Lindsay's Tea Party

Lemon Curd Layer Cake Courtesy of The Blender by Williams Sonoma

Lemon Curd Layer Cake
Mar 27 6:27 am by Williams-Sonoma Editors

Lemon Curd Layer Cake

Lemon Curd Layer Cake

With its light, delicate texture, this cake pairs perfectly with tangy lemon curd and a simple whipped cream topping for Easter or another springtime celebration. Serve fresh berries alongside if desired. You can use jarred lemon curd or make your own.

Lemon Curd Layer Cake

5 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. lemon extract

1 cup cake flour, sifted

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 1/2 cups lemon curd

3 cups lightly sweetened whipped cream (made from 1 1/2 cups heavy cream)

Assorted fresh berries for serving (optional)

Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of a 9-by-3-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon extract. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the flour over the egg mixture in 2 additions and carefully fold in with a large rubber spatula. Fold a large dollop into the melted butter, then fold back into the egg mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the cake is puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool completely.

Run a table knife around the edge of the cake pan and unmold the cake onto a work surface. Turn the cake right side up, leaving the parchment in place. Cut the cake horizontally into 2 equal layers. Put the top layer, cut side up, on a serving plate. Top with the lemon curd, spreading with an offset spatula to the edge of the cake. Position the second layer, cut side down, on the lemon curd and peel off the parchment. Using an offset spatula, spread the whipped cream on top of the cake. Serve with fresh berries. Serves 10 to 12.

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Valentine’s Day Wine Tasting with Fresh and Easy! #freshandeasywine

Fresh and Easy (hosted by Richard Wherry) wine tasting in celebration of Valentine’s Day – aaahhhhhh!

We tasted the following three wines:

• Masse Pere et Fils Champagne – a classic gold-medal champagne
• Hacienda López de Haro Crianza – a Spanish Rioja Crianza
• El Côtes du Paso Robles Red Blend – a full bodied blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache.

All are affordably priced and available now at your local Fresh and Easy store!
Check out #freshandeasywine on Twitter for all the reviews!

My favorite was the Masse Pere et Fils Champagne- super bubbly, goes great with strawberries and chocolate! So romantic!

Enjoy!

Lindsay’s Tea Party

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Reserve your Christmas Tea Party NOW and get a {DISCOUNT} off your next purchase!!!

It’s almost that time of year for the Christmas gathering with our loved one’s! Now is the perfect time to make reservations for you and your holiday guests to join together for a warm cup of tea while being nestled in the lovely Mountains of Julian, California. Good news! I have a special treat for those of you that are reading this post, just mention that you read this post on Lindsay’s Tea Party and you will receive 15% off your next merchandise purchase!!

Julian Tea and Cottage Arts is now featuring their famous Victorian Christmas Teas. The 18th annual tradition will be held daily from Saturday, December 8th thru Sunday, December 23rd. The menu includes a variety of finger sandwiches, savories, tea breads, scone with curd, jam and whipped cream, and a selection of seasonal desserts. Seatings are from 11:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Cost is $24.95 per person excluding tax and gratuity. Children 12 and under are only $12.95 and may choose from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or fresh turkey and cheese sandwiches, served with a warm buttermilk scone, jams, cream and desserts.  Reservations and a deposit are required for all bookings. LTP has attended these special Christmas teas for over 10 years now and they are a delightful time that truly embrace the holiday spirit each year!

During the holiday season, the tea house is also open for their regular afternoon teas which are exquisite. Recently, I took my two daughters for tea here for some special Mommy and Me time! What a treat! I ordered the Drew Bailey Tea, which is a full sandwich (choices include chicken salad, Turkey or Ham, choice of bread, a cup of their homemade soup (seasonal) and desserts and tea (you select). I chose something off menu, Edie’s cucumber dill croissant (oh my gracious this sandwiches is heavenly) it’s fresh and crunchy cucumbers with a famous secret made dill butter on a toasted crossiant, it’s mouthwatering good. Then I had a cup of the homemade hot pumpkin soup (it is so yummy) and topped it all off with the house tea (Yorkshire Gold- which is my favorite with a little cream and lots of sugar) and desserts. I even added a warm buttermilk scone, clotted cream and lemon curd to my dish because I couldn’t resist seeing my girls devour theirs! This was such a fun time. To top it off, we did some Christmas shopping in their store. They have beautiful handmade scarves upstairs and tons of tea china and gifts to choose from. They have so many great gift items from Tea bags to neat books and aprons or gift towels.

Julian Tea and Cottage Arts also offers a yummy “Take Home” menu. The following items are available for purchase when you check out: Pumpkin soup, lemon curd, frozen buttermilk scones, almond shortbread cookies and a large variety of teas. At our most recent visit to the tea house, we took home 5 scones and they were so yummy later that evening, just popped them in the toaster oven to warm and then we split open and pasted with cream and lemon curd. If you haven’t tried these scones before, you need to know that they instantly melt in your mouth. Just delicious.

