A Mad Tea Party for the Twelve Dancing Princesses

 

Are you sitting comfortably, my dears? Then I'll begin.

Once upon a time there was a White Queen. She invited her eleven sisters to take tea with her, and eagerly awaited their arrival.

She had heard tell of a wonderful phenomenon: Mad Tea Parties being held across the world, all taking place on one particular day, and led by the artist Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist, a great lady renowned for her own magnificently mad feasts.

The White Queen was the eldest of twelve dancing princesses.

Using carrier birds, she sent a note to each sister, with a date to gather them all together for the first time in what felt like so very long.

She lovingly prepared each sweet treat  for the tea party herself.

The rarest raspberries, which she used to flavour a creamy layered heart meringue were grown from her own palace garden, infused with the exquisite scent of rose petals.

Cakes had been baked, macarons made and she had even created her own juice, of beetroot and apple and carrot and grape and pretty much every fruit in the garden.

She sat herself down at the banqueting table and tasted her first treat, when who did she spy but a furry little friend.

It was Nico, the cat who had visited her Mad Tea Party last year!

"Welcome, welcome my dancing dear! But where is Emalina, oh puss? asked the White Queen, 'Why has she let you out alone this time?"

"Mistress Emalina sends her apologies, your Highness, sadly she cannot attend due to her many work commitments" purred Nico, "But I have grown, you see, and being no longer a kitten but a real lady cat, Emalina has let me come on my own. I have been waiting for the honour to attend your party all year, if you will have me."

"Why it is a delight to have you, sweet furry face" exclaimed the White Queen, "such a pleasure indeed. We are waiting for my eleven sisters to join us for tea, but there is no reason why we can't start feasting without them. They are dancing their way across the land to reach me via my style blog Kiki & the Gypsy, and may be some time. See those shoes, up on the pergola there? I have kept an old pair for each of us from our heady dancing days."

"Such beautiful shoes, oh Queen," cried Nico, her nose sniffing the air and her whiskers twitching, "But would you mind awfully telling me more about this feast? I so love to know what I'm eating before I eat it, it adds to the pleasure tenfold."

 

 

"Well, dear paws, we have home made rose macarons, and honeyed banana cupcakes, and orange blossom and almond bird cake, plus a heart shaped rose meringue layered with raspberry cream for pudding. Would any of that suit you? I know you're a feline of such discerning taste."

 

"Oooh honeyed banana cupcakes!" exclaimed Nico the cat, her nose twitching more, "I do so enjoy a cupcake! These look delightful. How clever of you, my Queen, to have decorated them with the prettiest butterflies of the realm, I do so love a butterfly too! Extra crunch!"

And with that, Nico swiped a blue cupcake with her paw and proceeded to munch upon it noisily.

The White Queen watched her, smiling, before quietly and secretly cutting herself a slice of the layered creamy meringue heart.

Once they'd both munched and sipped and were resting their bellies, the White Queen took out an unusual looking mirror. She held it to her face, as if to look through it. But all Nico could see was the reflection of the wooden pergola shining back at her.

 

"I am watching my sisters dance across the land to me" murmured the White Queen "for this is a magic mirror. It helped me find the way many times as I led my sisters through golden woods, silver forests and diamond fields in our heady dancing days."

 

 

"May I look?" asked Nico, intruiged.

"I cannot allow you, my dear puss," said the White Queen, "for while you may be an exceptionally pretty and loveable little cat, you have not been taught how to use magic.

What you may do is listen to my sisters' shoes, hear how they start to hum and buzz with excitement as their owners grow near."

It was not just the princesses' shoes that were humming. The plants in the White Queen's garden were teaming with a buzzing sound. What Nico had taken to be the sound of bees pollinating the flowers was actually a deep tone resonating from the flowers themselves.

Even the White Queen's beautiful  floral crown was humming with pleasure, the flowers clearly full of life and optimism. 

"We cannot help it" exclaimed the White Queen, pointing to her crown, " We are all so thrilled to see my sisters again!"

