Making a Proper Pot of Tea

Often it is cheaper to buy loose tea leaves than tea bags, so here is the way to make a proper pot of English black tea.

You will need the following:

Tea leaves - 1 tsp. per person plus 1 tsp. for the pot

Boiling water

Sugar to taste

Milk or lemon to taste.

1. Fill your kettle with fresh cold water and bring it to the boil.

2. Meanwhile, swish hot water around in the teapot (preferably china or earthenware). This is an important step as it helps the water remain at the boiling point when it is poured in the pot.

3. Just before the kettle boils, empty the water out of the teapot and put in the tea leaves. Take the teapot to the kettle and fill it with the freshly boiled water.

4. Stir the tea briefly, then put the lid on the pot and leave the tea to brew for 3-6 minutes, depending on how strong you like it. Remember larger leaf teas take longer to brew. You may use a tea cosy to keep the pot warm if you have one.

5. Pour the tea through a strainer into the cup, and then add milk, sugar or lemon.

6. After about 15 minutes the tea will start to stew in the pot and have a nasty bitter taste and so it is better to make a fresh pot at that time.

7. Have some slices of lemon ready for those who would prefer their tea weaker and without milk.

Serve with your favorite tea party fare, little sandwiches and cakes and whatever other things you enjoy. When my daughters were very young they used to share teatime with us, and to accomodate them we made the tea very weak and added a lot of milk. They used to enjoy the ceremony of afternoon tea very much and still enjoy tea today.

Written & submitted by Linda @ Penny-wise 

Butterfly Cakes and Two Yummy Icings

This is the recipe I like to make most often from scratch for little cakes to go with tea or at any time. This is a recipe my mother and I used to make all the time–it is British so the measurements are in ounces. You will need a measuring scale or convert to US measurements. 

Butterfly Cakes

Ingredients:

6 oz. self-rising flour

1 rounded tsp. baking powder

3 large eggs, room temperature

6 oz. caster sugar (fine baking sugar)

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Strawberry preserves, if desired 

Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy and light in your mixer or beat thoroughly by hand. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding a little flour with each. Baking powder should be mixed with the flour. Mix until well blended.

Use paper cases and half fill with the mixture.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and cool.

When completely cooled, cut a slice from the top of the cake and cut this piece in half.  Place a small amount of preserves  and a little butter cream, or fresh cream in the hollow and arrange “wings” on top. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

NOTE:  This recipe also make a great sponge cake, known in England as a Victoria Sandwich Cake.

I prefer to use fresh whipped cream in my cakes, and I only assemble what I know we will eat. The rest of the cakes I freeze intact and assemble when I need them. This recipe freezes well. In case you don’t wish to use fresh cream here are two recipes for filling.  I am not overly fond of super-sweet, rich fillings, but it you enjoy them for a treat, then these should do the trick.

Butter Cream

1 oz. butter

2 oz. icing sugar

Mix together until creamy, adjust sugar to your own personal taste. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature

¾ lb. butter, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ lbs confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Blend together cream cheese, butter and vanilla, add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Written and submitted by Linda @ Penny-wise

Another Tea Party Favourite

This is another of our favourite tea time recipes.  Even though our tea time recipes are not always totally frugal, they are certainly cheaper than the store bought variety and tea parties are one of our favourite things to do.

Lavender Shortbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. very finely chopped dried lavender buds
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cover bottoms of two baking sheets with parchment or brown paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and lavender with an electric mixer. Mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour, cornstarch, and salt and beat until incorporated. Divide dough in half. Flatten into squares and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm.

On a floured board, roll or pat out each square to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 -inch squares or rounds. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Prick each cookie several times with a fork. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until pale golden (do not brown). Cool slightly, then transfer to a rack.

Garnish with lavender powdered sugar: put some lavender buds in a sealed jar with the powdered sugar for a day before using the sugar.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Written and submitted by Linda @ Penny-wise

A Tea Time Favorite

I like to make scones from time to time as a little luxury to have with our afternoon tea. Here's one of my favorite recipes:

Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp. buttermilk - plus a little for brushing tops

8 oz. self-rising flour

pinch of salt

3 oz. butter at room temperature

1 1/2 oz. caster sugar

1 large egg

Sift flour and salt into a bowl.

Rub butter lightly into the mix until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then add the sugar. In a jug beat the egg and 2 Tbsp. of buttermilk together, then add to the mixture with a palette knife.

When it begins to come together, finish off with your hands. It should be soft but not sticky. If dough is too dry add a little buttermilk a teaspoon at a time.

Form the dough into a ball. Place on a lightly floured surface and roll into a circle about an inch thick. Use a circle cutter to cut out the scones and carry on until you have used all the dough.

Place scones on a baking tray, brush the tops lightly with buttermilk. Bake on top shelf of oven for 10-12 minutes or until they are well risen and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Serve with clotted cream (or whipped cream if clotted unavailable) and raspberry butter (recipe below) or preserves of your choice.

Scones should be eaten fresh as they do not keep well; however they can be frozen.

Raspberry Butter 

Ingredients:

1 lb. raspberries

6 oz. sugar

Puree raspberries in food processor, then pass through a nylon sieve and press with a spoon until all the juice possible strains through (about 15 fl. oz.). Place puree in a medium saucepan with the sugar and heat very gently until all the sugar has dissolved stirring all the time. Turn up the heat and boil rapidly for 8-10 minutes and keep stirring. When it is done, it should be reduced by a third. Do not overcook.

Pour into a serving dish and let it cool at least an hour. Butter can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

It is delicious with the scones and fresh butter.

Written and submitted by Linda @ Penny-wise