Orange-Cardamom Tea Cakes

While looking for keto friendly tea service food recipes I stumbled upon this one and thought the flavor combination sounded good so I decided to try it.

Notes:

• I used butter to grease the muffin tin instead of spray oil because I didn't have spray, and it worked pretty well. Some of them had some trouble releasing from the tin but none got significantly ruined. You can run a plastic knife around the edge as they're cooling to help them come out more easily. I would not use paper liners because I think they'd just stick to the paper.
• I ended up with 11 cakes using a muffin tin. The recipe does not give a yield; it only said she used a mini bundt pan with space for 12 cakes, and I think with holes in the middle like a mini bundt cake you probably would get 12 cakes.
• I was a bit worried at the small amounts of fat and moisture in the recipe and the batter was indeed pretty thick, but it still resembled thicker muffin batter and they turned out fine.
• I used Truvia erythritol/stevia granules and it turned out well. Not too sweet tasting, and no excessive browning.
• I used unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. 
• My cakes took exactly 20 minutes to bake.
• I made a glaze out of a small amount of powdered sugar substitute, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a sprinkle of cardamom but I don't think I'd do it again as it was too sweet. I think a cream cheese based one would be really nice, or the coconut cream based one they suggest.

Verdict: Overall they turned out better than expected, and I would make them again. I might add some more cardamom in a future batch or consider grinding it fresh for a more intense flavor. I also think a lemon-poppyseed variation would be really good. My partner tried them and liked them, and  thinks other people would not know it's gluten free/keto unless you were to tell them.

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RECIPE: Low-Carb Orange Cardmom Tea Cakes (Annissa Slusher, Simply So Healthy)

Weight equivalents:

• 2 cups almond flour = 200 g
• 1/2 cup sweetener = 105 g
• 2 tbsp coconut oil = 28 g 

Spritz Cookies

My partner recently mentioned he missed having spritz cookies this past holiday season (we did not encounter any) so I decided to make him some for Valentine's Day, using the cookie press my friend's mother gifted me a long time ago. I have made spritz cookies before and posted about them here, but I wanted to try a new recipe this time. I know I can count on a recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction to turn out like it looks in her photos.

Notes:

• I chilled my pans from 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator before extruding the cookies onto them and it worked very nicely to get them to stick to the cookie sheet and come off the press.
• I tried brushing water on to get the colored sugar to stick but didn't have a lot of luck with it so I just sprinkled it directly onto the cookie. A little uneven and messy but still works. 
• I use my cookie press just infrequently enough that I forget its little quirks every time. Writing down notes here so I remember for next time.
• Maybe there's a better way to fill it but you can kinda make logs of dough just smaller than the tube and try to drop them in there.
• Change the cookie thickness dial depending on what shape you're making!
• Heart: THIN (if you do THICK they will look more like the opening in the plate hahahaha)
• Flower: THICK (if you try to go thinner they will stick to the gun instead of the pan)

Verdict: These were really tasty and turned out just like the recipe promised. I would happily make them again.

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RECIPE: Spritz Cookies (Sally McKenney, Sally's Baking Addiction)

Tea Parties vol. 5: Keto Easter

After a thoroughly disappointing experience with tea service at a fashion event I went to at the end of March, I decided the only way I am going to have a nice tea is if I make it myself. I was telling a friend about tea service and he told me he wished he'd gone to tea when he visited London. He was going to be cat sitting for us soon so I wanted to do something to thank him, and he wanted to get together for the Easter holiday right before our vacation so I invited him to tea at my house. I think he had a really nice time, and I got to replace a sub-par memory with a really nice one.

I made all of the food, and it was a mix of keto friendly items and regular ones since I was the only person following a keto diet. There were only three of us so things were very manageable. The cream cheese stuffed strawberries were an unexpected big hit! I will definitely make more of them for future tea parties with people who can't eat sugar.

THE MENU

Drinks 

• Yorkshire Tea
• Sparkling wine

Savory course 

• Crustless quiche using my regular recipe but omitting the crust and instead greasing the baking dish very very well with butter. It had cheese, scallions, and grape tomatoes in it.
• Charcuterie plate (sausage, cheeses, olives) with optional crackers
• Cucumber sandwiches, with and without bread. I mixed a dried herb blend from Penzey's (Justice) into some cream cheese with salt and pepper and spread it on bread and topped with cucumber slices for the regular version, and sandwiched the cream cheese between cucumber slices for the keto friendly version.

