Tuesday Cuppa Tea William and Kate's Wedding April 29, 2011, Chocolate Biscuit Cake

I am publishing early, as Saturday, today, is a special day...

April 29th, 2011 was a day millions watched the wedding of Prince William and Catherine or Kate Middleton marry.

So celebrating their 6th anniversary today for Tuesday Cuppa Tea...

I have shared a lot of royal pieces, and I have almost none of the William and Catherine wedding china left...I had teacups and meant to save one, but I had miscounted and sold them all! I have saved a balcony kiss mug though, so tea is in that today!  I have exactly one other one left from the wedding in 2011 n the website...that's all! And a few tea towels, as seen above.

This is one of  the official wedding photographs from the wedding, and of course the balcony kiss official photograph...The Kiss Seen 'Round The World...

Here is the mug... Cool!

And another royal occasion this week....

And May 2nd , 2015 was Princess Charlotte's birthday... the second child born to the Duke and Duchess od Cambridge, after big brother Prince George... hard to believe she is 2 years old...wonder if she is going through the terrible twos....
And, of course, a goodie for tea!

I had intended to make this for tea this week, but my website salvage project major move to a different web host is taking longer than expected, so am posting Tea Time magazine's recipe and photo for the Royal Family's Chocolate Biscuit Cake. It was even the groom's cake at William and Catherine's wedding, and a favorite of Queen Elizabeth at teatime, so....

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Ingredients

1. ¼ (10.6-ounce) package English-style rich tea biscuit cookies, such as Burton’s or McVitie‘s
2. 1 (11.5-ounce) package milk chocolate morsels
3. ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
4. 1 tablespoon butter
5. 1 recipe Milk Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)

Instructions

1. Line a (6-x-3½-inch) mini loaf pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
2. Break cookies into somewhat equal pieces, approximately 1 to 2 inches in size. Set aside.
3. Place chocolate morsels in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine cream and butter; heat to a very hot temperature, but do not let mixture boil. Pour over milk chocolate morsels. Let sit for 1 minute. Stir until morsels have melted and mixture is smooth and creamy.
5. Pour enough melted chocolate into prepared loaf pan to cover bottom of pan. Lay broken cookies in a single layer over ganache, covering surface of ganache. Continue layering chocolate and cookies in this manner until pan is full.
6. Refrigerate in pan until chocolate is hard, approximately 4 hours.
7. Remove cake from pan, and place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, top side down. Remove plastic wrap. Pour Milk Chocolate Ganache over cake, letting it drip down sides. Using an offset spatula, smooth ganache over all sides of cake.
8. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.
9. Using a sharp knife, cut into ¼-inch slices by pressing down rather than sawing.

Thanks so much for joining me for tea!
I will be joining:

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden
Home Sweet Home

Thanks so much for joining me for tea!  Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there!  I am so looking forward to visiting you!

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Tuesday Cuppa Tea A Week Of English Things

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Lots of things going on with a British accent this week...as you may remember from my post last week, Friday, April 21st, 2017 was Queen Elizabeth's 91st birthday. You can read that HERE if you missed it... The photo below was taken for the Diamond Jubilee by the Press Association...Lovely photo...with the next two in line for the throne...Prince Charles and Prince William.

April 23rd is St. George's Day, and St. George is the symbol of England...not the Union Jack.... The Union Jack is the usual flag we associate with England, but...

 is really the symbol of the United Kingdom, not England...it's the symbol you will see on the National sports teams of England. 

St. George is the patron saint of England and believed to have died on April 23rd. He is thought to have been a Roman soldier, and, of course...reputed to have killed a dragon.....

 This is a Dunoon, England bone china mug we have at Antiques And Teacups with the ubiquitous image of the St. George Cross, symbol of England...so...

April 23rd is also famous in England because it is celebrated as Shakespeare's birthday...and is also the anniversary of his death...strange, that...

which is a big deal in parts of England...especially Stratford-upon-Avon where he lived...big celebrations there this weekend...

This engraving was made by Martin Droeshout for the First Folio, published in 1623

And here is a decorative Leonardo teapot of Shakespeare from the Antiques And Teacups archives...They always made such wonderful figural teapots!

And of course...Shakespeare Tea! I found this on a wholesale supplier we have...Metropolitan Tea in Canada... 

English Breakfast...of course!

And April 23rd is the anniversary of the founding of the Coldstream Guards, a unit of the Queen' Own Guards brigade of 5 units, and special to us because it was my husband's old unit. For more on the guards, I have posted previously about it on my Time Was Antiques blog HERE

So glad you joined me for tea, teapots and travel as it turns out. So many memorable dates this time of year! So fun! 

I have been super busy revamping and moving one of our websites to a new host, so not enough hours in the day at the moment!

