Sip, sip, hooray!
When I’m happy, I celebrate with a cup of tea. When I’m sad, I console myself with a cup of tea. As a living cliché of a British person, tea is central to my life.
The drink made by stewing the leaves of the Chinese tea plant in water only became fashionable on these islands after a famous case of seasickness. People in London began to hear about this new Chinese drink in the years of the Restoration, when King Charles II returned to the throne after Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth.
Everyone’s favourite 17th-century diarist, Samuel Pepys, first tasted tea in 1660. He described having ‘a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before’ on 25 September. But it took the arrival of Charles II’s new young Royal bride in 1662 to make tea catch on as our national drink. Catherine of Braganza had endured a terrible ocean voyage to reach England from her home in the south. Her native Portugal had good trading links with the East, and tea was popular there.
Upon landing in Britain, Catherine was still feeling queasy and asked for a cup of tea. Blank faces greeted her among the British, and the ale she was offered as an alternative didn’t quite fit the bill. So the Portuguese princess popularised tea among the members of her court, and of course, they all became addicted.
Tea had become so central to people’s lives that in 1773 it became the focus for the American colonists’ complaints against the British government. ‘No taxation without representation’ in Parliament, they insisted, and in the ‘Boston Tea Party’, chests of tea were thrown into Boston harbour after the Americans refused to pay tax on it.
The pretty little book these recipes are taken from tells you everything you need to know to throw a spectacular tea party. For as well as being the drink of queens, tea is even fit for a royal wedding. After the famous double royal marriage of 1818, when at the Historic Royal palace of Kew no less than two princes married two princesses in the same room on the same day, Queen Charlotte refreshed the whole party with… a cup of tea!
APPLE AND SPICE CAKE (below left)
Serves 16
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/ gas 5. Grease and line a 20cm round, loose-bottomed, deep cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Peel and chop one of the apples and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, then fold in the wholemeal flour, ground almonds, lemon zest, all the spices, chopped apple and a splash of milk. Spoon into the prepared tin. Core the remaining apple and slice thinly. Arrange over the top of the cake. Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden.
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Sieve the apricot conserve to remove any lumps then brush all over the cake while it’s still warm. Serve warm or cold.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas 4. Brush the inside and rim of a 24cm round ring tin with vegetable oil. Dust with flour, then shake out any excess.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until the mixture is thick and moussey and has doubled in volume. Sift over the flour and ground almonds, then carefully pour the rose water and melted butter around the edge. Fold everything together gently using a large metal spoon, making sure that all the flour has been incorporated.
Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until the top springs back lightly when pressed. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then gently ease the edge of it away from the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For the decoration, lightly beat the egg white in a small bowl until frothy, then use to brush over each rose petal. Dust with caster sugar.
For the icing, mix together the icing sugar, rose water and around 2 tsp of water. Stir until smooth. Add a drop of pink food colouring and stir until it’s the shade you desire. Drizzle over the cake.
Decorate with the rose petals and allow to set before serving in slices.
MUSHROOM FILO TARTLETS
Makes 6
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/ gas 6. Lightly grease six holes of a muffin tin.
Cut each piece of filo pastry in half, then cut each piece into four squares. Push a square piece of pastry into each buttered hole, brushing well with the melted butter, then continue to layer until each hole has four squares of layered pastry. Bake in the oven for 5-7 mins, until golden.
Pour the remaining butter into a pan and fry the shallot for 2-3 mins until softened. Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook until golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and half the chives. Season well.
Take the filo shells out of the tin and spoon in the mushroom mixture.
Sprinkle over the remaining chives and serve.
Tea Fit For A Queen: Recipes & Drinks For Afternoon Tea, with an introduction by Lucy Worsley, is published by Ebury Press, priced £10, in association with Historic Royal Palaces: www.hrp.org.uk. These recipes were inspired by the rich, royal history of London’s most iconic palaces.
The drink made by stewing the leaves of the Chinese tea plant in water only became fashionable on these islands after a famous case of seasickness. People in London began to hear about this new Chinese drink in the years of the Restoration, when King Charles II returned to the throne after Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth.
