Queen of hearts desserts

The desserts for my queen of hearts tea were super easy.

(I really liked my black and white tiered teacup tray for this party!)

The "unbirthday" cake cupcakes I decorated with "painting the roses red" icing.  Its super easy to get the striped look--I just take a chopstick and put some food coloring on the tip, put it on one side of the icing once it is already in the bag (or in my case, my Wilton's cheating decorating pump thing) then pull it out, dragging the coloring.

The white cake recipe is a cheat that I found on the internet (at Recipe Girl, here) that uses a white box cake as its base.  I've used it a couple times and it is always super moist.  It calls for vanilla extract, but adding almond and/or orange would also work well. I think I added a bit of almond to this batch with the vanilla. 

Next up are the "knaves of hearts" chocolate dessert which were also super easy.  I made a boxed brownie, cut out hearts with a slightly smaller heart cookie cutter.  I spread some Nutella on one heart and topped it with another.  A quick batch of ganache (good quality chocolate I melted in my chocolate melting pot and added a bit of heavy cream) spooned on top and let cool, and there we go!  I did keep these in the fridge.

The "stolen tarts" are a simple shortbread/butter cookie recipe I've used several times that works well with a cutter (from Allrecipes here).  This is a great go to cookie cutter recipe.  Before cooking, I pressed my thumb in the cookie to make an indent, added jam, and done!  

Dolci

Finally, on to the desserts! 

First up, tiramisu trifle!

These were so easy!  I just put them together the night before, and they were good to go!  I used the recipe here at Yummy Tummy.

Ingredients:

Ladyfingers (I found some from Italy at Homegoods--the ones I got were not soft at all)

1 cup whipping cream

2 cups mascarpone

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups coffee (*see instructions below)

Cocoa for topping

1.  *The night before, boil 2 cups of water and add instant coffee (at least 2 tablespoons).  I used International House hazelnut flavored instant coffee.  I ended up using probably about 4 tablespoons to get it to the right flavor, so make sure to try it and see if it is too watery.Store in fridge.  (or make it the day making the dish, but let cool).   

(picture from internet)

2.  Beat cream until it is thick.  Set aside.

3.  Take mascarpone, powdered sugar, and 4 tablespoons of coffee and use a mixer to mix together.  Be careful!  Don't over beat the mascarpone, or it will turn lumpy (and gross).

4.  Fold in the whipped cream.

5.  Take whatever glass you are using (I used crystal teacups), and put a layer of cut up ladyfinger on the bottom.  Cover with a tablespoon or so of coffee (really enough coffee so that ladyfinger is completely covered).  Put a layer of cheese mixture on top.

6.  Repeat.

7.  Put in refrigerator and let sit overnight.

8.  Before you serve, cover with cocoa using a small sieve. 

Done! 

Next and final recipe, Limoncello cupcakes. 

I found the recipe for these cupcakes here, and did not change anything about the cake, so I won't copy it again here.  I did have some problems with my bake time and they ended up a little dry, but I think that was my execution and not the cupcake, especially since these cupcakes had lemon pudding mix in them, so they should have been moist! 

I did change up the frosting so I will share it below.

White Chocolate Limoncello Icing

2 sticks softened butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup melted white chocolate (a good baking bar with real cocoa)

2 tablespoons Limoncello

1 teaspoon Lemon Extract

Some cream if needed.

1.  Beat butter until pale and creamy,

2.  Add other ingredients and beat to combine.  If need more liquid add a little bit of cream.

Pane del Pescatore

We have arrived at the scones portion of the tea!  I based my recipe on one found in my Simply Scones book by Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright called Scones a la Florence.  The book explains that these scones were "inspired by Pane del Pescatore (bread of the fisherman), a scone-like bread from Fornaio, a bakery off the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy." 

(Ponte Vecchio itself!)

After a little internet research, it seems like this dense cookie-like bread was traditionally sold to fisherman who were going out to sea, thus the name "fisherman's bread." 

Pane del Pescatore

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter

zest of 1 large lemon

zest from half of a medium sized orange

1 cup golden raisins

2 large eggs

2 tablespoon cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water for glaze

sliced almonds

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.

