Sip a Little Magic: Two Cosy Drinks to Try

The flowers in the garden might be starting to bloom, but that doesn’t mean the winter chill has left us yet (here in Australia anyway). So today we’re sharing two simple but magical recipes for warm drinks to help you get through the last month of winter.

The first arguably isn’t even a recipe. It’s just a very cool little magic trick that we think everyone should try at least once.

Butterfly Pea Flower Tea

If you haven’t seen this one before, you MUST try it. Butterfly pea flower tea naturally brews into a beautiful deep blue, but add a squeeze of lemon and, like magic, it begins to transform from blue to purple and even pink if you add enough.

No spells required. Just science.

Taste Profile

Butterfly pea flower has a very mild, slightly earthy flavour. On its own, it’s subtle, which makes it perfect for adding a little honey for sweetness.

How to make it?

1. Add dried butterfly pea flowers to a cup or teapot and cover with hot water. Leave to steep until the water turns a beautiful deep blue, then strain.

2. Add honey to taste, then slowly squeeze in some lemon juice and watch as your tea transforms from blue to purple. The more lemon you add, the further the colour will change.

3. Serve it with a treat: lemon tart or lemon shortbread pair well with the citrus in the tea.

Lavender Hot Chocolate

Now for the Fae Style favourite. Floral. Chocolatey. Creamy.

Lavender adds something a little unexpected to the classic hot chocolate, but the trick is getting the balance right (a wise woman once said, a little goes a long way!). You want to taste the lavender without feeling like you’re drinking a bunch of flowers.

We like to think we have the balance of rich and creamy just right, but this recipe is also incredibly easy to adjust depending on how you like your hot chocolate. We have added a few notes at the end!

Lavender Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 mugs. You’ll need:

• 500 mL milk of your choice

• 1 tsp food-grade dried lavender buds

• 50 g chocolate, chopped

• 1½ tbsp sweetened condensed milk, plus more to taste

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• A small pinch of salt

To make

1. Add the milk and lavender to a saucepan and gently heat until steaming, but don't boil.

2. Remove from the heat, cover and allow the lavender to infuse.

   We recommend starting to taste the milk at around the 3-minute mark. If you want a subtle lavender flavour, 3–5 minutes may be plenty. For something a little stronger, let it infuse for longer, tasting as you go.

   Remember: Lavender can quickly go from subtle to beautifully floral to overpowering, so taste-check to be sure.

3. Happy with the flavour? Strain out the lavender and return the infused milk to the saucepan.

4. Add the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and a small pinch of salt.

5. Return to low heat and whisk gently until the chocolate has completely melted and everything is smooth and creamy.

6. Taste, adjust the sweetness if needed, and pour into your favourite mug.

7. If you want to make it a little more magical, foam a small amount of milk with a drop of purple food colouring and spoon it over the top. You can also finish with a dusting of cocoa, a little shaved chocolate, whipped cream, or a few lavender buds.

8. Serve this with a Scotch Finger. Or, even better, a chocolate Scotch Finger.

   Dip it straight into the hot chocolate while it's still warm.

   Trust us.

A note on chocolate

We love dark chocolate in this recipe because the slight bitterness helps balance the sweetness of the condensed milk and the floral flavour of the lavender. But we have also tried milk chocolate (sweeter and softer flavour profile), and white chocolate (if you want less "chocolate" and more florals - be warned though this will make it very sweet so maybe try less sweetened condensed milk).

Now, if you want it even richer, you can just add more chocolate. At 50 g, you get a creamy, easy-to-drink hot chocolate with enough richness to still feel indulgent. BUT, take it all the way to 100 g and you're entering dessert territory.

Milk and lavender

Full-cream dairy milk will give you a creamy result, but oat, soy, almond and other plant-based milks can all be used. If you really wanted to, you could swap the milk for cream.

You can also make a quick version using lavender syrup. Make your hot chocolate as usual, add a small amount of lavender syrup and taste before adding more.

We hope you enjoy!