 

"I am delighted for you, your Highness!" purred Nico, "Congratulations on your happy day. Now I'm just wondering, would it be impertinent to ask for a slice of the orange blossom and almond bird cake? And may I ask, does it include real birds? I do so love a bird."

 

"Help yourself, kitty" said the White Queen "although I must warn you these birds are not of the meat variety, but are made from icing. They're still delicious though, as are the rose macarons of various sizes. Do try them too, they were awfully hard to make but so sublime to taste that they were certainly worth the effort."

 

"Macarons are a little too small for my liking, even the big ones Ma'am. But those honeyed banana cupcakes on the other hand, those are just the size for a grown up lady cat like myself, so don't mind if I do...."

 

 

As Nico ate some more - for she was a greedy little kitty - the White Queen fussed over the table, adding the finishing touches to her feast. Fans and wild flowers, rose tea in a teapot and fresh camellias in vases, it could not have looked lovelier for her sisters' return.

 

 

The sun shone brightly as Nico gave herself a clean, unashamed of her gluttony, but pleased that she'd shown restraint enough not to eat it all. There would be plenty of treats left for the dancing princesses.

 

The air grew still and calm but the humming sound grew nearer, and with it a hundred larks appeared in the sky, to circle above the banqueting table. Nico held her breath as she watched them. There'd be no real birds to eat today, these were swooping and ascending with such skill and grace she knew that they could more than outwit her.

"The time has come," proclaimed the White Queen, "the time we've been waiting for my loyal and furry friend. I can see in the mirror my sisters are approaching!"

 

And suddenly there they were, sashaying and twirling and leaping as they danced their way into the White Queen's garden. The Mad Tea Party was complete!

 

 

 

 

 

Oh how the land rejoiced to see all its beloved sisters together at last!

It was a party to beat all parties, one of laughter and warmth and feasting and enormous hugs.

I cannot tell you all that happened, for only little Nico the cat stayed with the White Queen and her sisters until the very end.

 

But I do know this. Once it was over the White Queen's pergola was aburst with colour, as if every flower in the kingdom had also danced and laughed and exploded with happiness.

And all that was left to show of the dancing princesses?

One very worn, but still humming, pair of red sequin shoes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE END

 

 

Happy Mad Tea Party everyone! Thanks so much for popping by.

Please don't forget to visit the dancing princesses at my style blog Kiki and the Gypsy, where there's more fairytale inspired photography of them dancing their way to the White Queen's tea party.

 

 

All cake and dessert recipes are to come in future posts.

Click here to see my 2012 Mad Tea Party post.
 

 

Now I'm off to visit your mad tea parties!

 

 

Warm Salted Caramel & Banana Tartlets

Perfect to end a gluttonous dinner a deux, the banana and salted caramel of these tartlets are a match made in heaven. These tasty bites are very easy to create and take no time at all, so what's not to love? Idle baking indeed.

Recipe
Adapted from the Banana Tarts recipe by Nigel Slater in his brilliant book Real Cooking.  Buy the book at Amazon by clicking here.

Makes 2 small cookie sized tarts




Offcuts of ready rolled puff pastry, approx 80g is all that's needed
2 bananas
1 tablespoon vanilla bean sugar (or caster sugar)
1 tablespoon butter
1 or 2 tablespoons salted caramel



1. Place the ready rolled offcuts of pastry onto a floured board, and cut into 2 decorative circles using a large cookie cutter. Place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes

2. Turn the oven to 200C (180C) and get out a baking sheet.

3.  Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low hob, before placing to one side to cool.

4. Peel the bananas, then slice them as thin or thick as you like.

5. Take the pastry out of the fridge, and place the 2 tart bases onto the prepared baking sheet. Layer the banana slices in circles over the bases, brushing the fruit and the pastry with the melted butter until they are well covered.

6. Next sprinkle the vanilla sugar over the tarts, before placing in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bananas have softened and the pastry has puffed up.