Everyone’s favourite 17th-century diarist, Samuel Pepys, first tasted tea in 1660. He described having ‘a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before’ on 25 September. But it took the arrival of Charles II’s new young Royal bride in 1662 to make tea catch on as our national drink. Catherine of Braganza had endured a terrible ocean voyage to reach England from her home in the south. Her native Portugal had good trading links with the East, and tea was popular there.
Upon landing in Britain, Catherine was still feeling queasy and asked for a cup of tea. Blank faces greeted her among the British, and the ale she was offered as an alternative didn’t quite fit the bill. So the Portuguese princess popularised tea among the members of her court, and of course, they all became addicted.
Tea had become so central to people’s lives that in 1773 it became the focus for the American colonists’ complaints against the British government. ‘No taxation without representation’ in Parliament, they insisted, and in the ‘Boston Tea Party’, chests of tea were thrown into Boston harbour after the Americans refused to pay tax on it.
The pretty little book these recipes are taken from tells you everything you need to know to throw a spectacular tea party. For as well as being the drink of queens, tea is even fit for a royal wedding. After the famous double royal marriage of 1818, when at the Historic Royal palace of Kew no less than two princes married two princesses in the same room on the same day, Queen Charlotte refreshed the whole party with… a cup of tea!
APPLE AND SPICE CAKE (below left)
Serves 16 Ingredients
- 2 Bramley or cooking apples (around 450g)
- 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 3 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 175g self-raising wholemeal flour
- 75g ground almonds
- grated zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- a good pinch of ground cloves
- a good pinch of ground cinnamon
- splash of milk
- 2 tbsp apricot conserve
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/ gas 5. Grease and line a 20cm round, loose-bottomed, deep cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Peel and chop one of the apples and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, then fold in the wholemeal flour, ground almonds, lemon zest, all the spices, chopped apple and a splash of milk. Spoon into the prepared tin. Core the remaining apple and slice thinly. Arrange over the top of the cake. Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden.
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Sieve the apricot conserve to remove any lumps then brush all over the cake while it’s still warm. Serve warm or cold.
ROSE AND ALMOND CAKE (above right)
Serves 12Ingredients
- a little vegetable oil, for greasing
- 125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 6 large eggs
- 175g caster sugar, plus extra for the rose petals
- 50g ground almonds
- 1 tsp rose water
- 40g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg white
- fresh, unsprayed rose petals
- 100g icing sugar
- ½ tbsp rose water
- edible pink food colouring
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas 4. Brush the inside and rim of a 24cm round ring tin with vegetable oil. Dust with flour, then shake out any excess.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until the mixture is thick and moussey and has doubled in volume. Sift over the flour and ground almonds, then carefully pour the rose water and melted butter around the edge. Fold everything together gently using a large metal spoon, making sure that all the flour has been incorporated.
Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until the top springs back lightly when pressed. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then gently ease the edge of it away from the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For the decoration, lightly beat the egg white in a small bowl until frothy, then use to brush over each rose petal. Dust with caster sugar.
For the icing, mix together the icing sugar, rose water and around 2 tsp of water. Stir until smooth. Add a drop of pink food colouring and stir until it’s the shade you desire. Drizzle over the cake.
Decorate with the rose petals and allow to set before serving in slices.
MUSHROOM FILO TARTLETS
Makes 6 Ingredients
- 3 sheets filo pastry
- 50g butter, melted
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- 350g mixed mushrooms, large ones, chopped
- 3-4 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/ gas 6. Lightly grease six holes of a muffin tin.
Cut each piece of filo pastry in half, then cut each piece into four squares. Push a square piece of pastry into each buttered hole, brushing well with the melted butter, then continue to layer until each hole has four squares of layered pastry. Bake in the oven for 5-7 mins, until golden.
Pour the remaining butter into a pan and fry the shallot for 2-3 mins until softened. Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook until golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and half the chives. Season well.
Take the filo shells out of the tin and spoon in the mushroom mixture.
Sprinkle over the remaining chives and serve.
Tea Fit For A Queen: Recipes & Drinks For Afternoon Tea, with an introduction by Lucy Worsley, is published by Ebury Press, priced £10, in association with Historic Royal Palaces: www.hrp.org.uk. These recipes were inspired by the rich, royal history of London’s most iconic palaces.