I am joining:

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden
Home Sweet Home

Thanks so much for joining me for tea!  Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there!  I am so looking forward to visiting you!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday Cuppa Tea Happy Birthday Ma'am! 91 Years Old!

Happy 91st birthday to Queen Elizabeth II... born April 21, 1926. Not everyone has 2 birthdays to celebrate, as her national birthday is celebrated on June 21st...better weather.

This photo was taken last week on Maundy Thursday, when the Queen distributed traditional specially minted coins called Maundy Money to a man and woman for each year of her life...91. To read more about that on the history, click HERE in the Time Was Antiques blog.

My Tuesday Cuppa Tea is a royal one in honour of Her Majesty's birthday, but no treats today as there are too many lingering Hot Cross buns and other Easter related goodies for me to make anything birthday like. Got to try to maintain our health...sorta! Lol!

The Union Jack bunting is from the Silver Jubilee in 1977. We were in England for our usual month, and I bought this for our home here in the US.  The photo you have seen before...one of my favorite coronation photos from 1953.

The tea tin is from the 1977 Silver Jubilee as well....and, of course, a few royal commemorative pieces for tea drinking...first a Shelley China from the coronation in the Cambridge shape...they made several coronation design shapes...

Then a Tuscan coronation teacup with another of my favorite designs...

Moving farther back, a Shelley China, England 1911 Silver Jubilee mug made for Queen Elizabeth's grandparents King George V and Queen Mary...

And farther back, and teacup by an unknown but skilled Staffordshire potter made for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897...a record only surpassed by Queen Elizabeth recently as the longest reigning English monarch...

I had to have some tea treat, so have a few petit fours left from a frind that I can share on my lonely Shelley coronation saucer...the cup was broken when we shipped it home from the UK, but I decided to keep the saucer...maybe I'll find a mate...

And the tea is Twining's 90th Birtday tea, blended in honor of Queen Elizabeth;s 90th birthday last year. It's a lovely black tea blend, so I hope they keep making it. I really like it, and this 3rd tin I've had is getting empty...

Shall we all sing Happy Birthday???   

Happy Birthday Ma'am and many more!

I am joining:

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden
Home Sweet Home

Thanks so much for joining me for tea!  Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there!  I am so looking forward to visiting you!

An InLinkz Link-up

Titanic Anniversary...April 14, 1912

I just wanted to post this in memoriam and remembrance of the sinking of the "unsinkable" White Star Titanic...

The above photo is the last taken of the Titanic as she sailed from Cobh or Queenstown, Ireland in 1912 by Father S. M. Browne. She sunk after a collision with an iceberg on April 14-15, 1912. The reasons behind the sinking and subsequent massive loss of lives are still being debated and include human error as well as material failure. The truth may never be known.

The famous White Star Titanic sailed with custom designed china for first class passengers from the Royal Crown Derby pottery in England which was reissued for the centennial of the sinking in 2012.

Because of my love of tea, I am very interested in the Titanic china items, and have met folks in my tea journey over the years who own pieces from the ill fated ocean liner.

Click on the teacup or teapot to go to the Royal Crown Derby press release about the reissue and what is available, or click this link: Royal Crown Derby Titanic China. The last I looked, it was pretty pricey, but it is a lovely and commemorative pattern.

This is a stateroom, first class class, on Titanic. State of the art in luxury for it's time. So sad to think of the craftsmanship that died along with the many passengers.... This looks the heighth of art nouveau and English Arts & Crafts design...I am pretty sure that is William Morris wallpaper. And so many promising lives lost...

So very sad...

Promised Salted Caramel Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Hi there! Better late than never, I hope! On my post a week ago HERE I shared a photo of the Salted Caramel Upside Down Cake I made for my Pink Spring Tea here on my blog...but didn't post the recipe. 

If you are looking for the current Tuesday Cuppa Tea for April 10, 2017, my Happy Easter Tea...it is HERE

We had been going through a difficult time with getting a new medication incorporated into my husband's Parkinson's Disease regimen, and he was having a lot of side effects, so I didn't have time to post it. So...as things have calmed down, here it is... I actually got the recipe from a Country Living magazine.  

Mine looks a bit different...I'm not the same grade of a photographer, and I didn't have a fresh pineapple so used chunks...not reccomended as it turns out...

Salted-Caramel Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

A salty and sweet cake perfect for all occasions.