7. When baked, take the tarts out of the oven and leave to cool for a moment.


for the salted caramel topping:
1 or 2 tablespoons good quality salted caramel (I used a jar from M&S)


8. As soon as the tartlets are out of the oven, heat the spoonfuls of salted caramel in another small saucepan over a low heat, until warm and runny.

9. Drizzle the warm caramel over the tartlets and serve immediately.

These tartlets were idly baked while listening to Lana Del Ray sing Video Games

Eggless, Gluten Free, Nut Free: Banana & Cinnamon Ice Cream

It was sod's law that as soon as I'd decided to make my first ever ice cream the weather changed from hot and sunny to cool and rain splattered. Humph. But I pressed ahead anyway, and boy am I glad I did, for it surprised me with its utter simplicity and scrumptiousness. Gorgeous rich banana marries with the smoky sweetness of cinnamon to create something wonderful. The sun may be hiding but this ice cream brings it back to me with every mouthful.

Recipe
Adapted from the one for Banana Ice Cream at Ice Cream Recipes website, click to see it here
Serves approx 6

375ml double cream
3 and a half large ripe bananas, or 4 small ones
75g sugar
1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
1 squeeze of lemon
cinnamon sticks to decorate, optional


1. Chop the banana into small chunks, before placing in a large bowl and mashing well with a fork.


2. Add the cream, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, stirring until well combined.


3. Chill the mixture in fridge for an hour.

4. Then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze following the maker's instructions. If the finished icecream is still a little runny for your tastes, pop it into the freezer for a few hours.


5. If you don't have an ice cream maker, then pour the mixture into a plastic container, cover with a lid and place in the coldest part of your freezer  to set. After an hour, take out and churn with a fork every 40 minutes or so until the ice cream has frozen in a smooth, soft-set way.


6. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and place in the fridge about 15 minutes before serving. Add a cinnamon stick to each serving if you like for decoration.

This icecream was idly churned while listening to Io Echo's Doorway

Banana & Chocolate Pancakes

Ok, so I could have worked harder to make this dish look more like the pristine, polished pancakes you find in food magazines and restaurants. I could have picked the prettiest pancake to photograph, and folded the banana neatly inside. But let me tell you, it took all my self control to stop myself instantly tucking into this, the last banana and chocolate pancake of the afternoon, and to take any photograph at all. The combination is utterly scrumptious. Warm, soft, caramelised bananas in their syrup, spread over a golden pancake and drizzled with melted dark chocolate. Glorious.

Adapted from a recipe given by Riverford Farm, the brilliant local organic veg & fruit box delivery scheme we use. See the recipe on their website here.

Makes about 6 pancakes

for the pancake batter
100g plain flour
1 large egg
300ml whole milk


1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour.

2. Break the egg into the well, add a spoonful of milk before beating the mixture. Gradually add the milk and continue beating until smooth. The finished batter should be no thicker than single cream. Cover the bowl with a plate and cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour.

3. When ready to cook, stir the batter again briefly. Heat a little oil in a large light frying pan over a medium heat, and wait until the oil is just beginning to steam. Stand back as you add a cupful of the batter to the pan, tiping it around the pan to make sure it covers the base in a thin layer.

4. Cook the pancake for about 1 and a half minutes, until the edges are going golden and coming away a little from the pan.

5. Loosen with a spatula, and then flip the pancake over and hold your breath as you catch it! Or if that's too scary an idea, turn it over with a fishslice if you prefer. Cook the pancake for about another minute, until the edges are crisping and both sides are turning golden. The first pancake is normally the most haphazard. Repeat to make as many pancakes as you'd like.


for the banana filling:
3 or 4 ripe bananas, peeled and cut half lengthways
60g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons caster sugar


6. Melt the butter in a low heat in another frying pan, before throwing in the sugar and bananas.

7. Heat until the bananas are starting to caramelise and are soft and golden.



for the melted chocolate:
100g dark chocolate, broken into chunks


8. Gently melt the dark chocolate chunks in a bain maire, a heat proof bowl over a pan of just simmering water.


9. Place a banana with the syrup inside each pancake, before folding the pancake into a half moon. Alternatively do what I do and just lay the bananas and syrup over each pancake. Drizzle each pancake with the melted chocolate. Eat immediately!