Scone course 

• English style scones with homemade strawberry jam and store bought fig jam 
• Almond flour scones (keto friendly) with sugar free raspberry jam made with home grown raspberries

Dessert course

• Sugar free Jello eggs (made as directed on the package and poured into egg shaped molds)
• Keto fudgy brownies (keto friendly) decorated with Russell Stover sugar free candy drops in cute bright colors
• Peanut butter cookies with peanut butter candies
• Strawberries stuffed with sugar free vanilla flavored cream cheese (no recipe, just mixed powdered sugar substitute and some vanilla extract into cream cheese until thoroughly combined, then smushed as much as I could into strawberries that were hulled and had a cross shaped cut in the top)
• Minneola slices 

Almond Flour Scones

After a thoroughly disappointing experience with tea service at a fashion event I went to at the end of March, I decided the only way I am going to have a nice tea is if I make it myself. I was telling a friend about tea service and he told me he wished he'd gone to tea when he visited London. He was going to be cat sitting for us soon so I wanted to do something to thank him, and he wanted to get together for the Easter holiday right before our vacation so I invited him to tea at my house. I think he had a really nice time, and I got to replace a sub-par memory with a really nice one.

For an English style tea service it is of course necessary to serve scones and clotted cream and jam, so this was the first thing I tried to find a keto friendly recipe for.

Notes:

• I used Swerve granulated sugar substitute and they got very brown, almost burnt on the bottom the first time I made them. I plan to experiment with the sweetener to hopefully get them to not brown so much in the future.
• I left out the lemon zest one time because I didn't have it and it worked fine. The vanilla is really nice. If you don't want them to have a default sweet kind of taste though you could probably leave it out. 
• I ate these with clotted cream and sugar free homemade raspberry jam.
• I've also used these as a base for strawberry shortcake and liked it! (pictured) 

Verdict: I loved these and have made them one additional time since the keto friendly tea service because I missed them when they were gone. I have a feeling this will be a go-to recipe.

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RECIPE: Grain Free English Scones (Katrin Nürnberger, Sugar Free Londoner)

Seafoam Cupcakes with Chocolate Seashells

I made these for my spread for a marine themed virtual tea party. They are yellow cupcakes with blue-tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, decorated with pearl sprinkles and white chocolate seashells. I made these yellow cupcakes once on a whim about four years ago and they made quite the impression on me (and apparently everyone else at the housewarming party I brought them to -- they were gone by the time one of the hosts went to grab one!). I am normally pretty skeptical of recipes with superlatives in the title but they are truly delicious. Unfortunately I filled the cups a little too full and they overflowed and stuck together so the edges are ragged, but they were for myself and they tasted really good, so meh. I got the more important part right. Plus it kind of works if you think of the cake as sand :)

I tinted the frosting a very light blue (about 5-6 drops) and piped it on the cupcakes to visually simulate crashing waves. I melted white chocolate chips, swirled in a couple of drops of blue food coloring, filled seashell shaped silicone molds with the chocolate, and put them in the refrigerator to harden. I used these and some pearl sprinkles to decorate the tops of the cupcakes.

Verdict: They are simple and definitely on the sugary side for me (whee piles of frosting), but I enjoyed them a lot. I shared them with my partner and gave some to a couple of friends, and everyone else really enjoyed the cupcakes too. Definitely have some go-to recipes now. :D

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RECIPES:
Cake: The Perfect Yellow Cupcake (Food Network)
Frosting: Buttercream Frosting (Savory Sweet Life)

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

In preparing for International Lolita Day this summer I decided I wanted to make something traditionally served at high tea for an online meetup. For my last in-person tea party I made a Korean inspired sandwich with cucumber in it but today I was more interested in the traditional kind. However, because they're so simple and delicately flavored, it's easy to make them really boring or unappealing. I wanted, in the words of my friend, "a cucumber sandwich that doesn't suck."

I happened upon a missive by Felicity Cloake on the subject, and it was an interesting read, not having grown up around tea culture of any kind. If you'd like to read it, feel free to check out this link. But I'm just here to tell you how to make the version she settled on.

Notes:

• Admittedly I made my sandwich with brown bread because it was all I had. I liked it, though I think a white bread (but not Wonder Bread style white bread) is really what you want here.
• I tried cutting my sandwich into 6 pieces and it started falling apart. I'd stick with dividing the sandwich into 4 pieces max. I think a bread knife or a sharp chef's knife works best.

