Another Tea Party

I swear I'm not running this as a business, but my friend twisted (ever so slightly) my rubber arm to supply her sister's bachelorette tea party, and this is the result.

Meow knocked her piping gun already fitted with an OPEN star tip
off the counter and it grazed my foot
Didn't even notice that it was bleeding until it started stinging

Further discussions led to the need to have the food be gluten-free.  Since I basically did gluten-free last time for my own tea party, no problem!

For recipes, see my post on "An Afternoon Tea Gathering".  Though recipes for some have links to another previous post as they did not appear in my Tea Gathering post.  There are also 2 recipes at the end that have not made its appearance before.

Sad, sad gluten free bread
Dry and dense

Even sadder when it gets cut/crimped
It made the chopping sound, "shuck, shuck, shuck"

For size comparison

Meow only uses the "clean" ingredients ;)

All loaded up before heading out for delivery
Placed into a plastic bag meant for gift baskets to keep the elements out and food in

Smoked Salmon & Dill sandwiches
Cucumber & Mint sandwiches
Gluten free

Meow was told that the guests were marvelling at the "fork" toothpicks  o_0

Cream scones with clotted cream
Gluten free

Blackcurrant ganache macarons
Meyer Lemon cream macarons
Vanilla meringues
Orange meringues
*See below for recipe*

Meow set her alarm for 5:45 AM just so I could make fresh sandwiches and scones
Alarm didn't happen, but cat alarm came about at 7:15, making it only 1 hour to be out the door
Mr. Meow had to help make the scones, though the first batch of scone dough turned out
funny and had to redo the batch
All was completed and loaded on time, was not late for delivery
I think Mr. Meow even loaded up the dishwasher as I head out the door :)

Decided to pipe the clotted cream into shot glasses
Meow was thinking of using plastic sample cups but that would ruin the look

The spread
Meow did not do the decorations, my friend who hired me did it
I was flabbergasted by how pretty it was
Meow wished her own birthday tea party was this pretty

My macarons on the 40-pyramid, best purchase ever!
Can you believe the dishes came from Goodwill / Salvation Army stores?

The bride-to-be made these cupcakes
Sadly, I was told that only 2 were eaten, the rest for sent home in care packages :(
All my stuff were eaten

Funny story with the cupcakes, I was told that these were entrusted to the parents
for transport and were told specifically to not lay on its side.  And what did the parents do?
Put it on its side.  So, one of their friends who's good at repairing cupcakes re-did the icing
I couldn't tell that they were "saved"

One more shot of the tray for good luck

One 2 oz shot glass of clotted cream per scone
Mr. Meow and I named the practice of abusing clotted cream
after my friend's husband

The spread in better lighting

The dishes were just so eclectic and pretty ^_^

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 I will also leave you with 2 new recipes that appeared here.

Blackcurrant Ganache
Adapted from Macarons by Pierre Hermes

75-100 mL blackcurrant juice (the less sweetened, the better)
150 g Valhrona Ivoire white chocolate
25 g corn syrup
10 g unsalted butter, softened

1. Heat the blackcurrent juice and corn syrup and bring to a simmer

2. Pour the hot juice into a bowl with the white chocolate and let sit for a minute or two

3. Gently stir the ganache to combine

4. Add in butter and stir to combine

5. Chill in refrigerator until firm

6. When using, bring ganache to room temperature to become soft

7. Using an electric hand mixer, pulse and whip the ganache briefly to fluff, ensuring not to overwhip causing the ganache to become grainy and separate

*I generally do not use the 1:1 ratio of cream/juice to chocolate as I find the ganache stays very liquidy and will not hold up at room temperature.  Corn syrup and butter are also added to help stabilize the ganache for room temperature settings.

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Meringues
Adapted from Laduree Sucre

120 g castor sugar
4 (120 g) egg whites
Lemon juice
Orange oil extract (optional)
Vanilla extract (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 210F

2. Sift the castor sugar

3. In a very clean, grease free bowl, whip the egg whites to a foam in a mixer.  Once they are frothy, add a splash of lemon juice and then slowly stream in the castor sugar.  Add in flavouring in using. Whip until firm peaks.

4. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (or whichever one you prefer)

5. Pipe dollops of meringue onto a baking sheet lined with silicone/parchment paper.  Leave a bit of space between meringues as they will spread a little.

6. Place pan in oven and bake for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.  They should dry out and not darken.

7. Cool completely and store in airtight container

*If your meringues crack or have "lifted caps", your oven is probably too hot.  This happens more frequently with smaller meringues.  Remedy by leaving the oven door open a crack, you can jam in a wooden spoon to let the heat vent out.
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