This Cocoa Tea Babke was a result of me reworking a recipe that had failed. It is so frustrating to waste ingredients but I wanted to persevere as babke has been on my baking bucket list for a while. You can use any flavour tea you like to make this yourself.
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Cocoa Tea Babke ♥
In my real life job, I run a business whose main focus is sales. I also have my own company selling natural and organic products. I asked one of my suppliers to assign me a sales representative which they did. When she made contact with me I asked her to please come and see me. The company is a distributor for many product ranges, and I wanted some clarification on a few of them. She made an appointment to come and see me and failed to turn up. Having my own customers to see this meant a day wasted in the office. Her excuse for failing to arrive was that she ran out of time. She then rescheduled for a day I knew I had an appointment and my request to her was to call before coming to see me.
Be inspired to make ♥ Cocoa Tea Babke ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X
My appointment was cancelled and I happened to be in the office all day. She neither arrived nor called. And then the following day she arrives, without an appointment and without an apology. The meeting was not successful in my opinion, and I sent feedback to the owner of the business. The response I got back from her was not expected at all. And it left me wondering what grasp she really has on her business if the sales representatives can misrepresent the truth. They are a third party distributor which makes me feel like making the effort to go directly to source. The products would be cheaper as I would not be paying their marked up price. And I would be able to get clear and concise information from the manufacturer. It would certainly make my life easier to sell the products on to my clients.
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Cocoa Tea Babke
Ingredients
- 250 mls boiling water
- 1 cocoa tea, tea bag
- 595 g flour, plus extra for dusting
- 10 mls fine salt
- 95 g fructose
- 10 g instant dry yeast
- 125 g softened butter
- 75 mls milk
- oil for greasing
- 100 g raspberry preserve
- 30 g coconut sugar
- 3.75 mls vanilla powder
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Method
- Place the boiling water and tea bag into a bowl and set aside to steep for 5 minutes
- While the tea is brewing, sieve the flour, salt and fructose into the bowl of a stand mixer
- Add the yeast and use a dough hook to mix for 1 minute
- Remove the tea bag from the water, squeezing it firmly to release all the flavour into the water, before discarding
- Add the butter to the water and leave to melt before adding the milk
- Pour into the dry ingredients and turn the speed on low
- Once the dough has completely come together set your timer for 10 minutes to allow the dough to knead properly
- Remove from the bowl and lightly grease the bowl
- Roll the dough into a ball and place back into the bowl, seam side down
- Cover and set aside to prove until doubled in size
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knock back
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle, as wide as your loaf tin, until 2cm thick
- Spread the preserve over the dough, leaving a 1 cm gap around the edges
- Mix the sugar and vanilla together and then sprinkle on top of the preserve
- Roll the dough into a tight sausage shape and then cut into 8 equal slices
- Place each slice into a prepared loaf tin, dough side up
- Cover and set aside to prove for 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
- Brush the top of the dough with the egg and then place into the oven
- Bake for 40 minutes then cover the top with tin foil
- Bake for a further 30 minutes before removing from the oven
- Turn out onto a wire rack to cool before slicing
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime October 14:
-
- 2018 – Ghost
- 2016 – Blueberry Oat Muffins
- 2015 – Baked Risotto
- 2014 – The Family Cook Book
- 2013 – Salted Caramel
- 2012 – Nut And Seed Bread
- 2011 – Something Sweet Challenge: Buttermilk Or Soured Cream
- 2010 – Crayfish With Cheese And Mushroom Sauce
