Lemon Verbena Oat Slice

Lemon Verbena Oat Slice by New Zealand Herbal Brew

This recipe is based on a ginger crunch recipe where lemon verbena replaces the ground ginger.  Lots of variations can be made to the recipe to suit your taste or what is in your pantry; try adding ½ cup of pistachios to the base, or perhaps ½ cup of pumpkin seeds, dried apricots could also be added in place of the currants – the options are endless.

The lemon verbena adds a complex, lemony-grassy-earthy flavour to the slice which is really delicious.  Use a high-speed blender, coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to powder the lemon verbena.

Base Ingredients: 

  • 150g butter
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup desiccated coconut
  • 1 ½ cups rolled oats
  • ¾ cup flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons
    ground lemon verbena
  • ½ cup currants
  • grated zest of 1 lemon

Icing Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 8 tablespoons icing sugar
  • 4 teaspoons golden syrup
  • 2 teaspoons ground lemon verbena
  • plus desiccated coconut to sprinkle over

Method: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 
  2. Line a rectangular sponge roll tin with baking paper.
  3. Melt the butter with the golden syrup in a small saucepan. 
  4. Mix all of the remaining base ingredients together in a large bowl, then pour the melted butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.  
  5. Press into the tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden in colour.
  6. To make the icing, melt the butter and golden syrup together
    in a small saucepan.
  7. Remove from the heat and add the icing sugar and lemon verbena and mix well.  It may take a
    minute or two of mixing to incorporate the butter into the mixture. 
  8. Pour over the base and spread evenly with a spatula. 
  9. Sprinkle over the coconut. 
  10. Allow to cool completely before cutting. 

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

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Blue Butterfly Pea Lamingtons

Blue Butterfly Pea Lamingtons by New Zealand Herbal Brew

The vibrant blue colour is achieved by using Blue Butterfly Pea Flowers.  A great and totally natural food colouring!

Ingredients
  • Sponge cake (I made a vanilla sponge using the Fielders Sponge Cake Recipe and added the seeds from one vanilla pod to the mixture)
  • 10 Blue Butterfly Pea Flowers (ground)
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour
  • 1 vanilla pod (seeds only needed)
  • 2 cups desiccated coconut (approximately)
  • Whipped cream to fill and serve with the lamingtons
Method
  1. Start by removing the calix (green part) from each flower.  You will need approximately 10 flowers.  Using a mortar and pestle, grind the flowers into a powder.  This may take a few minutes.  Sieve out the larger pieces.
  2. Next, add the Blue Butterfly Pea powder and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  3.  Once boiling, reduce the heat and add the icing sugar and vanilla seeds.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes.
  4. Mix the cornflour with 1-2 tablespoons of cold water.  You need to be able to pour the mixture.
  5. Stirring rapidly, add the cornflour mixture to the saucepan and continue stirring until it thickens.  Ideally you want the consistency to be that of a runny gravy.  Add a little more cornflour mixed with cold water if needed.
  6. Once the cornflour has been cooked through and the mixture is clear, remove it from the heat and allow to cool completely.
  7. Cut your sponge into squares and dip each square into the glaze ensuring all of the sponge is covered.  Lift out and drain off the excess glaze.
  8. Quickly place the sponge into the coconut and roll until well covered.
  9. Place on a rack and allow to set.
  10. Repeat until all sponge pieces are completed.
  11. Once set, take a sharp knife and cut a “v” shape from the top of the sponge.
  12. Pipe cream into the gap, then place the “v” shape of the sponge on top.
  13. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Blue Butterfly Pea Lamingtons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Blue Butterfly Pea Lamingtons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Blue Butterfly Pea Lamingtons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Certified Organic Blue Butterfly Pea Tea by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Spearmint & Spirulina (Snifter) Macarons

Spearmint & Spirulina Macarons by New Zealand Herbal Brew

With hints of the old time favourite lolly, the snifter, these have a crunchy spearmint outer, a chewy spearmint inner and a solid spearmint infused chocolate centre – delicious!  The spirulina was used as a colourant, although you can taste a hint of its flavour too.

Macarons are easy to make but are time-consuming and they can also be easy to mess up.  Don’t try to make them on a humid day!  Freeze-dried fruit powder and ground and sifted herbal teas make the flavour combinations endless.  They can be filled with any kind of chocolate that is also flavoured with fruit or tea powder or essence or can be filled with butter cream icing.  Macarons keep well and make great gifts plus they can also be frozen.

