Bancha-Steeped Milk Pudding with Honey
A softly set milk pudding infused with bancha, finished with a drizzle of honey — a light, low-fuss dessert that lets the tea's mild, toasty sweetness come through.
Because bancha is so gentle and low in bitterness compared with sencha or matcha, it's an unusually forgiving tea to steep directly into dairy — there's no risk of the pudding turning sharp or astringent, even with a generous infusion. What comes through instead is a soft, faintly toasty, lightly sweet undertone that makes plain milk pudding taste a little more interesting without overpowering it.
This is a deliberately simple dessert, built to mirror bancha's own understated character. There's no elaborate technique here — just milk, a little cream, sugar, gelatin, and a steady steep — which makes it a good entry point if you've never cooked with tea before.
A light drizzle of honey at the end adds just enough sweetness and a faint floral note that plays nicely against the pudding's toasty undertone, while a few toasted sesame seeds on top echo the tea's own mineral character and add a pleasant textural contrast.
Serve this chilled, in small portions, after a light meal — much like bancha itself is served, this pudding is meant to be a quiet, comfortable finish rather than a showstopper.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp loose bancha leaves (or 4 tea bags)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp powdered gelatin
- 3 tbsp cold water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp honey, for serving
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, for serving
- Pinch of salt
How to make it
- 1Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl and let it bloom for 5–10 minutes.
- 2Heat milk and cream in a saucepan until just steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat, stir in bancha leaves, cover, and steep for 6–8 minutes.
- 3Strain the milk through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing gently on the leaves to extract flavor, then discard the leaves.
- 4Return the strained milk to low heat, whisk in sugar, salt, and the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Stir in vanilla extract.
- 5Pour into small cups or ramekins and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until softly set.
- 6Before serving, drizzle each pudding with a little honey and scatter with toasted sesame seeds.
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