High Tea Menus and Violets!

So Spring is finally here, there are lambs in the fields and sun in the sky. It feels like finally the ground is beginning to thaw and little shoots of green are peeping through. Before long there will be blossom on the trees and the sea will be warm enough for swimming.

The week before last when the first glimmers of sunshine began peeking through the clouds my dad came down to visit. We took the costal path from Watergate north towards the Camel estuary. After a couple of hours of walking it felt like we might have climbed half way to Everest and we turned back (in fact we had only just past the stunning view at Bedruthan steps). On the path by Mawgan Porth my dad noticed tiny violets by the edge of the path. I pick enough to crystalise and decorate cupcakes with for our high tea that week.

We have been hosting our High Tea Party's at Carpe Diem for a month now and we have a small mention this months issue of 247 on the news page. You can view this here:

http://247magazine.co.uk/

On the 27th of March we will have a stall serving mini high teas at Fifteen's farmers market, we are very excited! For more info visit Fifteen Cornwall's website:

http://www.fifteencornwall.co.uk/farmersmarkets.htm

If you haven't been to visit us yet this is what you have been missing:

High Tea 28^th February 2010

High tea menu

Savouries:

Hens egg and watercress finger sandwiches, Homemade Hummus with onion seed flat bread for dipping, olive and goats cheese rosemary skewers.

A selection of delicious home baked scones with Rodda’s Farm clotted cream and

Debbie’s rhubarb jam

Sweeties:

Tiny tiramisus, Mawgan Porth violet flower cupcakes, lavender shortbread and spiced biscuits for dunking

High Tea is served with a pot from a selection of teas or with coffee all for

£7.50 per person.

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High Tea 21^st February 2010

High tea menu

Savouries:

Cornish smoked Mackerel pate farm and watercress finger sandwiches on Baker Tom’s bread, toasted cumin spiced quails on flat bread, St Endellion Brie and bacon galettes

A selection of delicious home baked scones with Rodda’s Farm clotted cream and

Debbie’s rhubarb jam

Sweeties:

Chocolate and Seville orange pots, lemon drizzle cupcakes, pistachio macaroons,

and biscuits for dunking

High Tea is served with a pot from a selection of teas or with coffee all for

£7.50 per person.

Teas include:

Standard, English breakfast, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Green tea, Green tea and lemon, White tea and mint, Mint, Chamomile, and more please ask for other choices

Teapot refills £2, no matter how big the pot is!

Add a Glass of Prosecco for only £3.00.

Just Popping in for a pot of tea?

Tea and cake £3

Or

Tea and scone with cream and jam for £3.50

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Valentines day special

14^th February 2010

A High Tea for Lovers

Savouries:

Oyster shooter, smoked Cornish mackerel pate with chicory and oak cakes, Yarg and homemade onion marmalade finger sandwiches on Baker Tom’s spelt bread.

A selection of delicious home baked scones with Rodda’s Farm clotted cream and

Debbie’s rhubarb jam

Sweeties:

Pink Grapefruit posset, Cupid’s cupcakes, chocolate dipped brownie hearts

biscuits for dunking

High Tea is served with a pot from a selection of teas or with coffee all for

£7.50 per person.

Add a Glass of Prosecco for only £3.00.

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High Tea Menu 7^th February 2010

Traditional English High Tea

Finger sandwiches on Trevilly Farm bread:

Yarg with homemade onion marmalade, Cornish ham and mustard,

Hen’s egg and watercress,

Freshly baked plain and raisin scones with Trevilling Farm clotted cream and

Debbie’s rhubarb jam

Sweeties:

Anne’s lemon posset, Seville orange marmalade and wild gorse flower cupcakes,

biscuits for dunking

Recommend teas: Earl Grey, English breakfast or Chamomile

Middle Eastern High Tea

Savouries:

Joey’s hummus, falafel, flat bread fingers and olive and feta rosemary skewers

Almond and apricot scones with Trevilling Farm clotted cream and fragrant fruit compote

Sweeties:

Orange polenta cake, Honey and mint tea jellies,

Recommend teas: Mint tea, Lady grey or Ginger, clove and pu’er tea

Deluxe High Tea

Savouries:

Salmon, rocket and lemon on Trevilly Farm White, Oyster shooter,

quails eggs in a glass with oatcakes, crème fraiche and chives,

Freshly baked plain and raisin scones with Trevilling Farm clotted cream and Debbie’s rhubarb jam

Sweeties:

Chocolate and hazelnut brownie, mini rhubarb and orange trifle, iced dipping stars

Recommended tea’s: Organic white tea and peppermint, Earl gray or Red bush

High Tea from deluxe cornwall

Last Sunday we held our very first High Tea Party at Carpe DIem, North Hill, Plymouth. This is what happened...