As the method of this recipe is very long and detailed, you can find it on our website under our recipes section.  This recipe is from Will Torrent’s 2013 book entitled ‘Patisserie At Home’ and uses the Italian meringue method.  The ingredients listed below are for a full batch and I divided the batch in half to make two different flavours.

Other flavour combinations tested were: raspberry, blackcurrant and rose water, coffee with ground hazelnuts added to the macaron mixture in place of some of the ground almond, passionfruit, mango, chocolate, and raspberry on its own.  The two most stunning were the raspberry and the passionfruit both filled with dark chocolate.

Macaron Ingredients

  • 175g ground almonds
  • 175g icing sugar
  • 60g egg whites plus 100g egg whites
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon spearmint tea ground and sifted
  • 1 teaspoon spirulina
  • 1 teaspoon spearmint essence
  • plus flavouring for the other half of the mixture e.g.: 2 tablespoons freeze dried raspberry powder plus ½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Ganache Ingredients

  • To fill both flavours you will need two bowls each containing
  • 100g dark chocolate
  • 30ml cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • Once incorporated into a ganache then add 1 teaspoon spearmint essence to one bowl and 1 tablespoon freeze dried raspberry powder to the other bowl.

Method

  1. Mark out circles on your parchment paper using a cookie cutter or small glass.
  2. Add the ground almonds, icing sugar and 60g egg whites to a small bowl and mix well until a paste is formed. Set aside.
  3. Prepare a pot with water and bring it to the boil on the stove. Whilst the water to coming to a boil start preparing the Italian meringue by placing the 100g egg whites into a mixing bowl and beating it until soft peaks form.
  4. Place the bowl on top of the pot with boiling water making sure the bowl does not touch the water, add the caster sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until they increase in volume again.
  5. Remove from the heat and keep beating until thick, glossy and cool.
  6. If you are wishing to divide the mixture in half to make two different flavours, now is a good time to do so. Place half of the meringue into a new bowl, add the essence of choice, then fold half of the almond paste mixture into the meringue.  This may take a while.
  7. Next add your powdered herbs or freeze-dried fruit powder and mix well. Once you have piped this mixture onto your tray, you will then come back and prepare the remaining half of the mixture in the same manner.
  8. Using a piping bag with a plain hole nozzle, approximately 0.8cm to 1cm in diameter, fill the bag with the mixture and pipe onto the parchment filling each circle outline. Hold the piping back in the centre of the circle and about 1-1.5cm off the tray, then squeeze the bag and hold the nozzle in the same place, forcing the mixture to spread out around the nozzle, filling to the circle border.  Give the nozzle a little flick as you lift it away from the tray. 
  9. Pipe all of the mixture on your parchment template, then allow the tray to sit in a dry place until a skin has formed on the outer of the macaron. It may take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.  It after 60 minutes, the mixture is still sticky to touch, place the tray into the hot water cupboard for 15 minutes, then check again.
  10. Preheat the oven to 160C. Once ready to bake, bake one tray at a time for approximately 10-12 minutes.  You may rotate the tray after 8 minutes.  If your oven has hot spots, try fan baking on 150C.  The tray needs to be placed in the centre of the oven for best results.
  11. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. The macarons should then peel off the baking parchment easily.
  12. To make the ganache, place the chocolate, butter and cream into a small bowl and place it over a pot with a small amount of boiling water. Ensure the bowl does not touch the boiling water.  Once the chocolate starts to melt you can turn off the heat.  Stir carefully until the chocolate has melted and everything is incorporated.  Remove from the heat, then add your powdered herbs, essence or freeze-dried fruits and mix well.
  13. If you ganache is quite liquid, place it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to firm it up. Use a small spoon to place dollops on to the macaron then top with another macaron of the same size and squeeze lightly together.

Notes:

  • White chocolate ganache often splits with the addition of freeze-dried fruit powder and sometimes when essence is added. A little cold milk can sometimes bring it to a workable consistency.  The cold milk works best with milk or dark chocolate ganache that has split.
  • Store in an airtight container.
  • Macarons can also be frozen.
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Spearmint & Spirulina Macarons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Raspberry, Blackcurrant & Rose Water Macarons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Spearmint & Spirulina Macarons by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Spearmint & Spirulina (Snifter) Macarons by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Spearmint Lamington Cake

Spearmint Lamington Cake by New Zealand Herbal Brew

This is a modern take on a classic recipe using Spearmint Tea.  You could use any of your favourite herbal teas to create the glaze for this recipe – the options are endless.

