Butterfly pea & vanilla pearls

Ingredients

• 30g tapioca pearls per half litre (we use these ones)
• 300mL filtered water
• 200mL strong Thé Paon butterfly pea tea
• 50g sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 pinch of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• 1-2 lemons – the zest and the juice

Method

Use whatever size pearls you like, from tiny tapioca pearls to big boba balls, just follow the cooking instructions on the packet. Mix different coloured pearls together and add to your dessert for that finishing touch! Butterfly pea & vanilla pearls make a colourful addition to yoghurt, panna cotta, trifle, pavlova, fromage blanc, cheesecake or ice cream.

To start, cut the vanilla pod down the middle and scrape out the vanilla beans. Place both the vanilla beans and the pod into a saucepan with the sugar, water, and butterfly pea tea. Bring the mix up to a gentle boil and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Add your tapioca pearls to the boiling mixture, lower the heat, and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the vanilla pod, and add a pinch of baking soda to turn the mixture green. If you are unsure about exactly how much to soda to use, add a little bit at a time – too much and it can taste unpleasant. Cover, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pearls are translucent.

Divide the green mixture into three equal parts to make three different colours. The intensity of the colours will depend on the strength of the butterfly pea tea used and amount of rinsing – wash more for pastels and less for intense colours.

How to make the colours

Green pearls: rinse the mixture the green pearls in a sieve under cold running water. Return them to a bowl and cover with filtered water.

Blue pearls: to one part of the original green pearls add a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix well until they start going purple, and then tip them into a sieve. Rinse the pearls under running cold water until they return to a blue colour (neutralising the lemon juice). Return them to a bowl and cover with filtered water.

Pink & purple pearls: start with either the original green pearls or use a portion of the blue pearls, and using a sieve, wash under cold running water. Drain, and transfer to a small bowl. Add lemon juice to the pearls and mix until the colour changes to purple or pink. When the desired colour is achieved, rinse in a sieve under cold water, return to the bowl, and cover with filtered water.

You can make edible mosaics from the multi-coloured colours made, and change the flavour of the pearls by adding other ingredients when you boil the butterfly pea tapioca pearls.

Video: How to make multi-coloured Butterfly Pea & Vanilla pearls