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RECIPE:

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

from Felicity Cloake

Serves 3-4

1/2 large cucumber, peeled (seeds removed if there are large seeds)

1/8-1/4 tsp salt

6 slices of good, fresh white bread

4-5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Ground white pepper

Slice cucumber very thinly. Place in a sieve over the sink. Salt the slices lightly and toss to coat. Let stand for 20 minutes. Taste one, and if it is very salty, you can rinse the cucumbers to remove some of the salt. Place cucumber slices in a single layer on paper towels and pat dry with more paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Butter each slice of bread generously on one side. Arrange cucumber slices to cover 3 of the slices of bread, overlapping the slices as needed, then sprinkle white pepper on top. Top with the remaining bread slices.

Using gentle but firm pressure, place your hand on top of each sandwich and cut off the crusts with a sharp knife, then cut into 3 equal fingers, 4 squares, or 4 triangles. Serve immediately, preferably alongside a cup of good tea.

Tea Parties Vol. 4: The Prosecco Party

It had been nearly 2 years since my last tea party and I sorely needed to change that. For this party I went for an English high tea structure to the meal but with some fancy twists. Cucumber sandwiches, but Korean inspired. Chickpea salad instead of chicken or egg (bonus: vegetarians can eat it). Smoked salmon with lots of fresh vegetables. Plain scones, something of a rarity in America. Tiny desserts that taste as great as they look.

This was my first time having the party on Saturday instead of Sunday, and I normally work weekdays, so that meant preparing most of the food Friday evening after a full day of work plus Saturday morning. I am hashtag blessed to have awesome friends who came to help at both times. I significantly underestimated the amount of work this would involve, and I could not have gotten all this food made in time alone. Previously I asked people to arrive at noon but I quickly discovered I'm never actually ready to start then. Starting the party an hour later made a LOT of difference.

The schedule stars finally aligned for my sister to make it to one of these parties, and she let me dress her up! I have the same dress in two different colors and I put together matching outfits for us that didn't require a ton of hair/makeup preparation. It made me extra happy and I think she had fun.

We had 9 people this time, our largest group ever. Despite my best intentions, no actual tea was served (!) We started with sparkling wine and just never switched. Therefore, it was a prosecco party and not a tea party. We went through wayyy more than I thought we would but all the people I asked to bring sparkling wine did, and even some that I didn't ask! ha.

My husband threw on a city pop livestream neither of us had heard before, and it ended up being an incredible gem! It's good background music for frantic cooking working and we decided to just keep it on for the party too. Have a listen if you're into jazz, funk, disco, pop, and reggae from the 70s and 80s! He also took some fun photos to remember the afternoon.

