United Cakedom: traditions

Afternoon tea is a classic British tradition that everyone should partake in! Of course it's always nice to go out and let someone else do all the work of creating the perfect afternoon tea for you, but there is also something to be said about doing it yourself!

Will Torrent's latest book Afternoon Tea at Home follows two other great titles Patisserie at Home and Chocolate at Home; the former of which I do not own and will need to remedy! Mr. Torrent likes to show us that these decadent and delicious treats can be made in the comfort of our own homes! I would have to say that the skill level varies - there are recipes that look very easy and non-complicated and a few that might take a little extra skill and know how. But nothing in this book is unachievable!

I really like the way the book is organised giving us a brief introduction, a little history on the tradition of afternoon tea, and a few essential recipes for jams and curds. Then he gives us the recipes we need to create a classic afternoon tea. The classic salmon and cream cheese sandwiches - the cream cheese is whipped to make it physically lighter! Along with scones, shortbreads, and of course the Victoria sponge!

The following chapters are divided by seasons. Afternoon tea isn't just for warm summer days, but all year round! He gives us seasonal recipes to create a spring selection, summer sensation, fall delights, and winter celebration afternoon teas each one better then the last. My favourites were the fall and winter selections, but that's not surprising as I have a love of all the warm comforting spices and flavours of those times of year!

The last chapter gives us a selection of recipes for something special. Birthdays, anniversary's, holidays and any day that means something to you and those you'll be enjoying the day with! Then our author leaves us with menu planners - guides to create the perfect afternoon tea for all those occasions referencing all the recipes through out the book! He even includes one for a Thanksgiving tea and because of that I love him. It's just the American in me! One couldn't ask for more!

I have never planned my own afternoon tea, but with the help of this book and a few of my friends I think we will need to plan one! Here is a menu of what I would consider the best afternoon tea using Afternoon Tea at Home as a guide:

Lisa's Ultimate Tea Party

Pastrami and Emmental open sandwich with thousand island coleslaw on brown rye (page 91)
Chicken liver parfait with thyme and onion confit and fluted brioche (page 147)
Blueberry and buttermilk scones with honeycomb butter (page 41)
PBJ cookie sandwiches (page 99)
Mince pie brownies (page 134)
Apple crumble and custard tartlets (page 155 pictured below)
Coffee and caramel eclairs (page 156)
Marmalade Madeira cakes with macadamias, hazelnuts, and almonds (page 83)

No idea if any of these recipes actually compliment each other, but they all sounded good! I wouldn't say no if they were all sat on a pretty three tiered stand waiting for me to eat! It was hard to choose and I bet if you asked me again in a month or so I'd pick all different things. Main point is that Afternoon tea at home offers a variety of amazing recipes that can help you make a perfect afternoon tea!

notes: I received my copy of Afternoon Tea at Home by Will Torrent from the publishers, Ryland, Peters & Small to review. It was published in February and is available at all good book sellers and online shops! All opinions are my own, no other compensation was given please see my contact/policy page for more information!

When I was growing up we always got to decide what we wanted for dinner and what sort of cake we wanted for our birthday’s. So, it’s what I do for my husband and daughters. Last week my husband celebrated his birthday so, the customary questions applied. “What cake do you want and what do you want me to make for dinner?”

He told me he didn’t have a preference of cake or his birthday dinner. How typical and extremely annoying.

When I was studying art at school they gave us a project. They said create an ad for this company (a company they made up) they gave us a brief and set us free. We were stuck before we got started. Without knowing what the company/brand wanted we didn’t know where to start. Was it a print ad? Do they have a logo or are we designing one? What sort of color schemes do they use or want? Who is the audience?

 This is how I feel when given creative rein on a cake and even dinner when it’s not for myself. How do I know if he was actually feeling like a hamburger instead of the chicken quesadilla’s that I ended up making. What if was actually thinking of a chocolate dream cake?

I like knowing what people want so I can do my best to provide it. Perhaps it’s a good thing we’ve been together 10+ years and I managed to do things right with the Irn Bru Cake and chicken quesadilla’s. However, after 10 years I’m sure he’s smart enough not to tell me if I got it wrong.

Right. So, yes I decided to make him an Irn Bru Cake, due to the fact that he loves the stuff. Back in the beginning of my blog I attempted to make Irn Bru Cupcakes, but they didn't turn out as well as expected. So, even though I was a little weary of trying it as a cake I was curious to see if I could make it work.

It doesn’t have a strong Irn Bru flavor, but a very subtle, yet distinct taste that works. Before you get started I should warn you that it’s very sweet.

Irn Bru Cake

165g unsalted butter
320g caster sugar
3 eggs
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
90ml Irn Bru
peach gel food coloring

Heat the oven to 170C and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. If the short sides are exposed instead of messing around with more baking paper just lightly grease it with some butter. Anything to keep things simple.
Beat the butter and sugar together until lighter in color and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Then beat in the flour and vanilla until just combined. Gently fold in the Irn Bru and a butter knife tip of peach gel food coloring with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes. Use the skewer test to test if it’s done. Leave to cool in the tin a while you make the icing.

Icing:

approximately 125-150g of icing sugar
blue gel food coloring
1-2 tablespoons of Irn Bru
orange and yellow star sprinkles, to decorate (optional)

I tend to just throw icing sugar in a bowl and add liquid until I get the constancy that I want. Which is what I suggest you do, start with 125g of icing sugar and add a tablespoon of Irn Bru. Mix if you need more of one or the other adjust it until you get a smooth runny constancy. Add the food coloring gel and pour over the cake. Decorate with sprinkles of your choice, preferably orange/yellow colored!