Ooh la la! Let them all eat cake!
8:43 amAs Marie
Antoinette once said “Let them eat cake!” Well actually, to be more accurate, what
was said was "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche.” (Let them eat brioche) and reputedly it was
Marie Therese the wife of Louis XIV who said it. There’s no disputing however
that the French love a good tea party!
Tea
first arrived in Paris in 1636 (22 years before it appeared in England) and
quickly became rather popular among the aristocracy who thought it was able to heal all
kinds of illnesses. Because of this
popularity tea became a symbol of royalty, and when the French aristocracy was
beheaded one after the other, the tea culture seemed to be dying too. Years
passed and tea became popular again, this time due to English fashion. Today
tea is extremely popular in France, in fact some of most powerful teahouses in
the world are based there.
We
return to pre-revolutionary France to take our inspiration for a very French
afternoon tea. This theme is perfect for a special party, perhaps a
thirtieth birthday or even a sedate hen party. Think excess and opulence. Dainty
sandwiches, maracons, éclairs, beautiful vintage china and of course lashings
of sparkling champagne!
Le Menu
Sandwiches
Serve
open sandwiches on thinly sliced baguette the small thin kind (Ficelle) is daintier
if you can get hold of one. Top the
baguette with pâté such as Ardennes or Pate de La Campagne or if you are vegetarian/ don’t
like pâté a good cream cheese mixed with chopped herbs such as basil, tarragon or thyme makes a delicious
alternative.
Scones
Make
or buy traditional scones and top with clotted or gently whipped cream and a
lavender jam. Wolds Way Lavender makes
several including Strawberry or Blueberry & Lavender Preserve and Apple &
Lavender Jelly.
Cakes
You
can of course make macarons but it is quite a skilled art, if you fancy having
a go it’s best to take a class or purchase a good book like Mad about Macarons! by Jill
Colonna (Waverley Books Limited) ISBN
1849340412). If in doubt buy them in,
Ladurée (at Harrods London) or Hermes (at
Selfridges London) are the best, but if
you are not London based or can’t stretch financially, English Rose Bakery and
Macaronique both
make beautiful, less expensive versions which are available by post.
If
you are out of time you can also buy some chocolate éclairs but they are
surprisingly easy to make and if you make them yourself you can vary the
filling and toppings. Just change the chocolate or substitute the berries to
make this recipe your own.
Petite Blackberry Éclairs
You will need:
For
the pastry and topping
125ml water
50g unsalted butter, chilled
125ml water
50g unsalted butter, chilled
65g plain
flour, sifted
Pinch of
salt
2 eggs,
lightly whisked
360g dark
chocolate, broken into squares (choose a good quality high cocoa version)
For the blackberry
filling
120g fresh or frozen blackberries
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp Chambord (optional)
470g double cream
How to make the éclairs:
120g fresh or frozen blackberries
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp Chambord (optional)
470g double cream
How to make the éclairs:
Preheat your oven
to 200°C or Gas Mark 5. Line a baking
tray with non-stick baking paper.
Place the water and butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook until the butter has melted. Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Place the water and butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook until the butter has melted. Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Put the pan
over low heat and cook, stirring all the while with the wooden spoon, until the
mixture comes away from the sides of the pan (about 30 seconds). Set the
mixture aside to cool for about 5 minutes and then use a wooden spoon to
gradually beat in half of the whisked egg. Repeat with the rest of the egg, beating
until the mixture is glossy and thick.
Fill a zip top plastic bag with the choux dough and cut off the corner or use a piping bag and 1cm nozzle. Pipe twenty 2 inch logs onto the baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and puffy. Cut a slit into the side of each éclair and bake in oven for a further 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to thoroughly cool.
Fill a zip top plastic bag with the choux dough and cut off the corner or use a piping bag and 1cm nozzle. Pipe twenty 2 inch logs onto the baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and puffy. Cut a slit into the side of each éclair and bake in oven for a further 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to thoroughly cool.
To make the filling,
mash blackberries with the icing sugar and Chambord in a bowl. In a separate
bowl, whisk cream until firm peaks form. Add the blackberry mixture to the
cream and fold until just combined.
Cut each éclair
in half horizontally. Spread the inside of each éclair with blackberry cream.
Place the
chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water
(make sure bowl doesn't touch the water). Drizzle melted chocolate over the éclairs.
Place in the fridge until set. Bon appétit!
Drink
Tea
The
French love black tea served white so choose Assam or Darjeeling teas that can
hold up to a splash of dairy. In
fact first person ever recorded to add milk to tea was Frenchwoman Madame de la Sablière. This was simply because she enjoyed the taste of it but it
also had the added benefit of protecting the delicate china of the time from
cracking from the heat of the tea.
Fizz
Buy
the best champagne you can afford, pink champagne is a nice touch if you can
run to it, serve in coupes or pretty vintage china cups. We stock a good range at Dormouse and The Teapot . For tee totallers make citron presse by juicing half a large lemon add the juice to a glass and stir in
sugar to taste. Top up with still or
sparkling water. A votre santé
Mise en scène
The
decor
You
can have great fun decorating the table for this tea. Try to stick to a pastel
palette of duck egg blue, sugar pink and white to make the most impact.
Instead
of using place cards tie small parcel tags with your guest’s names written on to
paper fans. Use pretty ribbons and feathers to decorate. Plain white paper fans
are available from Yellow Moon. Use
a white sheet in lieu of a tablecloth. Blowsy flowers like roses and peonies in
a single colour tone look amazing en mass along the centre of the table.
Now
is the occasion to use glass and china cake stands and cake plates to display
your cakes and sandwiches. Get out your
finest china and silverware, and lay each setting nicely. Light lots of candles.
Music
Listen
to Mozart, Haydn Beethoven, Bach or music
from composer Christopher Glück to whom Marie Antoinette was patron. If you want a modern soundtrack to your tea, cast
a nod to the Coppola film Marie Antoinette and purchase or listen to the
soundtrack via Spotify.
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