It is best to use a day-old sponge, so make the sponge the day before or you can place it in the fridge just before applying the glaze to held firm up the sponge.

To make a gluten free version, replace the 2 teaspoons of plain flour with 2 teaspoons of buckwheat flour and ensure the icing sugar is also gluten free.

Sponge Recipe Ingredients

This recipe is from the Edmonds Fielder’s Cornflour packet

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup cornflour
  • 2 teaspoons plain four
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
Sponge Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 190C.
  2. Select a pair of matching baking pans to use – this recipe fits into 2 x 20cm sandwich pans, however you can select four mini pans and equally distribute the batter between each of the matching pairs of pans)
  3. Line your pans with parchment paper.
  4. Separate the eggs.  Beat the whites until soft peaks form.
  5. Gradually add the caster sugar and continue beating until it has dissolved. 
  6. Slow the mixer and add one egg yolk at a time, ensuring each one is well incorporated before adding the next.
  7. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl.
  8. Sift the cornflour, plain flour and baking powder into the bowl – do not bang the bowl.
  9. Use a metal spoon and fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, careful not to overmix it.
  10. Spoon the batter into the pans and use your scales to weigh the pans to ensure the mixture is even in each of your pans.
  11. Use a spatula to carefully spread and smooth out the mixture and top.
  12. Bake for 12 minutes, then check the sponges to see if they spring back when lightly pressed.  If not, continue baking for a further 3 minutes, then check again. 
  13. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave on a rack in the pan for a few minutes, then take a small and sharp knife and run the knife around the inside of the pans to loosen the sponges, then remove them from the pans and leave on the rack until completely cooled.
  14. When cooled, remove the parchment from the base.
Spearmint Glaze
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Spearmint tea
  • 3 tablespoons boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cups desiccated coconut approximately
Glaze  Method
  1. Begin by making the Spearmint tea.  Add the tea to an infuser and  pour the boiling water over the tea and allow to steep for 2 minutes.
  2. Strain and squeeze out all of the liquid.
  3. Add the butter and stir until it has melted.
  4. Add the vanilla essence.
  5. Next sift the icing sugar into the tea mixture and stir well.
  6. Holding the sponge in one hand, carefully spoon the glaze over the sponge, turning it as needed and coating the entire top and sides.
  7. Then take the sponge and dip it into the desiccated coconut, brushing the coconut up the sides until the whole top and sides are coated.
  8. Place on a wire rack and allow to set.  Repeat with the remaining sponge cake.
Spearmint Sponge Cake Assembly – Whipped Cream
  • 200ml double cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Assembly Method
  1. Whip the cream until it holds nicely.  Spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto the bottom cake.
  2. Add the top cake and sprinkle a little extra coconut over to give the appearance of an even topping.
  3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Blue Coconut Ice Blocks

Blue Coconut Ice Blocks by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Just in time for summer!  Blue Butterfly Pea Tea is the star ingredient used to create the vibrant blue colour in this recipe.  Use any of your favourite herbal teas in place of the Blue Butterfly Pea Tea and vanilla essence to create your own unique flavours of ice blocks.

Blue Butterfly Pea Tea has a mild, slightly grassy flavour is a best used as a colourant in beverages, desserts and baking or used as a dye.  It will change from blue to cerise pink with the addition of lemon juice which can be a fun experiment for kids.

Ice Block Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons Blue Butterfly Pea Tea
  • 3 tablespoons boiling water
  • 400ml coconut cream
  • 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup (depending on your taste preferences)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Chocolate Coating Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons toasted, shredded coconut to sprinkle over
Method
  1. Make a tea by adding the boiling water to the Blue Butterfly Pea Tea. 
  2. Allow to steep for five minutes, then strain and squeeze all of the liquid from the flowers. 
  3. Next, add the coconut cream, maple syrup and vanilla essence to the tea and mix well. 
  4. Pour into ice block moulds, place a stick in each mould and allow to freeze for a couple of hours until set. 
  5. You may need to adjust your ice block sticks when the mixture is partially frozen.
  6. Once frozen completely, make the chocolate coating by mixing all of the coating ingredients together and heating gently until the coconut oil has melted. 
  7. Mix well. 
  8. Working individually, spoon the coating over the ice block, then sprinkle over the toasted coconut and place onto a lined tray. 
  9. Repeat until they are all completed, then place in the freezer for 5 minutes to set, or until you are ready to enjoy them.
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Chocolate Spearmint Toffees

Chocolate Spearmint Toffees by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Just in time for the festive season, this recipe can be made using any of your favourite herbal teas, but is delicious and refreshing made with Spearmint tea. 