Ingredients

Produce

• 1 Pineapple, medium

Refrigerated

• 2 Eggs, large

Baking & Spices

• 1 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 cup Brown sugar, dark
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
• 1 cup Granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract

Dairy

• 2 stick Butter, unsalted
• 1/2 cup Whole milk

Beer, Wine & Liquor

• 3 tbsp Rum, dark

1. Coat a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat brown sugar and 1 stick butter, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook until caramel thickens and turns a deep brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in rum and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour caramel into prepared cake pan and swirl around to coat. Set aside and let cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, remaining salt, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, beat together granulated sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in half the dry-ingredient mixture and 1/4 cup milk. Repeat with remaining dry-ingredient mixture and milk.
2. Arrange pineapple rings atop caramel in cake pan. Fill in spaces between rings with pineapple chunks. Carefully pour batter over pineapple and smooth, using a rubber spatula.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake; invert onto a large serving plate.
4. Tip: Reduce the batter's butter to 1/3 cup and the granulated sugar to 3/4 cup, then add 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce. You'll save 4 grams of fat and 54 calories per serving.
5. The reason I don't reccomend the pineapple chunks, is that they are too thick, so make the batter too moist and requires extra baking time to firm up the center...but delicious!
6. Perfect with a cuppa! Cheers!

Tuesday Cuppa Tea Happy Easter!

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea for Easter...which is next weekend, on April 1st.  But first, to my Jewish friends, Happy Passover...Pesach Shaolm. Passover starts on April  10th. This is my Passover plate I brought home from a potter's studio in Hebron, Israel in 1985.

And to those of you who celebrate Easter...best wishes! Hi Is Risen!

My tea this week in the sunroom is on my tea table against my one low window wall. It's closest to my neighbors, and because of some med requirements to limit my sun exposure, I needed a section of the sunroom to sit in the shade...and it has afforded a great wall to use for a back drop.

I have used another of my ebroidered tea cloths.... this one has a wonderful flowers and foliage pattern embroidered into the corners. Love vintage embroidered linens!

For pouring tea, I am using my Leonardo Tea Time English bone china teapot...it has images of some of my favorite Royal Albert teacups on it...like Old country Roses and Lady Carlyle among the pink polka dots...

And I have antique  plated made by Rosenthal, Bavaria Germany from 1891-1906. I am using the plates for the coconut nest cupcakes I made with Tulips on them to use for tea stacked on my tiered server I have had for ever...

The pattern is called Versailles, and I love the botanical design. They made another very similar pattern around the same time, also with the French name Malmaison also with Tulips...

And, of course, teacups! This week a Shelley ...I know, surpise, surprise...and a Queen Anne...

This is a Shelley China, England Dainty shape teacup in the Primrose pattern, number 13430. Cheery, isn't it?

The Primrose pattern was made throught the 1930s to 1966 when the pottery closed, and with this mark from 1940-1966. The Primrose pattern was used on at least 6 different Shelley shapes plus lots of combination with different borders, colors and trim options. It's always fun to find one I haven't seen before. I've been collecting Shelley China for 40 years and selling it for almost as long, so...if you follow this blog you already know it's my favorite!

My other teacup is this sweetie from Queen Anne from the 1966 when they...meaning Shore & Coggins...merged into Ridgway in the Great Slice And Dice as I call it....when we lost so many great potteries including Shelley. Queen Anne was retired at the same time...sigh...

The tea table needed some napkins, just in case for crumbs, so I used a set of 4 embroidered and appliqued linen ones from the 1950s...of course, the fact that they are blue and white didn't hurt either...  :)

And the tea is in this vintage octagonal tea tin...love the panels and flowers...

Lastly, for teatime treats, I made Coconut Macaroon Cupcakes. I used a recipe from an old Cooking For Two cookbook by Better Homes And Gardens I have had since the 1980s.

 I added chocolate frosting from the old famous Hershey's cocoa tin and added toasted coconut and some malted milk speckled eggs I found at our local grocery. Had to have something fun! The recipe for the cupcakes, which follows, only makes 6, so perfect for the 2 of us.

Coconut Macaroon Cupcakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup sugar
a few drops almond extract
1 egg
1/3 cup coconut, toasted
powdered sugar (if you don't frost, like I did)

optional:
more toasted cocnut, eggs for decoartion and approximately 1 cup of frosting

Method

Grease and lightly flour a 6 cup muffin pan, or use paper liners

In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Set aside

In a small electric mixer bowl beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add the sugar and almond extract and beat until fluffy.

Add the egg and beat on medium for 1 minute.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low until combined. 

Stir in coconut. If necessary add a few drops of milk until batter is right consistency, not too dry.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool...or frost as I did

They dry out fairly fast, so store air tight and eat quickly

Thanks do much for joining me for tea and Tuesday Cuppa Tea! I hope your week is a joy, and there is lots of time for reflection on the meaning of the season and celebrating the Resurrection and new life! 

He is Risen Indeed!

I am joining:

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden
Home Sweet Home

Thanks so much for joining me for tea!  Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there!  I am so looking forward to visiting you!

An InLinkz Link-up