Tuesday Cuppa Tea. Shelley Polka Dots and Eccles Cakes

Hello and thanks for joining me for tea! What a busy week! Had a lovely visit with friends, am still beavering away at my website transfer...and it was one of my favorite days yesterday, Saturday June 17th...the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II...her 91st to be exact!  LOVE all of the festivities!

This was from her 90th bithday last year...

And of course, the balcony this year.... and Prince William will be 35 on June 21st....lots of doings....

My Tuesday Cuppa Tea arose from the fact that our guests were Brits who came bearing gifts...but more about that later, as you will see!

After they left, I put together a tea in the sunroom using some of my Shelley Pols Dots china...

The coffeepot I always use as a teapot...the teapot didn't make it home from England in one piece, unfortunately...

the pattern came in several colors, this is the turquoise polka dots colorway, and was made in red, coral, blue, yellow and green that I know of...

The pattern number is 13748 and appeared on Shelley china items throughout 1940-1966 when the pottery closed. The shapes it was used on differed through the years...

Also by Shelley, this is a Fruit center cup and saucer...you might remember it from a teacup stack a few weeks ago.... for us to have tea in...

This is the Boston shape, which is very dimilar to the Lincoln shape...the difference is the notched rim and foot which the Lincold doesn't have...

The pattern is number 14208, and it was made at the end of Shelley's pottery...between 1963 and 1966.

I have a muffin dish in the Polka Dot pattern, which you don't see often...

They are used for serving whatever although originally made to keep muffins and crumpets warm at the tea table...

and now here is another teacup! You can have your pick! 

I love the pattern on this 1960s Regency teacup...it depicts a Cornwall or Devon coastal scene...since I am coastal and also have loved spending time on England southern coast, it is wonderful!

Regency began in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire in 1954 and made it to 1992 before it closed. The pottery has strong admirers and collectors though!

For our tea, we have a wonderful green tea blend from 3 Teas reccomended by Margie from Tea In The Valley who had it at a tea festival and liked it and mentioned it on her blog. She sent me the link so I could purchase it from Canada. Delicious blend of Peppermint, Green and Ginger...

and as it's loose tea, here is a cute chrome Tea House tea infuser

 for a perfect cup!

I thought me table needed a bit of a background, so pulled out a Shelley charger in the Dainty shape with the Old Mill pattern....

I love their landscape designs!

And of course, some vintage needlework linens...a pair of embroidered 1930s doilies...

And finally to our treats...courtesy of our friends! In the muffin dish are Eccles Cakes...which I dearly love! I grew up helping my Nana make them...they are a raisin center surrounded in puff pastry...but don't make them anymore...too long winded for me now, I am afraid!

But our friends brought some frozen ones in an ice chest that they get in Seattle...for a store version, actually imported from Lancashire, they are not bad at all! It had been a year or so since I had had one...delicious!!!

I couldn't find my recipe as I hadn't made them in years, but found one that looks very similar on Epicurious that I will ad now:

YIELD

Yields 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1. • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
   • 1 cup dried currants
   • 2 tablespoons candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
   • 1/2 cup white sugar, plus extra for decoration
   • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
   • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
   • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
   • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
   • 1/2 (17.5-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
   • 1/4 cup whole milk
   • 1 large egg, beaten

PREPARATION

1. 1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Thoroughly grease a large baking sheet.
   2. 2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in currants, fruit peel, white sugar, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly until sugar is dissolved and fruit is coated. Remove from heat.
   3. 3. Roll out thawed pastry on a clean, lightly-floured surface until it is 1/4-inch thick. Cut out eight circles, each roughly 5 inches in diameter; set aside remaining pastry dough for use in other recipes. Divide currant mixture evenly between circles, then moisten edges of pastries with a little bit of milk, fold together, and pinch to seal.
   4. 4. Turn pastries upside down onto floured surface and carefully roll out to make a wider and flatter pastry. Be careful not to break the dough.
   5. 5. Brush cakes with beaten egg, then sprinkle with white sugar. Make three parallel cuts across the top of each cake, then place on greased baking sheet.
   6. 6. Bake pastries in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and sprinkle with a little more sugar, then serve.

Times Gone By

English Eccles Cake is named for the town of Eccles in Lancashire, and was a popular pastry in the seventeenth century. However, these cakes were banned—along with mince pies—by the Puritans in 1650. In fact, Oliver Cromwell decreed in an act of Parliament that anyone found eating a currant pie would be imprisoned. Luckily, by the time of the Restoration, the cakes were once again popular.

So thanks for joining me for tea!
This week I'll be joining:

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

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