These make a great Christmas gift and you can use milk, dark or white chocolate to cover the toffees then add any toppings such as salt, toasted coconut or roasted chopped nuts.  The toffee recipe is from the Edmonds Cookbook 1986 edition.

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tablespoons Spearmint tea
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon butter  
  • approximately 250g of chocolate for coating, plus any toppings
METHOD
  1. Make the tea by adding a cup of boiled water to the Spearmint tea and allow it to steep for 10 minutes. 
  2. Strain and measure the tea, adding more water if needed to make up one cup. 
  3. Add the tea to a saucepan along with the sugar, vinegar and butter and slowly bring to a boil without stirring. 
  4. Boil until hard ball stage is reached then pour into a well-buttered dish and allow to set. 
  5. Break into pieces, then coat in melted chocolate and add your favourite topping.
  6. Store in an airtight container in a cool location for up to one week.
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Spearmint Marshmallow Slice

Spearmint Marshmallow Slice by New Zealand Herbal Brew

If you are a vegetarian or even vegan, the marshmallow part of this recipe is amazing.  

I used aquafaba (chickpea liquid) but you can also use egg white instead. 

Using agar- agar to set the marshmallow creates a velvet-smooth marshmallow that holds welland can be used on its own and cut into pieces, then rolled in coconut to create marshmallow sweets or used as shown below with a biscuit base, bringing back childhood memories.

Base Ingredients: (base recipe is based on Allyson Gofton’s Creative Biscuits & Slices cookbook)
  • 125g butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
Base Method:
  1. Cream butter and sugar then add egg and beat until incorporated. 
  2. Sift flour and baking powder and add to mixture along with vanilla. 
  3. Mix well and press into a lined 20cm x 30cm tray. 
  4. Bake at 180C for approximately 18-20 minutes. 
  5. Cool completely before adding the marshmallow.
Marshmallow Ingredients:
  • ½ cup aquafaba or equivalent egg white
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 T agar-agar powder
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 T spearmint essence (see our website for essence recipe using spearmint tea)
  • green food colourin
  • 1/3 cup desiccated coconut approx.
Marshmallow Method:  
  1. Mix the aquafaba with the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. 
  2. While this is beating, add the water and agar-agar to a pot and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. 
  3. Next add the sugar to the pot and continue stirring until the mixture clears and begins to
    thicken – it needs to still be pourable.
  4. Remove from heat and while the mixer is on, slowly add the liquid to the aquafaba mixture. 
  5. Next add the spearmint essence and food colouring. 
  6. Beat until incorporated. 
  7. Pour the marshmallow onto the cooled base and use a spatula to smooth the top. 
  8. Sprinkle the coconut over the marshmallow.
  9. Allow to set firmly (30 minutes or so), then cut into squares and store in the refrigerator.

Notes: Any of your favourite essences can be used in place of the spearmint essence. 

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Spearmint Essence Recipe

Spearmint Essence by New Zealand Herbal Brew

The easiest way to extract flavour from herbs and spices and to create a shelf-stable product, is to use alcohol.  Alcohol is both a very effective a solvent and preserving agent. 

To create an essence, choose your alcohol from vodka, being the most commonly used, or Bacardi, which has a slight vanilla flavour or another spirit, then select your herb and add it to the alcohol and allow it to steep for anywhere from a few days to weeks or months.

Making vanilla essence using Bacardi is quick and easy. Fill a small jar or bottle with Bacardi, e.g. an old maple syrup bottle is good.  For a bottle of that size you will need to add two vanilla pods that you have cut open and scrapped the seeds from.  Add the pods and the seeds to the bottle, shake and allow to steep in your pantry for a month or two before using.  Leave the pods in the bottle and as you near the bottom of the bottle, top it up again with Bacardi and add a new pod.  I usually have three or four bottles on the go so there is always a spare bottle on hand.

