping.......

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Old Time Citrus Raison Scones

 I don't think anyone can go past a good scone. I know i can't. Especially with Jam and Cream (when i could eat cream - i am now a lactose intolerant sufferer! Oh the pain of it all). When my husband and I travelled around Europe and made a stop in England for a few weeks & that was something we saw a lot of.... cute little tea houses serving tea time snacks starring beautifully made scones with jam and clotted cream... and including the best accompaniment... a good pot of tea.

I like the different varieties of scones that you can make as well. The possibilities are endless really, date scones, blueberry scones, pumpkin scones, savoury scones and these delicious little morsels...... Ole Time Citrus Raison Scones. Yum.

The key to any fabulous scone is sifting the flour twice to make it light and fluffy, stir the ingredients with a butter knife to combine the ingredients, when applying the milk glaze be careful not to let any touch the edges and a hot oven. Remember these simple tips and your in business for some fantastic scones!

{Download & Print Recipe}

Old Time Citrus Raison Scone

Ingredients:

150ml Milk

150ml Cream

1 Egg

3 Cups Self Raising Flour

3 Tablespoons Sugar

Pinch Salt

1 Cup Raisons

Juice of 1x Orange

Zest of 1 x Orange

Milk for Glazing

Method:

~ Preheat oven to 200 - 220 degrees. 

~ Zest orange in a bowl set aside, juice the same orange and toss with the raisons in a separate bowl and let it macerate for 20-30 min.

~ In a bowl add milk, cream and egg. Whisk together and set aside.

~ Sift flour and salt together in a separate bowl, add sugar and zest.

~ Make a hole in the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients & orange juice and raison mixture  working quite quickly use a metal knife to stir the ingredients through.

~ Place dough on a floured surface and carefully roll out to be about 1/2 inch thick. 

~ Using a scone cutter cut out and place on a lined tray.

~ Brush tops of scones with extra milk (*Be careful to not get any on the edges of the scone - this will inhibit the rising of the scone)

~ Cook for about 15 - 20 Min or until golden brown.

Simply Tea Selections

I would have to say one of the best tea's from our range that just fits with these scones is either English Breakfast Supreme or Earl Grey Premium. These are classic blends going back centuries and you can't go past a tried and true combination! These tea's are traditionally served in the quaint English tea houses in England with the famous scones, jam and clotted cream! Our Earl Grey Premium blend is classically scented with natural Bergamot oil which gives a refreshing, lightly citrus flavour. Our English Breakfast Supreme blend is a traditional blend of the finest Assam and Ceylon teas, producing a delicate aromatic blend with lots of golden tips

Early Grey Premium - $9.00/100g or $2 for 10g Sample Bag

 English Breakfast Supreme - $8.00/100g or $2 for 10g Sample Bag

Why not order one of these tea's and whip up a batch of these delicious scones for afternoon tea!??

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~