These pancakes were idly made while watching the documentary Man On Wire. If you think tossing pancakes is difficult, just you watch Phillippe Petite walking on a wire between the tops of the Twin Towers in 1974.

Gluten Free Banana & Chocolate Layer Cake

This little layer cake is deliciously naughty, and as you can see from the banana chocolate icing smeared on my cake stand, gloriously messy to eat. Considering how darkly sweet the cake is, you might be surprised to learn that this westcountry recipe comes from the National Trust baking book; it seems old ladies have been tucking into this teatime treat at stately home cafes for decades, lucky things. I've adapted the recipe to make the cake gluten free, just switch to normal flour instead if you prefer.

Recipe
Serves 8-10
Adapted from the Cornish Banana Cake recipe in The National Trust Teatime Baking Book by Jane Pettigrew. Buy the book on Amazon here.

for the banana sponge base:
225g peeled ripe bananas
200 gluten free self raising flour (Dove's Farm or M&S recommended)
90g caster sugar
90g unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan ovens), and grease and line two 17.5cm round sandwich baking tins.

2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork and then mix with the caster sugar.

3. Next add the butter and beat until combined.

4. Sieve in the flour and stir well, before adding the beaten egg.

5. In a small bowl, combine the milk and bicarbonate of soda, and then pour this into the batter and beat in.

6. Pour the batter evenly into the 2 prepared baking tins, and bake in the oven for approx 35-40 minutes. You'll know they're baked when the tops bounce back under your finger and a skewer comes out clean.

7. Once out of the oven, leave the cakes in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

for the filling:
1 large ripe banana, mashed
50g unsalted butter, unsoftened
50g caster sugar

8. While the cakes are cooling, mix the banana, butter and caster sugar, beating well until the filling is well combined. If you find the filling isn't sticking together enough, as I did, then stir in a tablespoon of cornflour to thicken it.

9. Once cakes are completely cool, spoon the filling over the bottom one, and then sandwich it gently with the top one.


for the banana & chocolate icing:
225g icing sugar
1 large ripe banana, mashed
25g cocoa powder, sifted
1 large handful flaked almonds

10. Combine the icing ingredients, beating until smooth and chocolate black.

11. Spread the icing with a spatula over the top cake, then scatter with flaked almonds. Leave the icing and almonds to settle on the cake for 20 minutes before serving.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Bob Dylan's album Blood on the Tracks

Cakes for a picnic part 2: Banana Bread

This moist Banana Bread tastes amazing and is a perfect cake for picnics, being easy to transport and no fuss to eat. This wonderful spiced recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook has become a real favourite with us, it's very easy to rustle up if you fancy something simple, and can be stored in the freezer and defrosted whenever you need it.

Recipe

Serves 8

Adapted from the recipe given in the lovely Hummingbird Bakery Cookery book by Tarek Malouf.

 Buy the book on Amazon

2 eggs

200g peeled bananas (approx 4 small ones)

270g dark muscovado sugar

140g unsalted butter

280g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbsps demerara sugar to decorate, optional

1. Turn the oven to 170C (150C fan ovens), and line and grease a 2 lb loaf tin.

2. Mash the bananas with a fork, and put to one side.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together. Then add the mashed banana and mix well.

4. Throw in the dry ingredients: flour, bicarb of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined.

5. Meanwhile, heat the butter over a low heat until just melted, before leaving to cool for a momemnt. Then pour the melted butter into the batter and mix thoroughly.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle demerara sugar ontop before baking in the oven for approx 50 minutes - 1 hour. You'll know it's done when the top bounces back when you press it with a finger, and a skewer comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This cake tastes even better after a day or two, so it's a good one to make in advance for a picnic.

This cake was idly baked while listening to the news on BBC Radio 4