 

Spearmint Essence Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup of Vodka (any vodka over 30% ABV is ideal)
  • 1 tablespoon of spearmint tea

Method:

  1. Add the ingredients to a clean jar or bottle and allow to steep for 2-3 days. 
  2. Strain and discard the spearmint tea, then re-bottle the essence into a clean bottle or jar. 
  3. Be sure to label your essence.

This will keep indefinitely in your pantry and can be used to flavour icings, marshmallow or coconut ice, or other baked goods. 

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Herbal Shortbread

Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Based on the shortbread recipe from the 1986 version of The Edmonds Cookbook, the possibilities for shortbread flavour creations are endless by adding herbs (fresh or dried), spices, nuts, seeds, peppermint candy canes or other boiled lollies.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 225g butter
  • 125g icing sugar
  • 125g cornflour
  • 220g flour.

 VARIATIONS:  

  1. Elderflower: 7g of dried and ground elderflowers.  
  2. Rose & Blackcurrant: 3g of dried and ground roses (calyxes removed) and 5g of blackcurrant powder.  
  3. Hibiscus & Orange: 6g dried and ground hibiscus flowers (hibiscus sabdariffa) and 1 teaspoon of fresh orange zest.  
  4. Spearmint: 3g of dried and ground spearmint.  These are really lovely plain, but also very tasty sandwiched together with spearmint icing using fresh or dried spearmint or spearmint essence.  
  5. Pistachio & Lime: 35g chopped pistachio nuts and 1 teaspoon of fresh lime zest (these are great iced with white chocolate and sprinkled with fresh lime zest).  
  6. Gin Flavours:  6g Juniper berries dried and ground, 1g Angelica root dried and ground, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest.  Roll in caster sugar before baking.

METHOD: 

  1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until light and creamy.  
  2. Add the cornflour, flour and any fresh or dried herbs, spices etc. and mix until well combined.  
  3. Use your hands to shape the dough into a round or square sausage.  
  4. Cut into 1cm slices or thinner if desired.  
  5. Roll or coat in any coatings if using, such as caster sugar, hundreds and thousands, crushed peppermint candy canes etc. or press patterns into them using a fork or other patterned tool.
  6. Bake at 150C for approximately 25-30 minutes.  
  7. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

NOTES:

  • Shortbread can be iced or glazed or sandwiched together with flavoured butter cream icing or simply enjoyed plain.  
  • It makes a great accompaniment for desserts and can be used as the base for individual cheesecakes, served as an ice cream sandwich, or crumbled over a dish to add a crunchy component.  
  • The biscuits can be stored for a month or so at room temperature if not iced or frozen for up to six months.
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Juniper, Angelica & Lemon Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Juniper, Angelica & Lemon Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Rose & Blackcurrant Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Rose & Blackcurrant Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Peppermint Candy Cane Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Peppermint Candy Cane Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Pistachio & Lime Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Pistachio & Lime Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Spearmint Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Spearmint Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Elderflower Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew
Elderflower Herbal Shortbread by New Zealand Herbal Brew

Spearmint Chocolate Chip Ice Blocks

Spearmint Chocolate Chip Ice Blocks

These have a delicate spearmint flavour and a nice texture (not too icy).  They can be chocolate-dipped for extra decadence and the avocado can be changed out for either banana or fresh coconut flesh.

I tried two versions: one using Spearmint Tea (the dried herb) and the other using fresh Spearmint.  Either works well.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • If using Spearmint Tea – Use 2 tablespoons of the tea and grind it into a powder
  • If using fresh Spearmint, Use 7g of fresh leaves, finely cut up
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream
  • 100g avocado
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 7 pieces (or thereabouts) 72% chocolate cut into fine pieces

 

METHOD

  1. Add all of the ingredients except the chocolate, to a blender and blend until smooth.
  2. You may need to use a tamper to push the mixture down into the blades.
  3. Once mixed, use a spatula to remove the mixture from the blender into a bowl.
  4. Mix in the chocolate pieces, then carefully spoon the mixture into the ice block moulds.
  5. Remember to add your ice block sticks at this point, then place them in the freezer to freeze until hard.
  6. Once frozen, either eat them as they are or chocolate coat them if extra deliciousness.

 

NOTES:  To make a quick chocolate coating, use 4 tablespoons of melted coconut oil and to that add 2 tablespoon of cocoa and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.  Mix together and spoon over the frozen ice blocks.