I absolutely adore bubble tea: it’s such a fun drink. I find it impossible to be anywhere near Chinatown in London without ordering one, and the brown sugar milk tea flavour is my go-to. The “bubble” refers to the balls of tapioca that are cooked until chewy, a texture I find so pleasing; if you like mochi, this will be right up your street.
Bubble tea ice-cream sundaes
You should be able to find quick-cook tapioca pearls in most large Asian supermarkets; I tend to avoid the plain white tapioca pearls because they can take more than an hour to cook.
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
150g quick-cook brown sugar tapioca
100g light brown sugar
2 English breakfast tea bags
100ml double cream
½ tsp flaky sea salt
8 scoops vanilla ice-cream
Chocolate sprinkles or shavings, to serve
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the tapioca pearls and cook for three to four minutes, until they’ve got a chew to them but are still a little firm. Drain the pearls into a sieve, then run them under the cold tap to stop them sticking together.
To make the tea syrup, put the sugar, 75ml water and the tea bags in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cook for four to five minutes, until the liquid reduces by about a quarter, then remove and discard the tea bags.
Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the tapioca, then stir well to coat. Take off the heat and leave to cool in the pan. (You can do this in advance and leave at room temperature overnight.)
To make the salted cream, lightly whip the double cream and salt to very soft peaks.
To serve, put a spoonful of the tapioca and syrup mix into a sundae glass or ramekin, then swirl it around so some of the syrup coats the inside. Layer it with a scoop or two of ice-cream and some more tapioca and syrup. Top with a dollop of the salted cream followed by chocolate sprinkles or shavings, and serve.
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