Black Sugar Pearl Earl Grey Milk Tea Popsicles

My go-to bubble tea order converted into popsicles — possibly one of my best creations yet. While I’ve had bubble tea popsicles from Chinese grocery stores, their boba is overly mushy, the black sugar syrup lacks the deep molasses flavor, and their milk tea base lost the “tea” somewhere in the process.

With quarantine and no bubble tea place near us, my mom and I have been making the pearls/boba and milk tea from scratch. Designing these popsicles put our bubble tea making to the test with the custard ice cream base as the yolks curdle easily if not handled properly. Fortunately, after a few test rounds (and overstocked freezers), I think we can proudly say these popsicles satisfy any summer cravings for bubble tea!

Ingredients:

Black Sugar Pearls/Boba

60g black sugar cubes

200g tapioca flour 

Black Sugar Syrup:

180g black sugar cubes

600g water

Ice Cream Base:

120g boiling water 

4 earl grey tea bags

180g whole milk 

90g granulated sugar 

2 egg yolks

200g heavy cream

Steps:

1. Make the pearls. Add black sugar to water and heat it to boil, then add tapioca flour and stir quickly until it becomes a sticky dough.

2. Remove from heat and knead the dough on a surface floured with dry tapioca flour until smooth. 

3. Roll the dough into a long thin stick of about 1/2 inch in diameter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, and roll each piece into one ball.

4. Make the syrup. Add the black sugar and water in a saucepan and heat to a boil.

5. Add the raw black sugar pearls into the saucepan. Stir constantly on low heat, simmering until pearls become translucent.

6. Make the milk tea base. Beat the egg yolks into a smooth liquid. Steep the tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes and let cool to room temperature. Add 50g sugar and milk to a clean saucepan and heat just until boiling. Turn heat down to low. Slowly pour the beaten yolks in, stirring constantly to avoid curdling. Keep stirring on low for 8 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool completely. Pour the tea into the saucepan, stir, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

7. In a clean bowl, whip heavy cream with the remaining 40g sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently incorporate the chilled milk tea base into the whipped cream with a spatula. Mix in the black pearls and syrup.

8. To create the sugar drip look, take some leftover syrup and use a spoon to coat the inside of the popsicle mold. Then pour in your ice cream mix.

9. Freeze for at least 8 hours, or until completely solid. For easy release from popsicle mold, run the mold quickly under the sink.

Additional Notes:

1. Our black sugar cubes were ones we bought from a Chinese supermarket and have dried rosebuds and ginger in them. Here are some from Amazon in case you aren’t able to find any black sugar cubes in your local area.