Happy New Year

It's the start of a new year and time for me to start blogging again.

Since my last post I have moved from the city to the green fields of Trevelgue, started a brand new job at a fantastic restaurant and among other things found out that a mini dress and tights are not suitable attire for walking through two miles of fields to work, even when they are teamed with wellies and very thick wooly socks.

Autumn is now most definitely over and winters freezing weather is out in full force. The hedgerows look like skeletons and the fields are a blank canvas awaiting spring.

We have been working hard on our plans for the business and hope to launch 'Hampers from deluxe cornwall' around Easter time. Our very basic website can be viewed here www.deluxecornwall.co.uk and we can now be contacted on info@deluxecornwall.co.uk.

From February we will be taking over Carpe Diem in Plymouth every Sunday to serve a decadent high tea between noon and six. We will have lots of newspapers and magazines to read, board games to play, delicious homemade food served on vintage china and a soundtrack of 50s, 60s and 70s records played though our radiogram.

In preparation I have been experimenting with lots of high tea recipes for little cakes and treats. The day before yesterday I spent the afternoon baking which was good for a number of reasons. Firstly and most importantly I enjoyed getting creative trying out a new recipe for white tea and honey cupcakes with an orange mascapone frosting. Secondly it meant for the last couple of days we have had lots of treats and thirdly and almost as importantly as the first I had the oven on all afternoon, resulting in the room temperature rising above freezing for a couple of hours, enabling me to take of my coat and gloves. Living out in the country in an old farm building with high vaulted ceilings great for 70% of the year, but with only a log burner to keep us warm over the past couple of weeks part of me has been missing the cosy little flat I used to share with a friend, where my room was tiny and our toilet leaked but there was a thermostat and boiler so we were always warm.

My white tea cupcakes were a little dense, next time I make them I'll try a pinch more baking powder. Trying to make fancy shaped scones did not go very well either. Although my scones looked like perfect heart shapes when they went in, when they came out and the baking powder had worked its magic they looked like normal roundish scones. I was beginning to think I had lost my baking ability until I cut one in half while still warm, covered it in butter and blackcurrant and redcurrant jelly, and devoured it in two delicious mouthfuls.

Yesterday like most of the country we were snowed in. Joe and I spent the day with our neighbors making a snowman and snowcat and sliding down the hill on trays. To warm ourselves up we came in from the cold to our neighbors house for coffee and I took round some cakes and scones.

To make your own scones to take round to friends and neighbors you can follow my recipe below- just remember to use a simple round cutter.

You will need:

350g self raising flour

one teaspoon of baking powder

25g caster sugar

85g cubed butter

190ml milk

a sqeeze of lemon (optional)

sultanas/raisins/currants/stem ginger/chunks of chocolate (all optional)

a beaten egg or a splash of milk (for a beautiful golden finish)

Preheat your oven to gas mark 7 (200'c)

Fist combine the butter, flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl using your fingers to make little breadcrumbs as if you were making pastry or biscuits. Next add your desired addition; sultanas or raisins for classic scones or stem ginger for some extra winter warmth. Add a squeeze of lemon to the milk to sour it slightly and pour this in a little at a time stirring gently with a metal spoon to bring the dry mixture together until it forms a doughy ball in the centre of the bowl. Place your dough on a heavily floured surface, press it out, fold it over and re press it a few times until it become stretchy (there is no need to over work it like bread dough). Press the dough out until it is about 4cm thick all over, I tend not to bother with a rolling pin for scones but I am sure there is no harm is using one if you prefer. Use a floured round cutter (as I discovered pretty shapes don't work too well), cut scones from your dough and place on a warm baking sheet. Refold the leftovers and repeat until all the mix is used up then paint the tops with a beaten egg or milk. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Serve warm from the oven or halved and toasted with clotted cream or butter and some fruit jam.

