My Birthday Tea Party

I really wanted to do "High Tea" for my birthday. I vetoed the Fairmount, solely because for $50 a person we could have a super awesome one at someones house with a lot more champagne! So my "control freakness" took over and I made a little menu. Everyone picked a sandwich (crustless on white of course) and brought a bottle of bubbles. I did all the baking, because its kind of what I do, my friend Alex made mini Quiches that were wonderful. I really didn't think I liked those until recently.

I was really happy with how it all turned out. My mom had a classic tea set for us to use and we even had some real tea between the Champagne. Morgan (our hostess), bought some Birthday Cake tea for use to enjoy - it was so good! And it had sprinkles in it. So here's some recipes for the baking, a copy of my menu and some pictures. I hope it inspires you to dress up and have one of your own. Fascinators optional, but so much fun!

Cream Scones

(Adapted from here)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup heavy cream (35%)

Glaze:

Heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix. 

Sprinkle flour on a mat or clean counter and knead dough gently four or five times, adding a touch more flour if needed. The more you add, the heavier the scones with be though. Pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round. Then, using a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. I got 12 out of the recipe

Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.

    

Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until nicely browned. 

These turned out nicely sweet and paired amazingly with Double Devon Cream and Jam. I would make them again for sure. The parchment will help them come out a bit lighter while still being cooked, so if you mind - don't skip that step. 

Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Loaves

*Coming Soon

(Fudge courtesy Spruce Meadows Christmas Market)

Citrus Cheesecake in a Chocolate Shell

(Adapted slightly from Here)

Ingredients:

2 cans (11 oz) Mandarin oranges, drained

6 oz cream cheese

4 oz heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)

Dash of Lemon Juice

6 Chocoate Shells (Such at Choco-Lux)

Chocolate Garnish (optional, Choco-Lux)

Beat whipping cream until firm.

Blend in cream cheese, vanilla, and 1 can of the Mandarin oranges.

Gently spoon mixture into chocolate shells, smoothing the top. 

Decorate the top with remaining fruit and chocolate garnish if desired.

Chill for 4 hours minimum, covered. 

I was really happy with how this turned out, I'm sort of a cheesecake snob and a no bake was pushing it for me but I really liked the chocolate shell idea, so I had to go that way. I thought mandarin was a good flavour to go with for the season since we already had lemon loaves. I added a touch of sugar and used the vanilla paste because I like the little bits of vanilla bean in there. I also upped the cream cheese to help it stand a bit better and saved some whipped cream for the tops to decorate. I would make this again for sure. 

Profiteroles with Chocolate Drizzle

(Cream Puffs)

I stuck with the cream puff recipe I made for Thanksgiving except made them a bit smaller. I added a little more egg than last time and was worried they weren't going to turn out, but they actually raised and puffed out way better than the last ones. I waited to fill them until about 30 minutes before the party and let the chocolate set in the fridge for a bit as well. I used St Dalfour Chocolate Raspberry dessert sauce for the drizzle, but any type of melted chocolate or caramel would work. What ever you want! 

And that does it for the tea party. It was so much fun, there was a lot of food. We definitely didn't eat it all but had our fair shares with leftovers for the men that didn't get an invite.