Craving cream tea

[pegkerr]

I want to go out for cream tea. Maybe at Cafe Latte.

I want cucumber sandwiches, crusts removed. I want a pot of Yorkshire Gold tea, with heavy cream. I want my sugar served in lumps from a lovely china sugar bowl. I want current scones, tender and slightly warm from the oven, dusted with crystallized sugar. And clotted cream and raspberry jam for spreading on top. I want a Bag End seed cake. I want pameladean's gingerbread. I want a decadent flourless chocolate torte. I want a seat in a lovely tea room overlooking a rain-spangled garden and a leisurely afternoon to visit with my girls or with a friend.

Alas, I have none of these things.

A tea bag of English Breakfast, dumped in a cup of water warmed up in the microwave and doctored with paper sugar packets and Coffeemate just ain't the same.

*sigh*

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

And a hat. The kind of hat in which one has tea.

*sigh*

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I went through most of a pan of her gingerbread last week. Mostly with an English Breakfast tea from an online tea place (gift, I don't remember off-hand where they got it, but it's good tea). I can't abide the thought of adding milk to tea, though.

[msavi.livejournal.com]

Gah, that sounds so good. I'll bring the lemon curd.

[aome.livejournal.com]

I could send you more gingerbread scones. :)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Send me the recipe, please? I'll bet the girls would love to make them. Delia particularly enjoys baking.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Gingerbread Scones
Source: Simply Scones

2 C flour
1/3 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C butter or margarine, chilled
1 large egg
3 Tbsp molasses
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Lightly butter or Pam-spray a 10" circle in the center of a baking sheet. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinammon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Cut butter into 1/2" cubes and distribute them over the flour. Using pastry blender, fork or your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl combine egg, molasses, milk and vanilla. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Dough will be sticky.

With floured hands, pat the dough into an 8" circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges. (Sometimes helps to flour the knife, too.) Bake 20-25min at 375F, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack for at least five mins; enjoy warm or cold. They freeze well, too.

Let me know how it turns out for you!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks! We'll try them this weekend. (I remember how tasty they were when you sent them to me before.)

I've also added the book to my Amazon wishlist.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I'll second that little book -- it has wonderful recipes in it!

[nlbarber]

I got sucked into this thread, and found the idea of gingerbread scones irresistible. Results this evening were somewhat unexpected, though. The dough was *very* wet (OK, I'm in Atlanta, where the humidity always does this to bread baking), so I sort of poured out my 8" circle, and the cut wedges oozed back together immediately. The baked result seems more like a slightly dry gingerbread and not at all scone-like...but the taste is fine!

[aome.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why it would have been THAT runny. I've baked in humidity and it usually only makes minor changes in texture, not huge ones. The dough should be sticky, but still *dough*, not batter. Hmmm. Try again? Add a little more flour, maybe? I sometimes have to do that.

[nlbarber]

It was not quite batter--it stayed in a circle on the baking sheet, and when I coated my hands with flour and shaped it up it stayed. Big expansion when the oven heat hit it, though, so it was pretty flat.

But I found the lemon curd, and just finished a (re-warmed) scone with a tablespoon of curd smeared over the top. Lovely breakfast!

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

If you ever make it out to New York City, I will take you to Alice's Tea cup. *crosses heart* promise!

http://www.alicesteacup.com/

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, that looks WONDERFUL! I'll remember that!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I could send you a recipe for a flourless chocolate torte...?

Cream teas *rock*, and I could sure use one right about now.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd love the recipe, please!

Flourless Chocolate Cake!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Flourless Chocolate Cake!

Preheat oven to 375°F.

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Makes one 8-inch cake.

This recipe was from Gourmet Magazine in 1997, I think. I've tweaked it -- I use parchment paper (they said waxed, uggh) and I melt the chocolate in a pyrex bowl in the microwave. If you haven't tried the microwave with chocolate, it works **very** well -- but don't give it too much heat! 30 seconds on 50% power! Stir, then another 30 seconds on 50% power. That may do it -- if not, try another 15 seconds at 50%. Too much and the chocolate will burn.

Last warning -- do not let it overcook! Eggs are the leavening, here, so when you see that crust, take it out and let it set.
*********

This recipe is fast, fairly easy, responds well to using good chocolates, and keeps well -- but in the fridge, don't abandon it on the counter!

Haven't tried flavorings yet, but I expect vanilla, coffee, etc, would just be another stripe on the rainbow of this lovely cake.

Re: Flourless Chocolate Cake!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks ever so much!