3.  Cut in butter until resembles coarse crumbs.

4.  Whisk in zest and toss in raisins.

5.   Combine eggs, cream, and vanilla extract and add to mixture. Add extra cream a tablespoon at a time if needed to combine.

6.  Divide dough into roughly 12 round pieces.  Brush with egg yolk and top with almonds.

7.  Bake for 20 minutes.

I served these scones with faux clotted cream made with mascarpone (a soft Italian cheese, somewhat similar to a sweet and lighter textured cream cheese) and blood orange marmalade imported from Italy.

 

 

Italian Savories part 2: Primo

On to the cutest of the dishes I served (or at least I thought so) was spaghetti and meatball cupcakes! 

I found the recipe for these at a blog called By Stephanie Lynn, via pinterest.  I boiled the noodles (1/2 a box) the night before and added 2 tablespoons olive oil, then put it in a bowl in the refrigerator.  The morning of the party, I got out the noodles, mixed in marinara sauce and shredded parmesan cheese (a lot of cheese) to where the noodles looked well covered, then added 2 eggs (beaten).  After mixing everything together, I got out a normal sized cupcake tin and sprayed each well with butter flavored no-stick spray.  I used a fork to swirl noodles on and then place in each well, filling it pretty much to the top.  I then used the back of a spoon to put in an indentation for the meatball.  I then set them aside until right before the guests were due so that they would be warm.

They bake for 20 minutes at 350, so time budgeting was an issue.  I also microwaved the frozen meatballs I had bought based on the package directions and then added marinara sauce and microwaved a bit more, until the sauce was warm.  After the noodles were done, I picked them out of the well, and placed them in doubled cupcake liners (to adsorb some of the sauce and hopefully not show through).  Then topped each noodle cup with the meatball and a little bit of sauce (cheese too if you like, but I didn't think it was necessary--and I forgot.  I also put a LOT of cheese in with the noodles, so I probably had cheese covered).     

 

They had gone cold by the time I was ready to serve them (which I had been afraid of) but luckily they microwaved up fine.  I just stuck the serving place with them in the liners and everything in the microwave for a couple minutes, and they were good to go!  You could make them the night before and just microwave right before you plan on serving them, but I thought they didn't taste quite as good the next day, which is why I baked them the morning of the party (because normally I'm all about doing as much stuff ahead of time as possible).

 

 

I really lucked out with the white and red liners--I found them in the cheap bins near the front at Michaels.  They even had mustaches on the bottom! 

 

Check back in tomorrow for pane del pescatore!

 



Italian savories--Antipasti

Let's begin the breakdown of the menu!  First up, the Antipasti. 

 

Caprese Salad:

 

I bought cherry tomatoes, cut fresh basil leaves from my container herb garden, and bought some marinated (in olive oil with herbs) small mozzarella balls from my grocery store.  Early in the morning on the day of the tea, I put the number of tomatoes and mozzarella balls needed in a bowl, poured some of the olive oil from the mozzarella container on top, added a dash of balsamic vinegar, and let it sit for a bit.  Then I just layered one tomato, one basil leaf, and one mozzarella ball on red, white, and green fruit picks.  Very easy, and I think they turned out very pretty (and they were also yummy).   

 

 

 



 Cucumber olive crostini:

On the day of the party, the very first thing I did was set out the cream cheese so it could be softening while I made other things on the menu.  After it was soft, I took about 4 ounces of plain cream cheese, added about a tablespoon of plain 2% greek yogurt, and then sprinkled in some dry Italian dressing seasoning pack to taste (probably only about a 1/2 tablespoon or so).  I piped the spread with a large open star tip onto toasted rounds of bread (sourdough cut out with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter then toasted in my toaster oven).  I topped it with a slice of cucumber then put a slice of pimento stuffed green olive on top (with a small amount of the spread to make the olive stick).  I'm not a big olive fan, but the olive gave it just a slight kick over a typical cucumber sandwich.   

