Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Just in time for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Lane Anderson hosted a magnificent Mad Hatter's Tea Party, complete with an endless collection of tea cups and saucers. We wish we could drop in for tea every day at 6:00.

Emily Nelson will host next month...stay tuned for details!

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LEMONTINE CURD (Lisa van Tassell)

Makes 2 cups

8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Whisk yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt and the butter, one piece at a time, mixing until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
~ ECLAIRS (Tara Kerr)

Choux shells
1 c water
1/2 c butter
1 c flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs

Bring the water to a boil; add the butter and boil until the butter is melted. Add the flour and salt at once and stir over low heat until the mixture forms a ball and all of the excess moisture has evaporated. A film will coat the bottom of the pan. Let sit ten minutes. Put the eggs in a measuring cup and beat them in to the butter-flour mixture, one at a time until well mixed. (I do this in my mixer.) Pipe or spoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet in 2-3 inch lengths. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until brown.

Hints for successful choux shells:
1. Make sure all the moisture has been cooked out prior to adding the eggs, as excess moisture will prevent a good puff.
2. Even though the shells look good at a light brown color, they must be cooked until they are crisp and medium brown or they will deflate after removing them from the oven.
3. Texture is the key to good eclairs. You cannot bake them more than a few hours ahead. If you store them in a plastic bag, they will go soft, or if you freeze them, they will go soft.

Eclair filling
Prepare 1 package vanilla pudding (cook and serve, not instant) according to package directions. Whip 2 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. When pudding is cooled, fold in the cream.

Once the choux shells are cool, you can cut them in half to fill them, or you can us a decorating back with a long thin tip that punches a hole in the end and the filling magically goes inside.

Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting.

If you need to refrigerate them, don't seal them, just place them open in the fridge.

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SPICY FRUIT SCONES (Margo Blair)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup firm butter or stick margarine
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup dried apricots
4 to 6 tablespoons half-and-half
additional half-and-half
White coarse sugar crystals (decorating sugar)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves in large bowl. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in egg, apricots and just enough of the 4 to 6 tablespoons half and half so dough leaves side of bowl.
3. Place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead lightly 10 times. Roll or pat into 8-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet. Cut into 8 wedges with sharp knife that has been dipped in flour, but do not separate sedges. Brush with additional half and half; sprinkle with sugar crystals.
4. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; carefully separate wedges. Serve warm.

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TEA CAKES WITH BUTTER FROSTING (Sariah Toronto)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Stir in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture alternating with buttermilk.

Wrap and chill for 1 hour or overnight.

On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2-1/2-inch cookie cutters dipped in flour before cutting each cookie. Using a spatula sprayed with non-stick spray, gently transfer cookies onto a greased cookie sheets placing 1 inch apart.
Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

FROSTING

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 5 tablespoons milk
Food coloring, optional I

n a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make a spreadable frosting. Add a drop of food coloring, if desired.
Frost the cookies.

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CINNAMON ANGEL SCONES (Liz Green)

2 1/2 cups baking mix (Bisquick or Jiffy)
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup cream

Blend ingredients together.
Knead until it sticks together.
Pat to 1" thick and cut with cookie cutter.
Dip tops in cinnamon and sugar.
Bake at 400-425 degrees for 7-10 min or until golden brown.
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DEVILED EGGS (Natalie Willes)

12 hard-cooked eggs
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 pouch Bacon Bits (real bacon, NOT Bac-o-bits)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Remove yolks; place in medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

Spoon into resealable plastic bag. Cut small corner from bottom of bag; pipe filling into egg whites.

Tips:

To get a perfectly hard cooked egg, place eggs in large sauce pan, cover with water by 1 inch and bring to boil. Cover, turn off burner and let sit for 30 minutes without opening lid. Drain, add cold water and peel.
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CUCUMBER AND APPLE SANDWICHES (Kimberly White)

Divide a slice of white bread into quarters, and remove the crusts.

Peel and dice one apple into very small pieces; mix apple pieces with 1-2 tablespoons of applesauce.

Spread applesauce onto one small slice of bread. Add a mint leaf, a slice of cucumber, then top with another piece of bread.
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MAPLE WALNUT SCONES (Emily Nelson)
Baked

4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsps pure maple extract
1 cup toasted walnuts

Maple Glaze:
2 tbsps melted butter
1 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp maple extract
2-6 tbsps (or more) maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 and line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.

Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized. Try to work quickly so that the butter stays cold.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and maple extract. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently knead with your hands until the dough starts to come together. Add the walnuts and knead until they are incorporated. Try not to overwork the dough. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into a disk about 1 1/2 inches in height. You can either cut the disk into wedges, or use biscuit cutters to get scones the size you want.

Bake the scones for 15 minutes (for smaller scones) or up to 25-30 minutes for larger scones. The scones are done when they are set on top and slightly golden on the bottom.

To make the glaze stir the butter, powdered sugar and maple extract in a small bowl. Add maple syrup a little at a time until you have a glaze that will drizzle over top of the scones.
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