Blossom Tea Honey Buns #BreadBakers

Made with a fragrant tea mix of hibiscus, rose and orange blossoms, paired with ginger and apple, these blossom tea honey buns have a subtle floral note that goes excellently with a hot cup of tea.

Yesterday for Mother’s Day we hosted a backyard cookout. The menu included chicken, sausage and pork ribs, along with two substantial salads, garlic bread and my world-famous lentil burgers for the vegetarian contingent. My lentil burger recipe calls for 1 cup or 210g of uncooked lentils, which usually means buying a box or bag and dealing with leftovers.

Now that I’m back in the States, I am discovering the joys of the self-serve  bulk food department of my neighborhood stores. Not that we didn’t have bulk foods in Dubai, but I wasn’t allowed to help myself. It’s such fun to use the little scoop and measure out just how much I need for a recipe. I was able to buy exactly 210g of French lentils and now I don’t have a box in the cupboard with leftovers that are never enough for another recipe.

Another bonus of the bulk foods is the fabulous mix of teas and infusions available. They all sound and smell wonderful but I especially love the ones with ginger.

Blossom Tea Honey Buns

For these blossom tea honey buns, I used a Tiesta tea that my grocery store called Ginger Sweet Peach, despite the complete lack of peaches in the mix. You can use your favorite fruit infusion to make these buns.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons blossom tea or your favorite mix
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
1/4 cup or 50g white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 envelope (1/4 oz or 7g) active dry yeast
2 3/4 cup or 350g bread flour
1 cup or 110g whole grain rolled oats

1 egg, beaten, for brushing on buns before baking
Optional for decoration: honey and extra tea leaves

Method
First, brew your tea by adding 1 1/4 cups of boiling water to the tea mix. Steep for 5 minutes then strain and discard the tea mix. Check out that gorgeous color!

Add in the honey and butter and stir till the honey is dissolved.

Mix white sugar and yeast in a large bowl. When the liquid has cooled to a lukewarm temperature, add it to bowl containing the sugar and yeast. Leave to prove for a few minutes.

When the yeast starts to foam, mix in the flour, oats and salt.

Knead until you have a smooth dough ball. This is a soft dough but don’t be tempted to add more flour. The rolled oats will need that moisture as the dough is kneaded and then rises.

Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Put it in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Divide and form the dough into 10 balls and place them on a baking pan lined with baking parchment. Make sure to leave some space for rising. Since our theme is flowers, I made a last minute decision to make a larger bun out of two balls of dough so I could lay them out in a flower shape. So, as you can see in the photos, I only made nine buns out of mine.

Cover the bun pan with a proofing bag or clean garbage bag. Leave to the buns to rise for 30 more minutes.

When dough has almost finished rising, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown, turning your pan around halfway through so they will brown evenly. Remove the buns from the oven.

Optional: While the buns are still warm, brush them with some honey and sprinkle with a few tea leaves for decoration.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s Bread Bakers host is Mireille of Schizo Chef. She challenged us to bake with flowers. Check out all the lovely recipes:

• Apricot Orange Danish Pastry from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Basil Flower Mini Bread Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
• Butterfly Pea Flower Buns from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Eggless Gulkand Muffins from Cook with Renu
• Blossom Tea Honey Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Hibiscus Sweet Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lavender Brown Butter Banana Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Lemon Calendula Scones from Palatable Pastime

Pin these Blossom Tea Honey Buns!

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Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets #BakingBloggers

These cheesy grilled corn tartlets boast grilled fresh corn, melty Saint Félicien cheese and a pretty slice of tomato on top, baked up in a flakey puff pastry crust.

Growing up mostly in the United States, I was spoiled with ample sweet corn every summer. When the first ears would start appearing at farm stands and grocery stores, we would eat it often. Boiled briefly, embuttered, with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper.

What I didn’t realize until I moved overseas was that not every country feels the same way about corn on the cob as we do.

In France and Brazil in particular, corn is cow feed. The varieties they grew, at least when I lived there, were not sweet or juicy. An Australian friend once told me the story of serving up sweet corn on the cob to her French in-laws. They stared at their plates in horror, not even knowing where to start. At first she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then, thinking that the cob was the problem, she sliced the niblets off for them, but still they picked at the corn, just to be polite. Mais, non, people don’t eat cow feed! My friend and I had a good laugh but we both agreed that there is nothing better than good sweet corn, eaten right off the cob.

Now that I’m home in Houston again, that tradition continues. Just recently fresh sweet corn was on sale: six ears for only one dollar! After the high prices of imported sweet Australian corn in Dubai, I was in heaven. I bought 36. My husband and I ate sweet corn for days and, I tell you, friends, it was glorious.

Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets

Sweet corn is fabulous just on its own but if you want to get fancy, grill it on a grill pan or over a charcoal fire to add a smoky flavor, then cut the niblets off and use it in cheesy grilled corn tartlets. We ate these little beauties as a main course, alongside salad and green beans, but they would also be perfect for a special tea party or brunch.

Ingredients for 6 individual tartlets (4 in or 10cm)
2 small ears corn or sub 3/4 cup or 150g frozen niblets, thawed
150g strong flavored, melty cheese like Saint Félicien or Camembert
Small bunch green onions, finely sliced, plus extra for garnish - optional
1 ripe but firm large tomato
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
few grinds fresh black pepper
8 3/4 oz or 250g ready rolled puff pastry sheet

Method
Use a grill pan over a medium high heat to grill your corn on the cob. Turn every couple of minutes until there are some nice charred marks all over the cobs. I used two for the tartlets and ate two with butter. So good!

Set aside to cool.  When cool enough to handle, cut the niblets off of the cobs. Mince your green onions and set aside a small pile for garnish. Cut the rind off of your cheese, if it has one. Then cut the cheese into small pieces. Set aside a small pile for adding to the tartlets just before baking.

Slice your tomato into six circles and lay them out on paper towels to get rid of excess juice.

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Prepare your tartlet pans by cutting out little circles of baking parchment and placing them in the bottom of the pans. This will make removing the tartlets much easier.

Unroll your puff pastry sheet and cut it into six equal pieces. Fit the puff pastry into each pan. Press down on the pastry all around the edges and remove the excess.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk your eggs together with the cream, salt, corn, green onions and cheese. Give the bowl a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Put the lined tart pans on a cookie sheet. Use a measuring cup to distribute the filling relatively evenly in the six tartlets. Top each with a slice of tomato, then sprinkle on the reserved cheese.

Pop the tartlets in your preheated oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pastry and filling are both golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Run the point of a knife or wooden skewer around the edges of the tartlets to loosen the crust. Carefully remove the tartlets from the pans.

Sprinkle on the reserved green onions for garnish, if desired, and serve warm or at room temperature.

This month my Baking Blogger friends are all sharing recipes that are perfect for a tea party. You can check them all out in the links below. Many thanks to our host this month, Sue of Palatable Pastime!

• Bacon and Scallion Mini Quiche by Palatable Pastime
• Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets by Food Lust People Love
• Choco Orange Brownies by Sneha's Recipe
• Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies (Gluten Free) by Cook with Renu
• Chocolate Orange Shortbread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Creamsicle Cupcakes by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Fast and Easy Petit Fours by Our Good Life
• Lemon Coconut Squares by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Mickey Birthday Cake Scones by Simply Inspired Meals
• Millionaire's Shortbread (Caramel Shortbread) by Caroline's Cooking
• Mini Rhubarb Muffins by Home Sweet Homestead
• Napolitaines (Mauritian Sandwich Cookies) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Ploughman's Scones with Ham Filling by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Southern Cheese Spread Tea Party Biscuits by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Victoria Sponge Cupcakes by Cookaholic Wife

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

Pin these Cheesy Grilled Corn Tartlets!

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Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins #MuffinMonday

These ham and honey mustard muffins are the perfect breakfast or snack for anyone who loves honey mustard glazed ham at Christmas. Why not enjoy those flavors all year round, in muffin form?

I almost didn’t participate in this month’s Muffin Monday. More than a month ago, before we moved away from Dubai, I baked these ham and honey mustard muffins. I figured that I would be so busy near the end of April that baking might not be possible. And I hate to miss Muffin Monday!

Sure enough, things have been crazy here. Our shipment arrived on Saturday and we are up to our ears in stuff to put away. This house is just not big enough! (Or more likely, we have too much stuff, but I'm trying not to think about that.) Finally last night I got around to writing this post and editing the photos. Much to my horror, the ham and honey mustard muffin folder was full of the wrong pictures! I had deleted the right ones by accident.

In the middle of the night it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to check the trash folder again, but with the sd card in the computer slot. And much to my relief, there they were! I am delighted to be able to share this recipe with you after all.

Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins

The sweet honey and sharp yellow mustard are the perfect complement to the smoky chunks of ham in these savory muffins. Use a good quality baked ham, not just sandwich slices for the best tasting muffins.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon regular sea salt
Few good grinds fresh black pepper
7 oz or 200g smoked ham, diced
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola or butter or line with paper muffin cups.

Chop your ham into small chunks.  Put aside a small handful for topping the muffins before baking.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and stir well.

Fold in the larger pile of ham and stir again.

In another bowl, whisk your milk, oil, eggs, mustard and honey.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and top each with some of the reserved ham.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Make sure to check out all the other lovely muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!

• Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from Simply Inspired Meals
• Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Whole Wheat Dinner Roll Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins!

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