Recipes for All Seasons

 

A TRADITIONAL BRITISH RECIPE
THE VICTORIA SANDWICH

This very traditional English cake was named after Queen Victoria. It has been said that this was her favorite teatime treat and in her latter years it was rumored that she alone could eat a whole cake at one time. The Victorians were the first to add butter to a sponge cake. This helped the cake keep and avoided the sinking in the middle of the cooks creations which often happened as the ovens in Victorian kitchens had no thermostats. This very light melt-in-the-mouth sponge is traditionally filled with strawberry preserve or lemon curd. Buy Mary Elizabeth’s special lemon curd today!

Preheat oven to 325F
Grease and line with parchment or waxed paper the base of two 7” round cake pans (obtainable at most gourmet cookware stores). Grease the pans again and dust with flour, knocking off any surplus.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup sugar
Few drops pure vanilla essence
3 eggs
6 oz unsalted butter, softened
A little warm water
Pinch of salt

Method

Sift flour and baking powder together. Place butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients. Beat together with an electric mixer until mixture is smooth, adding a little warm water if mixture is too dry. Divide equally between the two prepared pans and place in the middle of pre-heated oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. When cool remove from pans, remove paper. Sandwich cakes together with the preserve of your choice.

 

Simple Summer Recipes to Make and Enjoy

A Great Way to Start Your Day!

ENGLISH BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE

  • 1 cup of strong, cold English Breakfast Tea
  • 2 cup of frozen blueberries, raspberries or strawberries
  • 1/2 cup cranberry or lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup plain yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon clear liquid honey (optional)

In a blender or food processor combine tea, blueberries, cranberry juice and honey, if using. Blend on high speed until smooth.

Enjoy!

TEA JELLY

  • 2 lemons
  • 1 packet of lemon Jello
  • 1/2 pint (approximately) freshly brewed tea. (Lemon flavored would be good)
  • Whipped cream to decorate

Grate the skin of the lemons finely. Place the Jello in a measuring cup and make up to 1 pint with freshly brewed tea. Stir until dissolved, then cool. When the mixture has slightly thickened stir in the grated lemon peel and pour into a wetted one pint mold. Decorate with the whipped cream.

Note: The Victorians loved elaborate jellies. Unfortunately, they did not have access to Jello or refrigeration which we have today.

 

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COOKING WITH TEA

 

GENERALLY, when we think of tea we either think of TEA the drink and/or TEA
The meal. The tea may be hot or iced, and the tea usually consists of dainty tea sandwiches, small cakes and pastries to be served with and compliment the drink.

All tea comes from the same plant, Camelia sinensis and there are over 3,000 varieties to choose from. We all have our favorites, but it is good to try new teas and to utilize tea in a variety of ways. Tea has been with us for thousands of years and is the most widely drunk beverage next to water. The British, of course, count tea as their national drink and consume enormous quantities (usually with a dash of milk) every day. The British ritual of having tea at work is know as the Tea Break, and that is why my quarterly publication has the name TEA BREAK. It is said that Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford ‘invented’ the meal tea. The Victorians expanded afternoon tea serving very elaborate sandwiches, cakes and ices, afternoon tea was often the highlight of many a housewives social calendar. Today this meal is often reserved for a special occasion and visit to a Tea Room.

However, we don’t need a special occasion to have tea, do we?

Today we can expand our horizons and cook with tea.

Tea may be used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. Green tea is particularly suitable as a marinade. I urge you to experiment with your personal favorite tea and I feel sure you will find something that is surprisingly different and delicious, that not only appeals to you but your family and friends.

Earl Grey tea lends itself to many recipes, mostly because it has such a distinct flavor and this can be tasted quite clearly in cooked products, such as Earl Grey truffles and Earl Grey Chocolate cake.

However, Green teas will give a subtle flavor to a variety of foods, amongst them lamb which has been marinated in green tea.

Black tea is used in a variety of cakes, one of the most popular being Welsh tea bread, which is easy to make, keeps well and tastes delicious. Queen Elizabeth is quite fond of this particular cake.

Recipe for Welsh Tea Bread

1 lb mixed dried fruit:
1 mug hot, strong black tea
1 mug soft, dark brown sugar
2 mugs self-rising flour
1 large egg, well beaten (if dry add a little more beaten egg or milk)
2-3 tablespoons marmalade.

Soak fruit overnight in tea. Mix all ingredients together, place in a greased loaf pan and bake for 2 hours, at 325F.

NOTE: A mug denotes a drinking mug. (known in the UK as a beaker)