Oh I say! Come to Tea?

HIGH TEA

Puff Pastry Nests with Tomatoes, Rosemary, and Goat Cheese

Blue Cheese Cornmeal Biscuits

Carrot Ginger Spice Cake with Lemon Icing

Sponge Drops with Whipped Cream, Raspberries, and Blackberries

Cheese (Blue, Cheddar, Camembert) and Crackers

Almonds, Dates

(and obviously tea, lots of it)

When I gave you Blue Cheese Cornmeal Biscuits the other day, I promised you Carrot Cake and the Sponge Drops. Without further ado.

Remember the Pumpkin Seed Cookies? The impetus behind those was to prove to Mum that she does indeed like Pumpkin Seeds. This was accomplished with bells on. There was an awesome beyond awesome moment last weekend when I paused by the nut and seed section in the store and yelled "HEY SHOULD WE BUY SOME PUMPKIN SEEDS DO YOU LIKE PUMPKIN SEEDS I CAN'T REMEMBER?"

Then this happened:

And I put a package of pumpkin seeds in the cart looking SO SMUG I think I actually might have pulled a jaw muscle. It was EPIC.

Anyway, carrot cake falls into the same category that pumpkin seeds used to. I find all these recipes for carrot cake and say "oooo doesn't that look yummy" and she sniffs and says: "I don't like carrot cake it's too wet and it always has raisins in it and the frosting is always so thick and it always tastes too sweet and people always make muffins out of it and I hate muffins how can people eat muffins for breakfast I mean if you want to make it go ahead I'd just rather have something else."

CARROT GINGER SPICE CAKE

BEETLE NOTES
The recipe I used was from BBC Food magazine, they call it a Zesty Carrot Ginger Loaf.  I did have to convert from metric but that's what the Internet is for. It's quite easy, all made in one saucepan and poured, still warm, into the pan. They said loaf pan but I decided it would look prettier in a 9-inch cake pan.

When they say "zesty" what they mean is that it's got lemon zest, orange zest, black pepper, and stem ginger in it. Which sounds amazing. It also has Muscovado Sugar (see photo) in it, which is amazing sh*t. I made spelt gingersnaps with it once and they were BLACK I kid you not. Delicious. And black. I always know I'm in good recipe hands when I see Muscovado. It means business.


The British always use golden syrup which is vaguely difficult to come by over here, so I used dark agave. I also used molasses instead of dark treacle because I decided that they could be the same thing for that particular period in time. And then because of pantry supply issues, I used 4 tsp of ginger marmalade instead of stem ginger. Rebel, that's me.

I kept the grated carrot pretty rough. Essentially I peeled a few carrots into oblivion and then chopped up the peels as small as I could. I wanted  proper chunks of carrot in there. I mean, go big or go home, right?

When all was said and done:

Not bad looking batter. 

 But here's the kicker. The tea guests all said it was delicious. But do you know why I can't include Mum's opinion here? Because she didn't try any. 

You guys. WTF. 

I will let you know what she says if I have to tie her to the sofa and force it down myself. Stay tuned.

SPONGE DROPS

I started out thinking I'd make Strawberry Shortcakes. But at the last minute, I decided that I'd just made blue cheese biscuits and shortcakes just seemed a bit too similar and I have standards, you guys. So flipping through Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess cookbook, I came upon the perfect accompaniment for Whipped Cream and Berries. Sponge Drops!



INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup self raising flour
• 2 tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Lightly whisk the eggs, then add the sugar and whisk again until the mixture becomes pale, creamy and voluminous: use an electric beater of some sort here.
Sift in the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder, and fold them in with a metal spoon.
Spoon teaspoon sized amount onto the baking sheets, leaving room between them so they can spread.
Cook for 5 minutes, then remove them with a metal spatula to cool on a rack.
When they are cool, sandwich them with whipped cream, jam and crushed berries.

BEETLE NOTES

See the sponginess? DO YOU SEE IT?

This was another one that I doubled right away because there were enough people coming that I knew I'd need more. It made a hell of a lot of sponge drops. Not a complaint, just an observation.

I think the crux of this recipe is the whipping of the eggs and sugar. You really do need to let the mixer go for a while. When she says "pale, creamy and voluminous", that's what she means. Otherwise they won't be spongy  Which. Point. So what I essentially did was turn the mixer on, put a load of laundry in, carry a card table to the side porch, put some dishes away, etc, checking every once in a while but letting it go for a decent time. And that I think is why these turned out so well. So let your mixer run free, everyone.

Also when she says 5 minutes, she means 5 minutes. They will burn. I know this. Mum's "special cookie plate" knows this. Set the timer, take 'em out.

Other than that, really easy, really quick, and you have delicious spongy  lighter-than-air, THINGS that you can make into jam and whipped cream sandwiches. How is that not awesome? It's especially good because it's much lighter than a shortcake (duh, obvs) which I think makes it a better berry accompaniment, and it's definitely not as filling (they are predominantly air).This one will be used a lot come summer, methinks.

Beetle Note: I secretly suggest getting a bowl of whipped cream and crushed berries, and just using the sponge in place of a spoon. Go on. You can tell them I told you to.


Then at the last minute I realised I needed another savoury, so in a classic Last Minute Beetle move, I grabbed a package of frozen puff pastry shells from the freezer, threw them in the oven for 10 minutes until the rose a bit, stuffed them with sliced cherry tomatoes, rosemary sprigs, goat's cheese, and a little olive oil, and threw them back in the oven for another 10. And then I named them Puff Pastry Nests with Tomatoes, Rosemary, and Goat Cheese, because I could.



Refined? No. Michelin star? No. Cute and fast? Yes.

So that, dear reader, is High Tea. As you can see from the photos, I finally settled on a table configuration of savouries (biscuits, nests) on one table and sweets (cake, sponges/berries/cream) on another, and the cheese and cracker and date and almond plate in the middle.










If this was TOTALLY wrong and I've offended some sensibility I don't know about, please accept my heartfelt apologies. 


All in all, it was a delightful afternoon, and one I hope will be repeated many times this summer.