English recipes, British Tea Party, Homemade cake recipesIssue#009 August 12, 2009 Hello Friend,
How many have heard about the English recipes at the Queen’s Tea Party? Many of us have heard about the British Tea Party but never really gave it much thought. Now that I have been to one I know how very nice they are.
My good friend, Anita has actually attended the Queen’s tea party. I have mentioned Anita and her husband, Don to you before. They are very wonderful and interesting people.
One day, Anita invited my daughter and I over to her beautiful home for tea. I might add that her home is decorated in the lovely British fashion with all MY favorite English style china and dishes setting everywhere.
Anyway the day that we arrived for tea, Anita and Don had the table set as the Queen does for her tea party. What a beautiful sight with teapot and all the eloquent dishes setting on the table.
Anita was finishing the egg salad in the kitchen. She explained how to cook hard boiled eggs. (My tip is to boil eggs for 12 minutes and ice down immediately. Makes peeling easier). After peeling them, she minces them very finely. She adds a little mayonnaise and beats this mixture by hand until almost smooth. As we sat down to enjoy our tea party, both Don and Anita explained the Queen’s Tea Party. Don began by making clear that this cooking for a crowd is done on a regular basis to entertain the common people of England. Can you imagine!
Then as we proceeded, Anita explains the frugal cooking of the menu. I have to add that the food may seem to them economical, but even at this point, I knew it was going to be delicious! Knowing what a great cook Anita is and the appearance of the spread on the table told me this before I tasted anything.
Our menu for the tea was cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, crumpets, scones, Cake, cookies, jams. Jellies and marmalades. I may be leaving something out, but I will tell you the table was full. Don and Anita explained that the trays of food should continuously circle around the table as the guests eat.
Anita went on to explain the Queen’s traditional cucumber sandwiches. These are served at all tea parties. In detail, she described how to use a peeler and go down the cucumber one time on four sides to make a design. Then scrape the remaining green on it lightly with a fork. What detail! I was already asking for all the recipes. Of course being the sweet lady that Anita is, she agreed to share many of her English recipes with us.
We started discussing the bread to use in the sandwiches and the cooking instructions to make it. Thinly sliced bakery bread can also be used. Anita prefers the English recipes for the heavy sour dough bread.
Homemade cake recipes were our next topic, beginning with the Victoria sponge cake. This is an easy cake recipe that Anita says anyone can make. Even those people who have never made a cake should have no problem. Of course, the whole day was spent talking about food. I believe this subject is the favorite of Anita’s and mine. We discussed the crumpets, the scones, marmalades and of all things, butter. Like me, Anita is not fond of our butter so this was a big discussion and a topic for the next newsletter. I will tell you it followed with us to our next get together.
What a wonderful day we had and a wonderful British Tea Party! Thank you Anita and Don for being such good friends and for sharing all your English recipes.
CUCUMBER SANDWICHES Prepare European cucumber by using a peeler once down its length on four sides. Scrape the remaining green skin with a fork lengthways. Slice the cucumber very thin onto paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and then cover with paper towels. Wait for about 10 minutes and then pat off gently any remaining fluid leaving the prepared cucumber just moist. Arrange the prepared cucumber on one slice of buttered bread so that they overlap slightly. Complete the sandwich by topping it with a second slice of buttered bread. Cut off the crusts, cut the sandwich diagonally and then cut in half again creating four triangular shapes. Arrange nicely on a plate and decorate with rosebud tomatoes, lily radishes or other garnish.
EGG SALAD SANDWICHES Spread egg salad as directed above onto same type of thinly sliced bread as the cucumber sandwiches. Cut and arrange the same way.
BREAD RECIPE(recipe for a lighter version of white bread)
Pour 5 ounces of the water into a bowl. Use a fork to whisk in the sugar and dry yeast. Set mixture aside until frothy. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and blend in the butter. When the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the remaining warm water. Blend mixture well. Dough should be dry enough that it needs no added flour to knead. If dough is too dry, add slightly more warm water. Knead dough for 10 minutes until it develops sheen and blisters under the surface. It should be quite elastic & springy. Leave dough on the surface and cover with a damp tea towel. This is important because a crust will form and it will become lumpy. Leave for 1 ½ to 2 hours at room temperature until it has doubled in bulk. Knead again for 5 minute to get rid of air holes. Divide dough in half and shape into loaves. Place in buttered loaf tins. Sprinkle each with a dusting of flour. Spray the inside of a large freezer bag (on the top side) with oil and place the bread loafs inside. Let them set in a warm place until dough rises above rim of pan (up to 1 hour). While this is happening, warm the oven to 400 degrees. When bread has risen, bake them for about 40 minutes or until they sound hollow when you tap their base. Remove from pans and place back in the oven upside down on the rack to crisp the base. Cool on rack
ENGLISH RECIPES-VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease 2 seven inch spring form pans and then line with wax paper and grease also. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Add all other ingredients into the bowl and blend with a mixer on medium speed. Divide the mixture into the two prepared pans. Bake on the center shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. When cool, run a knife around the edges to loosen. Turn each onto a wire cooling rack and peel off paper. When cake is cold, place one on a plate. Top with your choice of lemon curd, jam or preserves. Then spread whipped cream over top. Place the other cake on top of whipped cream. Finish with a light dusting of powder sugar.
EASY CAKE RECIPE-EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE In the recipe above, replace the vanilla with! Tablespoon cocoa powder.
EASY CAKE RECIPE-ORANGE OR LEMON In the recipe above, replace vanilla with grated rind from 1 orange or lemon plus 1 teaspoon of orange or lemon juice.
ENGLISH RECIPES-CRUMPETS
You should have a griddle (could use skillets) and some egg frying rings to cook these on. Heat up the milk and water together in a small saucepan until it is very warm to touch. Stir in the yeast and sugar and set it in a warm place until it becomes frothy. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. When the yeast mixture is ready pour it in the well.
Work the flour into the liquid and then beat well until it is a very smooth batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let stand in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Grease the griddle well and also the egg rings. Place the rings on the griddle on medium heat. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each ring. Let cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully lift ring off with a fork and turn crumpets over. Cook for 1 more minute. Repeat for remainder of the batter. Crumpets should be served warm with a generous helping of butter.
ENGLISH RECIPES-SCONES
<1i>½ Tablespoon caster sugar (superfine sugar) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet Sift the flour into a bowl. Blend in the butter. Stir in the sugar and salt. Then mix in the milk a little at a time. Flour your hands and knead the mixture into soft dough. If it feels too dry add small amounts of milk. Turn the dough onto a pastry board, using a floured rolling pin, and roll to ¾ inch thickness. Using a 1 ½ to 2 inch biscuit cutter, press sharply through the dough (do not twist). Place on greased tray. Knead dough again until all has been cut. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Best eaten when fresh.
With all of Anita’s delicious English recipes, anyone can entertain their friends with their own British Tea Party! Until later, have a happy cooking experience! Your friend, Frances
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