 

Tuna tremezzini (Venetian tea sandwiches)

 

I was really happy with this tuna salad version, which I arrived at after a couple trial versions earlier in the week.  I started with two cans of tuna fish in olive oil that I drained and put in a mixing bowl.  I added 6 ounces of softened plain cream cheese and 8 ounces of softened chive and onion flavored cream cheese.  I added a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and two tablespoons of fresh chopped up dill.  I mixed all the ingredients with my electric hand mixer.  I then spread a generous portion on a slice of Italian bread, topped with another slice of Italian bread, cut off the crusts, then cut the bread in thirds.  Done!  I did sprinkle some dried dill on the sides for looks because I happened to have some in my spice/herb cabinet.  I've always been a little nervous about serving tuna salad because I was afraid there would be some people who didn't like it, but my guests really liked this version (as did I, it is really really good!).  I will definitely reuse this recipe. 

 

 

Bruschetta:  

 

At that last minute I decided to go ahead and serve bruschetta too, even though I already had two tomato based things on the menu (the caprese salad and the spaghetti and meatball cupcakes I'll share tomorrow).  I was glad I served them, because they were a big hit, and really weren't hard to make at all. 

 

The second thing I did (after setting out the cream cheeses) the day of the party was mix the bruschetta topping so it could be sitting on my counter and the flavors mixing together.   I started with this Allrecipe recipe, but made some changes, so I'll share it here.

 

  In a bowl, combine the following: 

 

8 roma tomatoes (plum tomatoes) cut in half and remove seeds in the middle, pat dry with a paper towel, then chop

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons of an aged balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed and basil chopped

A dash of sea salt (I just used my grinder a couple of turns)

1/4 tsp black pepper

 

Right before the party was to begin, I put my oven on broiler setting, and placed slices of a French baguette on a cookie sheet (I bought two French baguettes).  Broil for 1-2 minutes until brown.

 

Top bread with tomato mixture (making sure to spoon on some of the olive oil too).  Top with shredded mozzarella. 

 

Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

 

 

The bruschetta had gotten cold by the time it was ready to be served, but it still tasted good (and I've had cold bruschetta, including in Italy, so I guess that is okay!).





Carrot cake scones

When I was trying to think of what  I would serve at my little Easter tea, I figured what goes better with bunnies then carrots?  So...carrots plus tea equal carrot cake scones!

Carrot Cake Scones

 

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 stick butter

1 cup grated carrot

3/4 cup walnuts

3/4 cup raisins

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk together.

3.  Cut in butter with pastry blender.

4.  Add carrots (tossing to cover), walnuts, and raisins.

5.  Combine egg, buttermilk, and vanilla in a small bowl.

6.  Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing until combined (batter will be wet).

7.  Drop round spoonfuls onto prepared tray.  I covered with a bit of orange sugar for fun.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

 

 

I was very happy with the way this recipe turned out.  I started with a cake recipe and "scone-ified" it.   To get the triangles I have above, shape the dough into a long log and freeze it.  When ready to serve, defrost the log slightly (really until you get to the point you can cut it) and then slice at a slant to make small triangles.  This is actually how I do all my scones for parties since it is easier to just slice and bake on the day of the party. 

 

 

Carrots are divine...You get a dozen for a dime, it's maaaa-gic!  ~Bugs Bunny

 



Snow days and maple apple butter scones

I've been off work for the past two days because of last weekend's blizzard, so I've been doing some boredom baking (always a dangerous thing).  After making my ill gotten goods, I decided to take tea outside (despite the snow it is in the upper 40s today) since I'm getting a bit of cabin fever,

 

and it is so pretty looking out into the woods.

 

The swing set might be a bit buried so I don't think we'll be heading there, but my deck is clear right near my wicker set.

 



 

A cup of Charleston plantation peach tea fills the small transferware teapot I bought during a trip to Savannah, Georgia--both tea and pot from the same 2014 summer trip. 

 

 

These scones are the real star of this post.  My street is not completely cleared, so I was stuck here and limited to what was in my larder...thus experimentation was in order!  I was quite happy with how these scones turned out.

 

 

I combined apple butter, maple syrup, and cream cheese to make these sweet, moist, and yet biscuit like scones. These ingredients were "extras" I just so happened to still have in my fridge from the December parties.  I'm normally all about the cream scone, which is this not, so I also am getting outside my comfort area.    

 

 







Maple Apple Butter Scones

 

2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar*

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 stick butter

4 oz cream cheese

2/3 cup apple butter**

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  

2.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking to combine. 

