The holidays are over and we are beginning to really settle into the winter months. The chill of a January morning is melted by a steamy cup of earl grey.

A must try morning tea is Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender. Enjoying a cup or two is a delicious peep to my morning. It's sweet citrus fragrance really helps lift my sleepiness and resist my toasty bed on a cold day.

If you love this tea as much as I do, and on some mornings need an extra kick, whip up its perfect pair, Earl Gray Lavender Puff Pastry Buns. Made sweet with sugar and bright with lemon, all the flavors of Earl Grey Lavender are brought into a delicious balance with buttery pastry and sweet sugar filling.

These buns will give you toasty vibes and their fragrant ingredients will perfume your home with citrus and floral notes. A sweet reminder of the spring to come.

About The Recipe

Not only do I love this recipe because it's so delicious but also because it is simpler than it looks and so customizable! -And chances are, you already have all the ingredients at home already.

The only ingredient you might not have ready is the puff pastry. There are many varieties of the readymade in stores. If you already have a favorite, use it, or experiment with something new. When baking these, I used store-bought gluten-free puff pastry that came frozen already in sheets.

Also if you've never made puff pastry from scratch, it's easier than you think and you already have all the ingredients- basically just flour, butter, salt, and a rolling pin. Search online and check out recipes and videos about making puff pastry, you'll be surprised! For this recipe whichever method or recipe is your favorite will work perfectly.

With this recipe, I love how easy it is to customize the flavors to your own taste. The recipe is designed with all the flavors balanced but if you like the zing of the citrus, definitely add more zest to your recipe. Love floral notes? I wanted more of the sweet lavender aroma so I garnished mine with additional Lavender Flower from Adagio.

Also, this recipe was my first time baking with the actual Earl Grey leaves. If this is also your first time, Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender is really the perfect tea to use. I loved the flavor of this Earl Grey so much that I added additional sprinkles to the top of buns, just by pinching it between my fingers to break up the leaves.

If dairy isn't your thing- using any non-dairy butter or margarine in this recipe is totally fine and won't affect your results! Use your favorite butter or butter replacement, whatever you already have. If your butter is unsalted, just add a pinch of salt.

Earl Gray Lavender Puff Pastry Buns Recipe

Description

Rolled puff pastry buns, filled with Earl Grey Lavender butter and a sugar infused with Earl Grey Lavender and lemon zest. Topped with sugar infusion. Yields 12 buns.

Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry (16 oz), chilled- not frozen
2 Tbsp salted butter, room temperature (if unsalted- add a pinch of salt)
1 1/2 tsp Earl Grey Lavender
1/4 tsp Vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
Pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Follow instructions given with the puff pastry recipe of your choice. (Preheat should be about 350F - 375F). Prepare puff pastry and chill in the fridge while preparing the rest of the recipe.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add 1/2 tsp of Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender Tea and vanilla. Lightly stir until butter is completely melted. Strain butter into a bowl, removing the tea leaves and set aside to cool. Use the back of a spoon to press tea leaves in the strainer, to release more tea flavor.

3. Combine sugar, lemon zest, the rest of the Earl Grey Lavender and pinch of salt into a food processer. Pulse ingredients until they're all combined and tea leaves look broken down.

4. Get puff pastry from fridge and prepare for assembly. Size of puff pastry should be about 6" x 10" and 1/4" thick. (16 oz of puff pastry with allow you to make two 6" x 10" sheets) Brush butter top of puff pastry with the Earl Grey Lavender butter. (If you don't have a brush, spread butter on the surface with the back of a spoon.) Sprinkle 3/4 cup of sugar mixture on top of butter, evenly coating the entire surface and then lightly pressing it into the dough. (Save 1/4 cup of sugar for topping.)

5. Create a rolled log of the puff pastry. Roll the short end of the sheet into itself creating a tight spiral. With a sharp knife, cut the spiral into six 1" thick pieces. Light grease a baking sheet and place down buns, spiral side up. Bake according to puff pastry cook time instructions, or until buns are golden brown (most likely about 20-25 minutes).

6. Once golden, quickly but careful remove buns from baking sheet and place into a cooling rack. Spiral top of buns with remaining sugar and any additional tea or zest you might like. Let sit for about 10 minutes before enjoying! Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Tea Chef

Check out this month's TeaChef recipe competition! Head over there to submit your own creations to potentially win a $50 gift card to Adagio!