Tea with Honey and Lemon Compound Butter
Ok, now you can eat. Go spread this on everything.
Soon, you'll be spreading all of these on toast. Together.
Brew a cup for you, and a cup for the butter.
Open up two more tea bags, and pour them into the bowl of your mixer.
There's no messing with the butter here -- just go for it.
And now, for a parade of add-ins. Honey's first.
Then orange zest.
Hello, lemon. You're going to be delicious.
Some lemon juice, for good measure.
And of course, this contest's namesake.
Things will go blurry for a second, but persevere.
If you're not making it into a roll, line your cutest butter dish in plastic wrap.
And fill!
Seal, and if you can bear it, wait for it to chill for at least two hours.
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Author Notes: In my humble opinion, what's a scone without a swath of butter slathered ontop, melting into each and every crevice of flavour potential? And why not add as much flavour as possible to that butter, taking your scone to brand new heights?
My Tea with Honey and Lemon Compound Butter is perfectly paired with any sweet treat you're serving at your next tea party.
The recipe I've submitted uses classic Orange Pekoe tea, but you can easily substitute with whatever your fave is (Earl Grey would be a seriously good choice!)
For an interesting change in baked goods, substitue this compound butter for regular butter.
Pinkies Up! - thefood
Food52 Review: WHO: Thefood is a food-loving interior designer based in Canada.
WHAT: A rich, citrusy spread making brunch better, everywhere.
HOW: Just soften the butter, and then it's all about the add-ins.
WHY WE LOVE IT: So far, this lightly sweet, faintly herbal compound butter has revolutionized our morning toast. And our palms get a little sweaty when we think of what it could do to scones. In short: butter doesn't have to be boring. It should be this. - A&M
Makes 1 pound
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 pound salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 orange pekoe tea bags
- 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
- 1 teaspoon orange rind, grated
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Place three tea bags into a mug and cover with boiling water, allowing to steep to until very strong. Set aside for later.
- Open up the other 2 tea bags, and pour contents into the bowl of a mixer. (NOTE: If your tea is not a very find grind already, you will need to grind it down using a spice grinder, or a mortar and pestle).
- Add butter, honey, lemon rind, orange rind, and lemon juice to the bowl with the dry tea, and add three tablespoons of the strongly brewed tea and whip until all ingredients are well combined.
- Line a small bowl or container with plastic wrap, and scrape the butter into the plastic wrap. Seal container and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but overnight for best results. (NOTE: You can also make a free form log of compound butter by laying a large piece of plastic wrap onto a flat surface and spooning butter into a log shape then rolling and tightening the ends to form a tight log.)
- If using as a spread or in place of butter in a recipe, remove from fridge and allow to cool to room temperature prior to using. If you are serving on warm items, a "pat' of butter can be sliced from the form/log.
- Your Best Recipe with Tea Contest Winner!
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about 1 month ago ENunn
Congrats on this. So inventive. And, it's butter. Yay!
2 months ago EatArt
Perfect for high tea! Super creative and delish. But it makes 1 lb not 1/2lb as the recipes indicates (it uses two 1/2 lbs of butter together). That's ok though -- it freezes so you can enjoy it even longer. :)
2 months ago thefood
i've asked the editors to change that in the recipe, as once it became a finalize it i could no longer edit it on my own. thanks for the reminder though!
2 months ago sel et poivre
looks amazing! will try this pronto. how long does it keep though?
2 months ago LE BEC FIN
forEVer, but if you're concerned, just freeze it!
2 months ago thefood
i made the version in the photo above the day i submitted the recipe and it's still in my fridge without any issues. so, i'd say it will keep quite a long time - however as le bec fin says, i'm sure it would freeze well too.
2 months ago sel et poivre
Yay congrats thefood! Can't wait to make it this weekend. Thanks for the freezing tip.
2 months ago LE BEC FIN
While I am continually excited by the number of talented chefs on 52, it is very rare to see a recipe as innovative as this one. It takes a number of counts of 'thinking outside the box' to come up with adding tea concentrate AND ground tea leaves- to a compound butter. Were you inspired by another recipe or did this all come to 'you at your most creative'? What it has inspred me to think about- is partially mentioned in your closing comments>>What about replacing plain butter with a tea butter in a cake (or pastry)recipe...AND in a Swiss or Italian buttercream?!!! I use espresso powder in sweets aLOT , both becaue I love the flavor and because it helps counter the too-sweet aspect of many desserts.For this contest, i was pretty much focused on Green Tea in desserts (for the same reasons as espresso), but now I think it's time I experimented with black teas in some of the same ways!
Thai tea, Lychee, Jasmine- here i come!
thx so much for the inspiration, and congrats on your skills with conceptual blockbusting :-}
2 months ago thefood
thank you for your comment le bec fin! to answer your question, i knew that i wanted to make something unique for this contest, and i partially thought i was crazy when i came up with the idea of compound butter. i ran it past my partner (who is a chef) and she said i wasn't crazy! at first i only added the ground tea, but adding the deeply steeped tea took the butter over the edge. i still have some butter leftover and have plans to turn it into a cake or biscuits tonight!
2 months ago LE BEC FIN
would really appreciate your posting your results, as they will certainly help me when i sashay into this experiment!
2 months ago thefood
deal!
2 months ago meganvt01
This looks spectacular. And I recognize those little crisps you have in your picture :) love those. I can't wait to make this this weekend. Well done.
2 months ago thefood
i can't get those crisps where i live unfortunately :( a family member sends them evertime someone visits her! soooo delish!
2 months ago phoebe's pure food
this was amazing! served it for dinner guests and they adored it with the mini biscuits ... so glad there was a tad bit left for me... breakfast can't come soon enough!
2 months ago thefood
so glad you liked it!
2 months ago BoulderGalinTokyo
Congratulations, These butters can really be wonderful-I like your combinations. I did one for persimmons. But I didn't have such a great closing line. Pinkies up!
2 months ago thefood
mmmm persimmons
2 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Congratulations! This looks so delicious, and definitely perfect to slather on warm scones!
2 months ago thefood
thanks!
2 months ago Kitchen Butterfly
Loved this from the start, tested it and am thrilled to see it in the finals - it is absolutely delicious. Very well done!
2 months ago thefood
thanks for testing it and for the nice words!
2 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Congratulations, thefood! I have a question for you about the amount. You say to use 1/2 pound of salted butter and 1/2 pound of unsalted butter. Wouldn't that equal a pound, not a half pound? Thanks.
2 months ago thefood
you are totally right! i will have to figure out how to edit that now...
2 months ago Kitchen Butterfly
Send a note to the editors and they can update it for you.
2 months ago thefood
thanks - will do right away!
2 months ago gingerroot
Congratulations on being a finalist! What a lovely and clever way to elevate offerings at tea time (or any time, really!).
2 months ago thefood
oh my goodness!! wildcard last week and finalist that week i am BEYOND elated!!!!!
2 months ago creamtea
congratulations on becoming a finalist! It looks delicious.
3 months ago Kitchen Butterfly
Gorgeous photo - delicious sounding flavours!
3 months ago thefood
Why thank you!