Special events with a menu tailored for your group are held in the main tea room. If you have a birthday party, bridal shower, baby shower, group on a retreat, or a group that just wants to get together for tea, call and ask for Edie to plan and reserve your special occasion. Be sure to call early and a deposit will be required. Lindsay’s Tea Party has had numerous group gatherings up to this Julian Tea House and had a wonderful time at each visit. I have celebrated my wedding shower, bridesmaids tea, daughter’s birthday, baby showers, and even took my Girl Scout troop up for a “Troop Tea” last year. It made for a great opportunity to share manners and etiquette with my local Girl Scout Troop.

We hope you are able to stop by this wonderful Tea House soon, don’t forget to call first and be sure to tell them “Lindsay’s Tea Party” sent you to receive a special 15% off discount on your tea room merchandise purchase!!

The tea house may be reached by calling toll free at 1-866-765-0832 or by email at juliantea@yahoo.com. The Cottage is located at 2124 Third St., Julian, CA. You can also LIKE their FB page.

I will leave you with a tip from Julian Tea & Cottage Arts on the proper way to brew your tea.

How to Brew Tea Basics:

  1. bring cold (preferably filtered) water to a rolling boil
  2. for loose leaf tea, add tea leaves directly to the pot, infuser or filter, using approx. 1 teaspoon tea leaves per 6 oz of water or adjust to taste
  3. for bagged tea, follow instructions on tea container
  4. when water has reached a rolling boil (or the recommended temperature per guidelines below), pour water directly over tea & cover
  5. let the tea steep for the recommended time depending on the type of tea, following instructions on tea container or using the general guidelines below
  6. do not over steep, or tea can become bitter; if you prefer stronger tea, use more tea leaves
  7. remove tea infuser or tea bag and ENJOY!
Type of Tea Water Temp Temp (°F) Steep Time
Black boiling 212° 4-5 minutes
Oolong boiling 205° 4-5 minutes
Green (Chinese) short of boiling 175° 2-3 minutes
Green (Japanese) short of boiling 160° 1-2 minutes
White short of boiling 175° 2-3 minutes
Herbals boiling 212° 5 minutes

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Holiday Cooking with Fresh and Easy!

 

Cooking is fun with Fresh and Easy!

Lindsay’s Tea Party had the privilege of participating in Fresh and Easy’s Holiday Cooking Class! Chef Cyndi Perez made a delicious Thanksgiving style feast. My favorite was these awesome smelling Rosemary Rolls from Fresh and Easy. They were crispy on the outside but soft and fragrant on the inside. Highly recommend grabing a bag for your next Christmas meal gathering!

 

Cooking class participants learned how to make various holiday dishes including, gravy, seasonal salads, pastry dough and homemade eclairs (Yummy). Here is a picture of me with Chef Cyndi as she taught me how to make their Wedge Salad with Pear and Blue Cheese Dressing (it was really good)! And easy too! Dressings can sometimes be intimidating to make but she showed us that it’s really easy with a little of this and a little of that. 

Here is the recipe I followed:

Wedge Salad with Pear and Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Salad

  • 1 head red leaf lettuce
  • ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
  • ½ cup dried cranberries

Dressing

  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oilextra virgin olive oil⅓
  • 3 tablespoons pear nectarpear nectar3
  • 1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegarwhite balsamic vinegar1 ½
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juicelemon juice½
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustarddijon mustard¼
  • 1 Bartlett pear, peeled, cored and dividedbartlett pears1
  • ½ cup coarsely crumbled blue cheesegorgonzola cheese½
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Salad ingredients

Cooking Directions:

  1. In a blender, add oil, pear nectar, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, ½ pear (diced), blue cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
  2. Cut red leaf lettuce into wedges and thinly slice remaining ½ pear lengthwise. Place the lettuce wedges on a salad plate.  Top with pear slices, hazelnuts and cranberries.
  3. Top with dressing and serve.

The exciting news is that Fresh and Easy now has all of their spectacular holiday/seasonal items in stores. Check out this Fresh and Easy link to see for yourself.

And for all your holiday planning needs, Fresh and Easy has prepared this simply to follow Shopping List Guide.

**The Fresh and Easy goodies shown in picture were received as a gift from Fresh and Easy. Lindsay’s Tea Party would like to thank Fresh and Easy for the opportunity to attend and review their fabulous holiday items. The opinions and statements expressed in this post are strictly mine (Lindsay) of Lindsay’s Tea Party!

Wishing you all happy meal planning for Thanksgiving, Christmas and into the new year!

-Lindsay

 

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Blueberry Scone- courtesy of Trader Joes!

Lindsay’s Tea Party is pleased to bring you a super quick n’ scrumptious way to have piping hot scones for your next gal pal catch up!

So, here is the secret…stop by your local “Trader Joe’s” and grab a box of their NEW Scone box!

You get four yummy scones. I like to brush them with egg, sprinkle a little brown sugar and a little granulated sugar on top as shown below.

Scones just have to be freshly baked to be their best. Simply remove these blueberryful beauties from the freezer, place on baking sheet for 20-30 minutes at at 375 degrees and you shall have freshly baked scones whenever you like!

Ooh la la!

Enjoy!

 

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