Blackberries!

So summer is over and autumn has begun and with the first frost just around the corner the fields and hedgerows are brimming with bounty. When I arrived in Cornwall last weekend I was delighted to see the wiry brambles climbing over from the farmers field were hanging heavy with juicy ripe blackberries. Last Monday morning with scratched limbs and stained fingers I returned to the kitchen triumphant, with a bag full of deliciously fragrant blackberries and set to work making an autumn take on the classic Victoria sponge.

For the filling I put about 200gs of the blackberries in a pan with a handful of sugar, a little water and a dash of elderflower cordial made earlier in the year from blossom collected from the very same hedgerow as blackberries. I left this to gently simmer until the blackberries broke down and the liquid reduced to a jam like consistency.

For the cake I creamed 200g of softened butter and 200g of golden caster sugar with the zest of a lemon until light and smooth; adding the zest at this early stage really helps to release the citrus oils and gives the finished cake a more lemony flavour. I then added four eggs one at a time and 200g of self-raising flour added a tablespoon at a time with each egg and the remainder at the end. Once mixed until smooth I poured the mixture into a pre greased tin and cooked in a 180’ preheated oven for about 60 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through to the centre.

While the cake was in the oven I made a mouth-watering topping of cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice beaten with a whisk then chilled in the fridge for twenty minutes or so. This is a fairly runny topping that can be drizzled over a cake rather than spread, if you are making this recipe at home don’t be alarmed by the consistency.

Once the sponge was cool enough to handle I cut it in half and filled generously with the blackberry filling. I placed the sandwich on a cake stand and poured over the cream cheese topping and watched it drizzle down the sides, I topped with a handful of fresh blackberries and gave a generous dusting of icing sugar to finish. We took my autumnal creation round to our French neighbors and enjoyed a slice while watching the typically English rain drizzle down the window- Autumn has definitely arrived.

Dorset apple cake and ice cream

The week before last I spent couple well deserved days off camping in Dorset with my family. A yearly trip to Dorset has been a Warner 'tribe' tradition for as long as I can remember and wandering back from the newly refurbished toilets along the familiar stoney path I looked up at the stars and felt instantly at home. Settling down into my sleeping bag next to my youngest sister, listening to my parents bickering about where the air was coming out of their lilo I could have been thirteen again, after a moment their voices faded into a blur and before I knew it it was morning. We were woken by a glimmer of sunlight peeping from under the tent door. After a hearty make shift breakfast we decided to make the most of the weather and set off to Worth Mattravers for a walk to my mums favourite spot for swimming; Windspit.

Windspit could not really be described a a beach or a bay as it is more just a small break in the steep cliff's edge. It is situated on the East Dorset coast a few miles West of Swanage where many years ago Purbeck limestone was quarried for local construction and most notably Salisbury cathedral. It's staggered blocks of flat grey rock now lend themselves perfectly to picnicking, sunbathing and watching the beautiful blue waves of the English Channel break against the cliffs. The tide was unusually high and the wind was particularly ferocious meaning only my mum and me were bold enough to brave a refreshing dip. After a picnic and nap we set off back to Worth village. My sisters took the direct path we came on back to the village while my parents and I opted for a longer route along the spectacular cliff tops and past the tiny but beautiful St Aldhelm's Chapel set back just meters from the cliffs edge and a stones throw from the local Coast Guards station.

When we arrived back to Worth we headed to the Village Hall for a table top sale of locally produced arts, crafts and most importantly food. We looked round the stalls overflowing with prints of picturesque views, local preserves and seashell wind chimes. We settled ourselves at a gingham clad table in the grassy curchyard next to a marquee full of locally grown flowers, veg and a beautiful aray of potted herbs for sale. We ordered cups of tea and a selection of homemade treats. I opted for a slice of Dorset apple cake served warm with ice cream, it was delicious- the perfect balance of sweetness, spice and a little tang. As we sat back in our chairs and let our cakes digest my dad expressed his delight and pronounced this the apitome of the glorious english countryside.

