Chocolate Bread Pudding

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 quart scalded milk
2 cups homemade bread crumbs (Italian or French bread work great!)
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 1 1/2 or 2 quart baking dish. Break the chocolate into bits and melt in the milk, stirring until smooth. Add the bread crumbs and set aside to cool. When lukewarm, add remaining ingredients. Mix well, pour into the buttered dish, and bake for about 50 minutes or until set.

This pudding is soft and light. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

Petite Fours with Raspberry Jam

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
5 tb melted butter
raspberry jam (My mom's, if she will give you a jar!)
frozen raspberries (Sprinkles or nuts are pretty, too.)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and lightly flour a jelly roll pan. Beat eggs and egg yolks until they are blended, gradually add sugar, and beat until very pale and fluffy (about 10 minutes with an electric beater.) Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture, add the milk, and fold together lightly until the batter is well mixed. Add the melted butter and combine thoroughly. Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 12-15 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Turn the cake out onto a sheet of wax paper and cool completely. Cut into small squares or triangles. And arrange them in rows on a mesh cake/cookie rack. Place rack over a cookie pan. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over tops of petite fours. Pour frosting (recipe below) evenly over petite fours, make sure to get the sides of cakes. If you run out of frosting you can scrap the cookie pan and reheat the frosting. Place one raspberry on each cake. Allow cakes to dry and then lift carefully with thin spatula.

Frosting

2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
3 oz unsweetened chocolate melted (leave out for traditional white frosting)
1 1/2 cups (at least!) confectioners' sugar

Combine the granulated sugar, cream of tartar, and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil and boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a thin syrup, 226 F on a candy thermometer. Cool until slightly above lukewarm (100 F) Stir in melted chocolate. Gradually stir in confectioners' sugar until the syrup is just thick enough to coat a spoon. Test it by pouring a little on a cake to see if it's the proper consistency. Use while warm or reheat over simmering water.

Shortbread Hearts Drizzled with Chocolate

1/2 lb butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 - 6 oz of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating well. Mix the flour and salt together and add to the first mixture, combining thoroughly. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 1/4 inch thick, then use heart shaped cookie cutter or cut into rectangles or other shape. Put them on ungreased cookie sheets, and prick with fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Do not allow to over brown.

For Chocolate Drizzle

Place chocolate chips in small plastic bag (zip lock works well) and microwave until melted. Check chocolate every 30 seconds to see if it has melted. Once melted cut off about 1/4 " of one corner of the bag. Use cut corner to decorate the hearts with chocolate drizzles.

My mom made these for my wedding. She used the milk and white chocolate and wrote romantic sayings on the cookies. They were adorable! These cookies freeze beautifully.

Lemon Tarts with Blackberry Sauce

Lemon Filling

1 cup sugar
3 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1 c water
1 tbs. grated lemon rind
1/2 c lemon juice
2 tbs. butter

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, water, lemon rind, lemon juice, and butter, and bring to boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Let cool, the refrigerate until well chilled and thick.

Tart Pastry

1/2 c shortening
1/3 c boiling water
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder

Put the shortening in a bowl, add the boiling water, and stir until the shortening melts. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder, and mix with fork. Form the dough into a ball. Roll it out into about 4 inch circles. You can either use small pie tins or invert a muffin pan and pat pastry over bottom of cups and about 1 inch down the sides. Bake at 425 for about 10 mins or until golden brown. Keep an eye on the oven, they will brown quickly.

Blackberry Sauce

1 cup frozen blackberries

Place frozen blackberries in bowl, microwave for about 1 min. Mash with fork. Taste test sauce. If too tart, add a little sugar. Let cool before topping tarts.

Frozen tart shells will work just fine for this recipe. The lemon filling and the blackberry sauce are wonderful over ice cream. Garnish tarts with a blackberry on each.

Blueberry-Orange Muffins

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 TB orange zest (optional)
3/4 fresh orange juice (or store bought works fine)
1 cup fresh, frozen, or drained canned blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Grease and flour muffin tins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs, milk, orange juice, and orange zest. Stir until blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture until blended. Fold in blueberries and nuts. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 30 mins or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

If you are using frozen blueberries, baking time may increase.
This recipe can also be made as a 9x5x3 loaf. Bake for 1 hour, until tester comes out clean.

The History of Tea Parties

With Much Gratitude toPJay of Absolutely Victorian, a wonderful Victorian website.

The introduction of tea caused an uproar in England. Before the advent of tea, the English had only two meals, breakfast and dinner. The Clergy were convinced tea must be a sin as it came from a heathen country. Medical communities belief that it was unhealthy gave the government an excuse to tax it to the tune of 5 shillings a pound on dry leaf in 1689, causing prices to soar. It quickly became so popular that brewers were afraid it would replace ale as a breakfast drink.

In 1717 Thomas Twining turned his coffee house into a tea shop. Although a lady would never enter a coffee house, they flocked to the new tea room. Tea rooms were one of the few places ladies were permitted to go with or without their constant chaperones. However, the high price of tea was still a problem. Only the aristocracy could afford the high prices. In 1784 Richard Twining, chairman of the tea dealers' guild, persuaded the government to reduce the import tax on tea, making it much more affordable to the masses and making it the drink of choice of Britain.

The first tea is credited to Anna, the 7th Dutchess of Bedford, who instituted the afternoon tea early in the 19th century when she decided to take tea to assuage the hunger of afternoon between lunch and dinner. Soon she was inviting friends to join her for her tea, around 4:00 or 5:00, and serving a light luncheon of tea, sandwiches, small cakes and sweets. In time, the afternoon teas became more elaborate, as did the tea service. Ladies donned their finest gowns for daytime wear, traveled by carriage to friends homes, to dine on an array of light refreshments and discuss the topics of the day.

Tea services grew to encompass cake stands, side plates, butter plates, spoon rests, and serving plates. Local custom decreed when the tea actually started, anywhere from 4 till 5. So important was the social implications of tea, etiquette books were full of advice on everything from how to remove the spoon to proper conversation topics.

The Perfect Cup of Tea

(From Fannie Farmer's Cookbook)

To make good tea, the leaves must be steeped in boiling water. Loose tea is the best kind to use, but tea bags are perfectly serviceable as long as they are put in a warm pot, cup or much and boiling water is used.

Points to remember:
- use fresh water, freshly drawn, not water that has been boiled before
- earthen ware or china is best, metal is apt to alter the flavor
- warm your pot or mug first by swirling boiling water in it first and then discarding the water
- Put one scant teaspoon of tea into the steaming pot for every cup of water, then gently pour over the leaves water that has just come to a rolling boil. Give a good stir, cover and let steep 5 minutes. If using a Tea bag, let it sit still to steep, don't dunk the bag.
- Serve with cream or milk, slices of lemon, and sugar on the side for those who want them.
- A tea cozy is a nice way to keep tea warm, but don't let it sit too long. Make a fresh pot for late
comers.
- Keep tea in an air tight container. Tea will keep for about six months.