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RECIPES

• SAVORIES
• Focaccia Sandwiches for a Crowd (Smitten Kitchen) -- I used this as the bread for all the sandwiches because I really, really wanted to try it ever since I found it several months ago. It was pretty easy to make and tasted quite good too! I did the quickest rising option, and it took a little more than 25 minutes to bake in my oven. I'd definitely consider making it again if I need to make a large amount of sandwiches where I also want to make my own bread and have enough advance time to make it.
• Korean Style Cucumber Sandwiches with Gochujang Mayo (Gather and Dine) -- we made a chicken version and vegetarian version with dry fried tofu (marinated after dry frying), and I think I like the tofu one a little better since it stayed together better and was a little more salty. The gochujang mayo was really tasty but some found it a little too spicy, so maybe I will dial it back next time. They fall apart easily so maybe keeping the chicken in larger pieces would work better if I made them again.
• Smoked Salmon Sandwiches -- Sarah made these completely differently from how I would have but they did taste pretty good. She blended the cream cheese and salmon and dill with some lemon juice, spread it on a big piece of the focaccia, cut it into squares and then we garnished each with a slice of radish and cucumber.
• Curried Chickpea Salad (She Likes Food) -- Paula made this so I don't have any notes other than that I might have chopped the celery and apple a little smaller than she did, but it significantly exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to making it again! It's a good balance of curry flavor, creaminess, and sweetness, and it stays together nicely if you mash some of the beans really thoroughly but keep others in large pieces. A keeper for sure.
• Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs -- for something without bread. This is my personal recipe, so of course I love it. Andrea and Paula prepared the eggs and filling the night before. Caroline stuffed the eggs in the morning and arranged them beautifully with some butter lettuce and sweet peppers from my work colleague's farm share.
• SCONES
• English Style Scones -- Sarah made these the morning of the tea party while I was asleep. She was not impressed with the recipe, and she makes a lot of scones, but I personally liked them. I served them with clotted cream (the Whole Foods in my city sells it), homemade strawberry freezer jam (pick yourself some strawberries and follow the recipe in the Sure-Jell Reduced Sugar Pectin box), and homemade lemon curd (from a frozen batch I made a couple of years ago so I don't remember which recipe I used). Oddly I feel like they tasted better (less bitter) the next day. I'd love to try making them myself.
• SWEETS
• Persian Love Cake (Broma Bakery) -- HOLY CRAP this was delicious. I have a separate entry on it since I did 95% of the preparation and have a lot of (happy) thoughts on it. I absolutely want to make this again.
• Chocolate Ganache Mini Tarts (Bon Appetit) -- I decorated them with edible gold glitter and fresh raspberries instead of the halvah and sesame salt. I will look for a different ganache recipe next time. My ganache did not fully set even after being refrigerated for many hours. The tart shells rolled out and baked nicely but tasted kind of bitter, though they did taste better the next day. I think if they were a little sweeter they'd have been perfect. It made 21 tart shells.
• Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies -- a favorite of mine but with a new challenge: we rolled out the dough and cut them into large (2.5-3 inch) hearts, and were sparing with the filling so they wouldn't slide apart. It made about 4.5 dozen (54) hearts, enough for 27 sandwiches, with extra filling left over. I put about 1 cup more powdered sugar in the filling than the recipe called for and I think between that and the small amount of filling inside the cookies it actually set somewhat after being chilled in the refrigerator. I like these better as small, thick cookies with more filling. If I do make them heart shaped again, I will get a smaller cutter. I also think a firmer filling is the way to go and will continue to work on adjusting the recipe so it is firm but still has enough bright, fresh lemon flavor.

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• Sparkling wine (mostly prosecco, some rose)

THE TEA PARTIES

• Vol. 3: An End of Summer Feast
• Vol. 2: Spring Up Speed Up
• Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

Tea Parties Vol. 3: An End of Summer Feast

This meal was heavily inspired by Sarah, Caroline, and me all finding our way to the Great British Baking Show / The Great British Bake-Off separately but around the same time and then raving about it (thanks Netflix). It's so refreshing to see a cooking show that focuses primarily on the creativity and growth of the participants and the beautiful food they make, rather than relying on manufactured cattiness, drama, and shock value for entertainment. The hosts are silly and own it. I love the dad jokes. I have also learned a lot about culinary traditions of cultures and countries other than my own and made mental notes of new flavor combinations I'd never heard of that sound amazing.

A lot of the savory part of the menu was inspired by this particular dish I saw, to which Sarah said we should deconstruct it a bit. All the elements are there in various configurations.

One of the first episodes of the Great British Baking Show I ever watched was the one where they made roll cakes, and I loved it so much I wanted to design my own! I came up with a caramel mocha roll cake. It turned out reasonably well for my first attempt, if a bit literally and figuratively rough around the edges.

I created a drink recipe especially for this party, inspired by a drink I had at adults summer camp with one of my best friends and with my own fancy addition of peach green tea.

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RECIPES

• Roasted Carrot and Curry Hummus (Kristin Donnelly, via Design Sponge) -- Sarah's pick. I loved the sweetness of the curry + carrot combination.
• Spiced Beef Meatballs -- Sarah's recipe. She may have made it up herself.
• Lentil and Rice Balls -- Caroline brought this recipe for a vegetarian meatball alternative.
• Hummus Heaped with Cucumbers and Tomatoes (Smitten Kitchen) -- straightforward and lovely. I picked this recipe because I'd seen it and could not forget it because it looked so good. We made only the salad part, and served it with store-bought white bean hummus.
• Crisp Rosemary Flatbread (Smitten Kitchen) -- Sarah's pick, to eat with the hummus. A total keeper. These were one of the first things to get completely eaten, and I promptly made more to eat with the rest of the leftovers.
• Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates with Spinach-Hazelnut Pesto
• Cheesy Potatoes (no link) -- Andrea made these and brought them! Not sure where her recipe came from but they were yummy.
• Caramel Mocha Swiss Roll Cake -- one of the most challenging cakes I've ever attempted to make, and I was pleased with the result. I think it's a great start but it needs some tweaking so as to not be so incredibly rich.
• Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry Sauce
• Peach Rosemary Tea Collins
• Watermelon Lemonade (Smitten Kitchen)

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• White bean hummus (Lantana makes a great one)
• Various fancy cheeses
• Wine

THE TEA PARTIES

• Vol. 2: Spring Up Speed Up
• Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

Tea Parties Vol. 2: Spring Up Speed Up

Tea Party, volume 2. Fortunately this one did not end with my husband going to the emergency room! These are starting to look less like tea parties and more like huge-dinner-but-there's-also-tea parties. Or huge-dinner-with-tea-in-the-food parties.