3.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender.  Cut in slightly softened cream cheese.

4.  Combine apply butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Pour over dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.

5.  Drop spoonfuls onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Cook for 12 to 14 minutes (or so).

 

*If you prefer your scones to not be slightly extra sweet, I would reduce the sugar in the recipe to 1/4. 

**I used a somewhat local brand of apple butter--White House Apple Butter made in Winchester, Virginia, which worked very well in this recipe.



 

 

Thanks for joining me for tea!  

 



Christmas Brunch--Peppermint white chocolate cupcakes

One last post to share a dessert recipe, then we'll leave my Christmas Brunch 2015.  These cupcakes seemed to be a success, so I would make them again.  The cupcakes have a bit of peppermint flavor and white chocolate baked into the cake itself (which was a little dry, I'm hoping it is just because they cooked a bit faster than I anticipated), but the white chocolate buttercream was wonderful!  The inspiration for these cupcakes was on this blog.

 

 

 



Peppermint White Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extra

1/4 teaspoon peppermint emulsion (or extract)

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup white chocolate chunks (use baking bar with real cocoa butter)

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake tins.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.  Beat in vanilla and peppermint flavoring.

4.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture then the buttermilk, alternating beginning and ending with the flour, and beating well after each addition.

5.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in white chocolate.

4.  Pour into cupcake tins until paper cups are 3/4ths full.

5.  Bake for roughly 16 minutes for full sized cupcakes.

 

White Chocolate Buttercream

 

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

1/4 cup white chocolate melted (again use a baking bar with real cocoa butter)

 

1.  Whip butter until it becomes pale and creamy.

2.  Add rest of the ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute.  Increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until frosting is light, creamy, and fluffy.

 

 

I just piped the buttercream on the cupcake with a large open star tip and then sprinkled on some crushed peppermint for a little extra peppermint kick.

 



 





Christmas Brunch--Tea and scones

Day two of recipes, and we've gotten to the scones.  A friend requested scones, so I decided to try something new, a fruitcake-like scone...sort-of.

Carrie's Christmas Scones

2¼ cups flour

½ cup sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 stick butter

1 large jar maraschino cherries, drained, dried, halved

1¼ cup chopped pecans

1 cup eggnog

1 tablespoon spiced rum

1.        Preheat oven to 350.

2.       In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk to combine.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.       Toss in cherries and pecans and coat in flour.

4.       In a separate bowl, combine eggnog and rum.  Add wet mixture to flour to flour mixture stirring until dough is just combined.

5.       Drop balls onto prepared baking sheets.  Brush with eggnog, sprinkle with green sugar.  Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

My guests seemed to enjoy them and I thought they were really good...so this recipe is a keeper!  I served the scones with clotted cream and holiday jam.

Now for the special Christmas tea that I made with fruit juices, spices, and tea of course! 

I started with the recipe on this website.  I didn't realize when I started (really because I have no concept of liquid measurements), but the recipe on the linked page is huge.  I ended up having to change it up by default.  It is also really sweet so I increased the tea flavor to compensate.  Because of the changes, I'll go ahead and share it here.  It was very good and smelled wonderful as it simmered in the kitchen.

Christmas Tea

Base recipe ONLY  (ingredients will be added on the party day as described below)

1 Cinnamon stick
 1 TBSP WHOLE cloves
 1.5 cups sugar  (I think you could substitute this for artificial sweetener if desired)
 2 cups apple cider
Juice of 1 lemon
 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice

4 black tea bags (VERY strong)

2 cups boiling water

Directions:
Bring cider to a boil, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sugar.  Boil for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, also brew the tea bags in the 2 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes.  Strain the spices out of the apple cider mixture.  Combine all ingredients.  Place in refrigerator overnight (I just poured it into an empty 1/2 gallon jug.   

Steps for the Day of the Party



On the day of the party, pour into a pot and add two cups water.  Once the mixture has come to a boil, take off heat and pour into a crock pot to keep warm (I used the warm setting of my pot).   Add two cinnamon sticks and a tablespoon of whole cloves.

 I would recommend that you taste the mixture at this point.  If you would like a stronger tea flavor (like me), bring four cups of water to a boil.  Add 4 black tea bags to two cups of the boiling water.    Add tea and the remaining two cups of water.  Regardless, you should add as much tea or plain water (or both) as you think you need too to dilute the taste and cut down on the sweetness.       


