Starbucks Berry Chai Infusion

A few years ago, Starbucks sold a drink called the Berry Chai Infusion. I was obsessed and got one at least 3 times a week (all thanks to giftcards from Christmas). Sadly they discontinued it at some point... I never really noticed when since all my giftcards ran out and I stopped going to Starbucks so much. Recently I've been craving one and found a recipe online that's a pretty good copy. Next time I make this, I'll add more Chai to it for a spicier drink and try a different type of juice. It would be good hot or cold, and a touch of cinnamon would really spice it up.

Berry Chai Infusion

8-10c water

3 bags black Chai tea

3 bags Wild Berry tea

8 packets Splenda

Pomegranate juice

Boil water in a pot. Remove from heat and add tea bags and Splenda.

Steep to taste. Remove tea bags using a slotted spoon.

Fill rest of mug with tea.

(I used Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger and Stash Chai Spice teas.)

Heat in microwave until steaming.

Molded Truffles

To make truffles in molds, you can use a softer ganache. If you ever have a ganache that doesn't quite harden enough to make a rolled ball truffle, a molded truffle is the perfect option. Or if you plan for a molded truffle, add a little more cream to the ganache.

I made molded truffles filled with a Vanilla Rooibos tea (from Starbucks) ganache. To infuse truffles with a tea flavor, just steep the tea bags in the cream as it boils. I used 5 tea bags for this recipe. For my ganache, I used the same recipe as for Milk Chocolate Cut Out Truffles, but used 9oz of cream. Once the ganache was made, I poured it into piping bags since it will be very liquid.

To fill the mold, pour tempered chocolate into each cavity. Immediately turn upside down and let all excess chocolate drip out of the mold, but ensure all sides are covered. Let sit for several minutes until chocolate starts to firm. Scrape excess chocolate off mold so that only the cavities are filled, and there is no excess on the sides of the mold. Allow to sit until fully hardened. Fill 2/3 full with ganache. Pour tempered chocolate over each cavity to fill on top of ganache. Immediately scrape excess off mold. Allow to sit until completely firm. If chocolate was tempered properly, candies will easily pop out of mold. If you have difficulty, freeze for several minutes, then try again.