Tea should be reserved for just drinking! Pish Posh. These tea-themed desserts are the stuff of fantasies for tea lovers. Enjoyed after a meal, with your favorite cuppa of brew, or as a standalone, prepare to have your taste buds singing.

Here’s the best part, there is nothing to feel guilty about these delicious treats. Tea has antioxidant and fat-burning properties. So, while you are indulging the gourmet in you, you are also burning off unwanted fat. You can have your cake and eat it too!

Banana Cupcakes with Black Tea Cherry Frosting

The next time you are whipping up a batch of cupcakes, infuse it with black tea. Research suggests that consuming black tea every day helps improve both cardiovascular and cognitive function. It also helps boost immunity against bacterial and viral infections.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Brew a cup or two of black tea, strain it, and mix in the tea to the cupcake batter to infuse it with the flavor and goodness of tea.
• For glazed cherries, toss pitted cherries with olive oil, sugar, and black tea. Then roast the cherries for 15 minutes in an oven, which has been preheated at 450 degrees. Take the cherries out, let them cool and use them to garnish your cupcakes.

Matcha Cake with Vanilla Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the best teas for weight loss, Matcha contains EGCG, a nutrient that boosts metabolism and cardiovascular health by breaking down unwanted fat and blocking the formations of unwanted fat cells.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Grease the pan before lining it with paper, and then grease the paper as well with butter.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix together in a large bowl, gram flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (optional).
• Whisk in milk and oil to the dry mix and beat for two minutes.
• Add in matcha powder, vanilla extract, almond extract (optional), and eggs, and beat it for another two minutes.
• Slowly pour hot water into the mixture and beat it smooth. 
• Divide the batter into two pans evenly and bake for 30-35 minutes till the tops of the two layers set. 
• Remove the layers and let them cool for 15 minutes. 
• For the frosting, mix cream cheese and butter in a large bowl till it is fluffy and light. Add honey, powder sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and fluffy.
• Assemble the cake and layer on the frosting.

Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies

A beguiling combination, that will people begging you to know what the “secret” ingredient is. Pair it with either a cup of Earl Grey tea or hot chocolate to enjoy the soft cake-like cookie at its best.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Preheat the oven to a balmy 350 degrees.
• Brew a cup of Earl Grey.
• Mix together butter (preferably unsalted), sugar, and the cup of tea in a large bowl. Add in vanilla extract, eggs, and gently fold them into the mixture. Further, add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and fold them in until the mixture is dense and fluffy.
• Use a tablespoon to portion and place the cookie mix onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for eight minutes in the preheated oven.

Matcha Green Tea Cookies

Love a Green Tea Latte? How about a cookie?! An unexpected twist to the traditionally beloved chocolate chip cookie, you can tone up or down the sweetness by switching up the amount of match and sugar you use in this recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease the baking sheets with butter or olive oil.
• In a large bowl, mix matcha, baking soda, and salt. Fold into brown sugar, butter, white sugar, vanilla extract, eggs one by one until it is creamy and light.
• Add chocolate chips into the mixture and fold them in.
• Use a tablespoon to drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet,
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown which should be around eight-ten minutes. 
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before you enjoy them.

Mint Tea Punch

Perfect for summer barbecues, picnics, and spicy meals this easy recipe is refreshingly delicious. You can choose the tea variety according to your tastes and add seasonal garnishes to give it that extra summer flavor.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Brew a pitcher of tea and add mint leaves to it.
• Let the tea steep for a while before you remove the tea and mint leaves.
• Stir into the brewed tea, sugar, orange juice, and lemon juice, until the sugar dissolves. 
• Pour cold water onto the brew or let the brew refrigerate overnight.
• Garnish with seasonal fruits and ice cubes (optional).

Chai Tea Ice Cream

Robust and flavored with the bold Indian blend of spices (Garam Masala), this is ice cream as you have never had before. For the best results, use bold black teas like Assam second flush teas or pure Ceylon blacks.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• In a large saucepan, mix in milk, whipped cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, brewed tea, garam masala, peppercorns, cardamon pods, and nutmeg.  
• Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about twenty minutes.
• Strain the mixture through a colander into a bowl.
• Add to the strained mixture another cup of milk and sugar (optional) to control the heat of the spices.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and add chocolate chips or chocolate syrup.
• Freeze the churned mixture for four-five hours before you enjoy it.

Green Tea Ice Cream

If you dislike ice creams that are overpoweringly sweet, Green Tea Ice Cream is the one for you. Matcha, with its slightly bitter aftertaste, undercuts the sweetness and leaves you with a rich, full-bodied flavor. Four simple ingredients and you have yourself a delicious ice-cream recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• In a medium-sized saucepan, mix equal parts whole milk and light cream.
• Add in Matcha, sugar, a pinch of salt (optional) and mix them well, without letting the mixture boil.
• Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker.
• Freeze the churned ice cream mixture for four hours and enjoy.

Earl Grey Spiced Poached Pears

Deceptively simple, for a dessert recipe that sounds, looks, and tastes posh, Earl Grey Spiced Poached Pears are perfect for your next dinner party when you are cooking to impress or when you want something quick, easy but fabulous.

INSTRUCTIONS-

• Brew a cup or two of Earl Grey. Add sugar, cardamom pods, to the brew and boil till it reaches a syrupy consistency.
• Poach pitted peaches in the syrupy concoction until tender.
• Remove the poached peaches and strain the cardamom pods out of the syrup.
• Pour the strained syrup over the peaches and serve with either yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

About the author

Neha Sen

Contributing author

Born in Assam, India, Neha spent her weekends growing up drinking endless cups of tea with her grandmother who read Ruskin Bond to her in between sips. Voted ‘least likely to dance at a party.’ A lifelong admirer of all things tea and literature. The day starts with a cup of tea and ends, well… a cup of tea, and a book.

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