I should have done a better job of writing down what I did, but it was a bit of trial and error.  This recipe was a great way to use some of the black tea in my stash that is too strong for my plebian tastes.

A Christmas Brunch--main dishes

So I'm getting this in just under the wire (5 minutes to spar!), but, as promised, my first recipe post for last weekend's Christmas Brunch. 

First, my mother's Christmas Day quiche, which is an easy and yet delicious quiche recipe.   

 

Christmas Day Quiche

 

10 eggs (roughly)

1 cup real bacon bits

1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (my default is sharp, but my mother uses mild)

1 pint half and half

two frozen deep dish pie shells

 

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cover a large cookie sheet (one big enough to hold both shells side by side) with tin foil.  Place shells on top.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs.  Add half and half and whisk to combine.  Add bacon and cheese and whisk to combine.

3.  Pour quiche mixture evenly into pans until slightly under the top.  The cheese and bacon will mostly still be in the bowl with some liquid.  Using a large spoon, evenly divide between two pies until they are filled.  Some mixture may have to be discarded.

4.  Bake for 40-50 minutes (sometimes even an hour, start checking at the 40 minute mark).

 

Next we have the French toast casserole with praline topping..yum yum! 

 

 

The idea for this dish was a pinterest find, but I will say that after I saw the recipe, my first though was...this is a bread pudding.  Because it is.  But French toast casserole (or bake, it was sometimes called that as well) does sound more breakfast-y.  This dish is made the night before and sits in the fridge overnight until you are ready to bake, which makes it a good dish to serve at a party, since all you do the day off is make the topping, spread it on top, and stick it in the oven!

 

For my party I decided on a Paula Deen recipe (here), with a couple of additions.  Instead of French bread, I bought a loaf of raisin bread, and a loaf of Apple fritter bread from Target that's sell by date was before the date of the party (so it would be slightly old).  I alternated the two breads on either side of the dish--using roughly half a loaf each--really, I just filled the pan as much as I could.  I also added some golden raisins--not too many, just enough that they were sprinkled throughout.  I made the dish so that I knew it would soak for about 11 hours before being baked.  In the morning I checked on it and drained some of the liquid still remaining in the bottom and poured it over the top so it could soak in (at this point there was still about 2 hours until I would put it in the oven). 

 

 

Now a quick word of advice.  DEFINITELY put some tin foil on a baking sheet and place it underneath the 9 x 13 pan to catch the run off of the brown sugar and butter topping.  I did not, even though I did wonder for a minute if it would bubble over, but I thought to myself, nah,  it won't happen!  Then my oven started smoking.  There was a cloud of smoke in my house about 10 minutes after all but one guest had arrived. I guess it was a bit of excitement, since my friends were wonderful and running all over trying to help get the smoke out!  Luckily, the oven made it until right about the 40 minute mark and the casserole and the quiche were both done (and my fire alarm didn't go off).  After the smoke cleared I set everything out, and we were ready to go.  At that point the last guest arrived, and the first thing she said was my house smelled wonderful!  I guess caramelized range can be a good smell :).

 

I made a honey whiskey sauce to go with the French toast casserole (since it is really a bread pudding anyway :-P).  I also served it with maple syrup as Paula suggests in her recipe, but I though a tiny bit of the whiskey sauce on top instead was perfect! 

 

Honey Whiskey Sauce

 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup whiskey (I used a tiny bottle of Jim Bean's Honey Whiskey liqueur)

1/2 cup sugar

 

1.  Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is gently boiling.

2.  I poured the sauce into a creamer so it could just be poured over the bread pudding.

 





 

As I mentioned on the first Christmas Brunch post, I also had sausage balls that I didn't have a chance to cook and serve since I had to turn the oven off.  Sausage balls are delicious so I was double-ly sad (what with the smoke too).  After I called my mother after the party had ended to invite my parents and sister over for leftovers, the first thing she said is, "you could have cooked them in your toaster oven!"  This is why mom's know all.  Even if the smoke incident hadn't happened, the quiche and the casserole fit on different racks in the oven together, but the sausage balls did not, so regardless it would have been good to cook them in the toaster oven.  I did end up cooking the sausage balls for the after party, and 12 cooked perfectly after 25 minutes on the toaster oven's mini tray.

