Tag Archives: Tea Party

Lemon & Lavender Sugar Cookies

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Makes 48-52, dependent on cookie cutter size

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
  • 1 small Tonka bean finely grated
  • 1-2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 egg white, beaten

Method

  1. Combine the sugar, lavender, lemon zest, and grated tonka bear in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined
  2. Cream together the butter and 1/2 cup lavender sugar mixture, until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Beat until combined, and dough starts to become crumbly. Add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice until the dough comes together
  3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the cookies using your preferred cookie cutter. I used 1 1/2 inch fluted and plain circular cutters for bite-size cookies. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a spatula.
  4. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the dough
  5. While the cookies are chilly, reheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Brush each cookie with beaten egg white, then sprinkle with the remaining lavender sugar
  6. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 12-13minutes or until just lightly golden on the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely
  7. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Rose & Orange Olive Oil Cakes

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Makes 16

Ingredients

Cakes

  • 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 3 large eggs 

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons rosewater

To decorate

  • Dried rose petals

Method

Cakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini loaf pan* with baking spray
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
  3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the sugar, and orange zest. Rub together for a few minutes to release the orange natural oils. Add the orange juice and whisk together until the sugar is fully dissolved. Whisk in the yogurt, then the eggs and finally the olive oi
  4. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
  5. Pipe or spoon the batter into the prepared mini loaf pans, taking care to fill them no more than halfway full. Bake until the cakes are golden, spring back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22-25 minutes
  6. Let cool for 30 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans to a cooling rack and let cool completely, about 20 minutes more

Glaze/ To Finish

  1. Combine the powdered sugar, milk, rosewater in a bowl and mix until a smooth paste forms
  2. Dip the tops of each loaf into the glaze, allowing any excess to run off. Place on a rack set over some parchment paper. Sprinkle tops with dried rose petals and allow to fully dry and set
  3. Serve and enjoy

*I use a 10 x 15 inch, 8 cavity mini-loaf pan

Earl Grey & Lemon Shortbread

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These are a perfect bite for afternoon tea. Buttery, deliciously crumbly shortbread laced with floral Earl Grey and spiked with the zesty burst of sunshine from a lemon glaze- they are practically perfect for an al fresco tea break in the sunshine.

This is my tried, tested recipe as approved by my Scottish husband! Whilst traditional shortbread is a straightforward (and tasty!) mix of three simple ingredients – butter; flour and sugar, here I’ve added ingredients that I’ve found amplify a shortbread’s more desirable properties. The combination of semolina, rice flour and cornstarch elevate it’s crumbly moreishness while at the same time preventing it from becoming a chalky, dry shard.

I usually cut mine into the no-fuss finger shapes – easy to handle whilst sipping, whilst maximizing the dough amount. Using a cookie cutter is possible but may result in some surplus offcuts. If you choose this route a handy hint is to stir the offcuts into ice-cream. Even more to enjoy!

Check out this #recipe for Earl Grey & Lemon Shortbread

Makes 24

Ingredients

Earl Grey Shortbread

  • 1 2/3 cups AP Flour
  • 2 ½ Tablespoons Earl Grey loose tea
  • 1/3 cup Semolina
  • 2 Tablespoons Rice Flour
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • ½ cup fine sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 cup/ 2 sticks salted butter, cold and cubed

Lemon Glaze

  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)

Method

To make the shortbread

  1. Lightly grease and line a 9″ x 12″ traybake tin
  2. In a food processor, combine the floor and the loose tea leaves. Pulse 4-5 times until leaves are mixed finer into the floor
  3. In a large bowl combine the flour/ tea mixture, semolina, rice flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Whisk together to further combine
  4. Add in the cubed butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture is just beginning to bind together. Every so often do a quarter turn of the bowl to make sure you’re using all the dry mixture. You’ll want a texture somewhere between breadcrumbs and damp sand before you stop. Be wary of overworking the butter into the mixture – you want to avoid a dough that feels slimy from the butter melting too much into the dry ingredients
  5. Tip the crumb mixture into your prepared tin and press the dough so that it forms a solid layer. Level the surface with the back of a spoon or measuring cup, making sure the mixture is evenly spread and uniform. Prick all over with a fork
  6. With a knife or pizza cutter score the shortbread into 24 rectangular pieces (2 cuts by 7 cuts) taking care not to cut the full way through the compressed crumb
  7. Refrigerate for 30 mins minimum
  8. Preheat your oven to 325°F
  9. Remove the shortbread from the fridge and bake for about 35 minutes or until a very pale golden brown.
  10. Remove from the oven and after 5 minutes rest in the tin, cut fully through the baked shortbread with a knife or pizza cutter at the score lines you previously made
  11. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Carefully lift the fingers out of the tin with a palette knife or the parchment paper overhang and finish cooling on a wire rack
  12. While the shortbread cools, prepare the lemon glaze

To make the Lemon Glaze

  1. In a bowl or jug combine the powdered sugar and lemon zest. Add the fresh lemon juice to your personal taste (2 -3 teaspoons)
  2. Make sure the shortbread pieces are fully cooled before glazing. Dip or pipe the glaze onto the shortbread pieces to your personal preference. (I usually transfer mine to a piping bag and drizzle lightly over the shortbread)
  3. Store in an airtight tin for up to a week