Last Monday to take away my back to work blues I had the urge to recapture that sunny holiday feeling and set about making my own apple cake with a rhubarb twist to be served warm straight from the oven with clotted cream Ice cream.

To make your own gooey slices of the english countryside follow my simple recipie below:

FIrstly take one large stem of rhubarb, slice vertically down the middle then slice into three inch lengths. Place the rhubarb in a pan and cover with a little water and about 30g of brown sugar, a couple of cloves, a grind of black pepper and half a dozen cardamon pods. Bring to a slow boil and leave to simmer until the rhubarb is soft but not falling apart. In a separate saucepan add three apples cut into small cubes, cover with water, a little sugar, a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and a pinch of mixed spice. Heat until the apples are soft and the liquid reduced and sticky.

Whilst your fruit is cooking you can set to work on your cake. Cream 200g of unsalted butter with 200g of soft brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add four eggs one at at time each with a table spoon of self raising flour take from a bowl of 200g. Add the remaining floor along with a pinch of salt and a couple of tablespoons of mixed spice and mix thoroughly until smooth. Next add the pre cooked apples into the mixture and fold in gently until the cubes are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Line an 8 inch round baking tin with greaseproof paper. In the bottom of the tin arrange slices of rhubarb in a star shape radiating form the centre out, be careful to avoid the whole coves and cardamons. Carefully spoon the cake mixture on top and place in an oven preheated to 180'c for 35-40 minutes. (use a skewer to check). When the cake is ready turn upside down on to a cooling rack. Slice whilst still warm and serve with your favorite ice cream or a splash of cream.

What a lot of Tomatoes

The best thing about your house mate going to Jersey to play a gig.... The best box of veg I ever did see. Thanks Ben.

Time to get practicing tomato recipes.

A Rainy Summer's Weekend

Another rainy weekend in Cornwall may have dampened towels and tents, but it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits. We spent Saturday evening in St Ives for Joey’s birthday at Disco Riot Romance and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Coast Café looking out over the beautiful water, which was blue as ever despite the grey skies.

On Monday, after an early rise and an afternoon nap, I was persuaded by a friend to venture up the coast to Padstow to pick up some food to perk up last nights left over’s, indulge in some fudge eating and wander by the harbor. After a disappointing hunt for my favorite fudge (Roskilly’s), a nearly empty patisserie, the patter of rain and a lack of ideas for dinner; we left slightly down heartened. As we drove out of the town we noticed a sign for Padstow Farm Shop and followed the arrows down the lanes until we pulled up to a large barn, a small car park and a little brick building with brightly lit windows shining like a beacon through the now near torrential rain. I pulled my flowery jumper over my head and ran for the door.

Following the signs for a farm shop is a risky business, you never quite know what you are going to find, on more than one occasion I have spent nearly forty minutes following winding country tracks only to find a tiny unstaffed barn with a couple of boxes of eggs, a chest freezer half full of strange cuts of meat and a couple of tired looking carrots or hairy potatoes. Today our luck was in; Padstow Farm shop was a large, clean, well-organised affair, brimming with fresh produce and friendly staff to boot. I was immediately inspired by the large baskets of veg and headed straight for the mini courgettes with flowers still attached. I am a sucker for anything pretty especially edible flowers. I knew these would be perfect for filling with a soft cheese and coating in a spicy batter to have with mango chutney. I was also pleased to find they stocked the Roskilly’s fudge I had been craving. My friend had picked up two large bunches of golden beats and as she was paying I inquired into the uses of the leaves. I was told these could be used in salads, steamed and are also delicious wok fried. I picked up a bunch myself that we would later turn into a very special warm summer salad to accompany last nights’ curry.

After a surf with the boys and a steaming hot shower we began cooking. Joe roasted up the beetroots in chunks with onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes and spices. Once the beetroots were sticky and brown we added the beet leaves (thinly sliced), stirred, covered and left for a couple of minutes to wilt the leaves slightly. We dressed our Whole-Beet salad with an emulsion of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh mint and yoghurt and stirred through some raw red onion for an extra kick. Meanwhile I stuffed the courgette flowers with cream cheese and coated them in spicy batter made with flour, sparkling water and garam massala and deep-fried them till light golden brown. Needless to say the curry and rice from the night before were a mere sideshow. We went to bed early, happy and full.