 

Sorry for the lack of new (or many) pictures, I was a bit overwhelmed after the smoke incident!

 

 

Peaches and Cream Scones

“The walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.”

~Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach 

Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits (next to cherries, I pop them like candy as soon as the price goes down).  After my Afternoon Tea in Paris, I had left over cream and cream cheese and a couple weeks old peach--the perfect combination for a scone recipe!

 

Peaches and Cream Scones

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

heaping 1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tablespoons cold, salted butter

1 1/2 cup diced peaches (one large peach)

4 oz cream cheese, diced

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, whisking until blended.  Using a pastry blender, cup butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.  Add cream cheese and peaches, tossing to combine.

4.  In a small bowl, combine cream and vanilla extract.  Add to flour mixture, stirring to combine.  Worth through lightly with hands to bring together in bowl (If mixture seems dry, add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time, until uniformly moist).

5.  Drop rounded scoops on sheet, and bake for approximately 15 minutes.



 

 

 

 

Madeleines and Macarons

I'll start the desserts with the madeleines de commercy.

As I mentioned during the original post, I just used Julia Child's recipe, which I found on this website (hungry sofia).  I made them just as stated in the recipe using a large madeleine pan.  They are better the day they are baked (slightly crispy on the outside), so I think next time I will make up the batter the night before and keep it refrigerated and bake them the morning of the tea party.

Now, on to the macarons!

I looked at a lot of websites before I finally settled on a recipe that worked for me, and even then it was a lot of trial and error to get the shells to come out.  I highly recommend you check out the video on how to cook that before giving it a go.  The Not So Humble Pie blog also had a long list of advice to help you figure out why the cookies didn't work.  I kept having cracking problems and my feet still aren't perfect, but the batch you see was as close as I got. 

Here is the recipe and baking instructions that finally worked for me.

French Macarons

 

3 extra large egg whites (leave out for 3 hours at room temperature)

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup almond meal/flour

pinch salt

gel coloring

 

1.  Beat eggs until they are frothy.  Add sugar.  Beat until stiff peaks form and you can turn the bowl upside down without the mixture falling out.  Beat an extra minute and 40 seconds.  Add gel food coloring until slightly darker than the color you want.  Beat 20 seconds.

 

2.  Combine almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt.  Whisk.  Using a narrow hole strainer, sift to combine into another bowl. Whisk to combine.  Repeat.  Discard pieces that are too large (don't force it).

 

3.  In 3 batches, add almond mixture into egg mixture.  Fold in with a spatula.  When all has been added, fold until combined, roughly 30 folds.  Do not over mix!!  Should be thick but fully combined.

 

4.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Double the baking sheets.

 

5.  Fill a piping bag with a large round tip (I use Wilton's 1A tip) with the mixture.  Pipe circles on the parchment paper, holding the bag at an angle. 

 

6.  Rap baking sheet on counter hard at least 10 times, rotating the pan.  Use a tooth pick to get any air bubbles that remain, and to smooth out any holes.

 

7.  Let stand for 1 hour.

 

8.  Preheat oven to 295.

 

9.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Let stand on tray until cool and you can pick up the cookie.  Move to wire rack to continue cooling.

 

10.  Fill.  I used my favorite strawberry icing (here), substituting for the plan strawberry jam a strawberry jam with champagne...and voila!  Strawberries and champagne macarons.

 

11.  Refrigerate overnight and serve.  They can be made in advance and frozen, and taken out of the freezer and put in the fridge to defrost the night before the party.  Putting them in the fridge really helps to soften them and spread the flavor.

 



 



Lavender scones

I'm fascinated by lavender and how it not only has a wonderful scent, but it also tastes good in a variety of dishes, from savory to sweet.  On the sweet side are these lovely scones, that I originally found the recipe for in Tea Time Magazine.  I've made a couple of changes, so I will go ahead and copy it here.  This recipe has the perfect amount of lavender so as to not be overwhelmed by the flavor and the touch of lemon zest is the perfect compliment. 