For this one, I got input on the menu but ended up making almost all of the food myself. I spent most of the day before making things and then Sarah came to help and hang out that night. The party was on Sunday afternoon. Caroline and Alaina helped assemble the deviled eggs and dip the strawberries after they arrived. It ended up being a really nice day for early March so we got to take some photos outside! It was a lovely time.

If you like upbeat music, check out Perfume's song Spring of Life for the name inspiration!

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RECIPES:

• Sausage Fennel Seed Slices
• Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs
• Carrot-Apple-Ginger Soup (Joy the Baker) - chosen because it did not contain dairy and I had a vegan friend in attendance. While she is not strict and will eat vegetarian food, it is a goal of mine to have at least a few vegan friendly recipes up my sleeve that I personally like to eat.
• Lemon Cake with Black Tea Frosting (Honey and Jam's take on Dorie Greenspan) - I made this as written and while it was a lot of work, I did enjoy the end product. I baked the cake, brewed extra-strong black tea, and candied the lemon slices the evening before the party, and made the frosting and assembled the cake the morning of the party. It made a LOT of frosting (so I filled the middle with a lot) and the top layer ended up sliding around a bit.
• Rhubarb Tart with Cardamom Meringues
• Green Tea White Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Other things we served that were not made from scratch or that don't really need a recipe:

• White chocolate covered pretzels (I did make these but all the ingredients are already prepared; you just melt chocolate, dip the pretzels in it, and sprinkle rainbow nonpareils on before the chocolate hardens)
• Hummus and raw vegetables
• Various fancy cheeses
• Gin and tonic with a splash of lavender liqueur
• Wine
• Dry sparkling mead (our local meadery makes a rosé grape and lavender one called Equinox that is tasty!)

Tea Parties Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

One of my other hobbies besides cooking is dressing up in an alternative street fashion. One of the things groups of people who are interested in this fashion do is go to tea services while dressed to the nines in fancy, frilly clothes. I had recently left my local community because I felt weird being almost 30 and hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers I wasn't sure I'd ever have crossed paths or be friends with otherwise, and was lamenting the fact that I really wanted to host an event at my house, but wasn't comfortable inviting these people into my home and also felt weird asking my actual friends to come over where I was all dressed up in strange clothes.

Cue Sarah finding out about my fashion hobby and giving me one of the greatest pep talks of my adult life. Indeed she is right. The people who like you already aren't going to abandon you over your taste in clothing, and even if they're not into it personally, they will be happy for you that you're enjoying yourself. I'd read something to this effect and agreed with it before, but I guess I needed someone to say it, out loud, to me specifically.

I then told her about this tea party idea and since we like to cook together, she offered to help me cook for this party. I decided my birthday was a good excuse for the party so I invited my friends and took care of the scheduling and communication, and made drinks and cupcakes and hosted. Sarah made and brought the soup, sablés, gougères and nectarine bars. It was a lovely afternoon.

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RECIPES

• Roasted Corn Gazpacho with Cilantro Crema (from Tara O'Brady's cookbook Seven Spoons)
• Cheddar Cheese Sablés (originally from Chad Robertson's cookbook Tartine Book No. 3; the recipe linked from Scratchin' It is very similar but not the same as the one Sarah made)
• Rye-Cocoa Gougères (originally from Chad Robertson's cookbook Tartine Book No. 3)
• Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting (from Brown Eyed Baker; I additionally topped each one with a chocolate covered espresso bean and chocolate jimmies)
• Nectarine Frangipane Bars (from Smitten Kitchen; Sarah used nectarines instead of rhubarb)
• Matcha Green Tea Mojito
• Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea
• Bonus: Kentucky Tea Julep (from Elmwood Inn; I tested it with a neutral store brand black tea which was probably orange pekoe, and I liked it but we did not end up making them for the party because we had plenty of other drinks)

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• Various fancy cheeses
• Wine