Lavender cream scones

 

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cold salted butter

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried lavender

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, mixing well.  Using a pastry blender, cup in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add lavender and lemon zest, stirring well.  Set aside.

3.  In a small bowl, combine cream, egg, and vanilla extract, whisking well.  Add cream mixture to flour mixture stirring to combine.  Continue to bring dough together with hands (if mixture seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until uniformly moist).

4.  Take portions of the dough and drop on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5.  Bake until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Paris teatime savories

Today I thought I would share more about the savories from my Afternoon Tea in Paris party.  Here is a picture of the tiered stand again:

Starting at the top, I served ham and cheese baguette sandwiches.

 

I bought slices of a good ham (Honeybaked Ham since there is a store near my house) and a French cheese.  I choose camembert because I was actually served it in France and really enjoyed it--it is a pretty mild cheese.  I used a mayonnaise based spread, but in hindsight I think a Dijon (or dijonaise) would be good on this sandwich (and appropriate for the French theme!). 

 

I made the Eiffel tower picks by putting two stickers together around a fruit pick.

 

The sandwiches on the middle plate are my cucumber canapés.

 



These sandwiches were really simple.  I used flower shaped fondant cutters in two different sizes on both the thin sandwich bread and the cucumbers.  I bought spreadable cream cheese with onions and chives and spread it on the bread (after sticking the bread in the freezer for a bit to make it easier to handle both for the cutters and the spread).  As the final touch, I cut a bit of curled parsley from my container herb garden to use as the "leaves" of the flower.  This is my second time using a flower cutter on a cucumber, and I must say it worked much better on a hothouse English cucumber if you have that as an option in your grocery store.

For the last sandwich, I served chicken salad on mini croissants.

I started with a basic chicken salad.  I purchase rotisserie chicken and cut off the white meat into smaller strips to use in the chicken salad (reserving the thighs and legs for dinner during the work week).  My version of chicken salad is simply mayonnaise with a little bit of dill relish.  For this French tea party I wanted to add a bit of flare, so I decided to sprinkle in some herbs de Provence.  Herbs de Provence is a mix of different herbs reminiscent of southern France, including savory, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme.  I really enjoy herbs de Provence on roasted chicken, but I don't know if I would put it in chicken salad again or not.  The sandwich wasn't bad, but I think I would have preferred if it was just plain chicken salad. 

The final savory I served are the mini quiches I forgot to take a picture of.  I did find one picture of the tea party where you can see them off to the right side of the photo:

I cheated and didn't make the quiche from scratch--I figured I wouldn't get them as small as the ones you can buy frozen for appetizers and it would be easier to just heat up the frozen mini-quiches rather than making them myself.  It did work out really well--I just popped them into the oven about a half an hour before the tea party was set to start and 15 minutes later I had perfect warm mini-quiches! 

Neapolitan fairy cakes

As promised, here is the recipe for the Neapolitan cupcakes!  I wasn't that fond of the cupcake itself--I thought it was a bit too dense.  Most of my taste testers liked it, though, and it is something different, so who knows!  I definitely like this idea, but I might try a lighter cake mix next time. 

 



 

Neapolitan cupcakes

 

3/4 cup butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 extra large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with paper liners (preferably a light color that you can see through).  I also always spray baking spray on a paper towel and grease the top of the pan just in case the cupcake rises too far (I'm not a good judge of how much to fill the cups).

 

2.  In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, and sugar.  Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla. 

 

3.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add flour to the butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 

 

4.  Divide batter in half and beat cocoa powder cocoa powder into one half.  Spoon chocolate batter into cups, filling 1/3 full.*  Spoon vanilla batter evenly over chocolate, filling about 2/3 full.

 

5.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

 

*For my cupcakes, the chocolate ended up being most of the cupcake even though it looked from the outside that they were even.  I would probably put less chocolate in than vanilla.

 

So, we have the chocolate and vanilla part of the Neapolitan, the only thing left, is the strawberry!  This frosting was delicious!  I would definitely use this frosting recipe again.

 

Strawberries and cream frosting

 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup strawberry jam

2 tsp strawberry extract

1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup confectioner's sugar

 

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add strawberry jam and strawberry extract, beating well until smooth.  Beat in whipped topping and confectioner's sugar.