High Tea in Santa Cruz, finally !!

For Mother's Day and a belated birthday treat, a friend took me to the Buttercup Bakery in downtown Santa Cruz for high tea.

I love high tea and I love the cupcakes I have had from this bakery. I was so excited when I saw they were offering high tea on the weekends.

First off the table was set with a beautiful fresh flower bouquet which nicely matched my hair. There were beautiful depression glass looking goblets, sweet china tea cups, silver and, of course, a crisp white table cloth.

 High tea is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 3:30, there are two options: the cream tea, which includes scones, lemon curd, jam, whipped cream and a pot of tea or the savory tea, which has a lot to choose from, including tea sandwiches, quiche, a daily soup and dessert !
Note: They offered several vegan and gluten free options.

We chose the savory tea which started with this delicate and tasty fruit salad of berries and whipped cream.

We each chose three sandwiches not quite understanding that the quiche and soup were also options ( next time.)

This photo does not do the sandwiches justice. I had the cucumber, cream cheese and mint, the BLT with candied bacon and one called Pretty in Pink: smoked salmon, herb cream cheese, pickled watermelon radish and lemon zest on sweet french bread. They were all exquisite, just the right texture of bread, the right amount of filling and the right size to make room for the rest of our meal.

These lavender lemon scones were to die for. I am a scone snob, no doughy, heavy scones for me. These were crisp and flaky, and the lavender which can taste soapy was only a pleasant hint on top.
The lemon curd and jam were great compliments to the scones.

If that wasn't enough along came dessert: a lavender vanilla cupcake, a petite four, a tiny fruit tart and a chocolate hibiscus cupcake. Luckily they were all mini size, wow !!

We left very sated and excited to come back for another tea time treat.

I was so inspired this evening I made two different kinds scones for a high tea luncheon this coming weekend with family. I'll post those recipes soon.

Raspberry curd and a tea party

Last weekend I had the honor of attending a lovely tea party with family. We called it "high tea" but when I looked that up, I found out we really had "low tea" and then we had it too early. Who really cares ?? It was amazing, delicious and I will post lots of photos to prove it.
Here is the scoop on " high tea".

In anticipation of this great event I decided to try a recipe I have had for several years but never made, raspberry rose curd. It seemed like it would be the perfect topping for the cream scones my niece was going to make.

They were so light and buttery.

Raspberry Rose Curd

Makes about 1 ½ cups

Ingredients

1 -1/12  cups fresh raspberries, as needed
2 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
 ½ teaspoon rosewater*

* Rosewater is used it Middle Eastern baking a lot and can be found in most grocery stores these days. It makes a refreshing facial toner or body spray as well. If you don't have it don't worry this recipe is just as good without it. In fact most people did not even know it was an ingredient.

1) Place a fine mesh strainer over a large measuring cup. Place half the raspberries in the strainer and, using a spatula, push the berries through the strainer, pressing on the solids to extract as much puree as possible.

You should have about ½ cup puree. If your berries are less juicy, you will need more; press additional berries through the strainer if necessary.

2) In a saucepan whisk together the egg yolks and eggs.

3) Whisk in the puree, sugar, and lemon juice.

4) Place pan over medium heat and, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula (make sure to stir the bottom and edges of the pot), cook until the mixture thickens, about 5 to 7
minutes. Do not let it come to a boil.

I did switch to a silicon spatula but forgot to take another photo.

5) Remove from heat immediately. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth.

6) Whisk in the rosewater. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.

7) Let cool a few minutes, stir again and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

I must say it was so flavorful and the perfect topping for those cream scones.

Our menu included the classic little sandwiches, cucumber, smoked salmon with cream cheese and Black Forest ham. We used a soft egg bread which worked like a dream.

Since we had extra cucumber and smoked salmon, I improvised these cucumber/cream cheese/ smoked salmon appetizers.

That's a single leaf of fresh tarragon on each one.

Both my brother and I grow fresh berries, so this fruit salad was a natural addition.

Boysenberries, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries !!

 

I made those melt in your mouth chai spice shortbread cookies and Sara and Kirby made these killer giant chocolate chip cookies.

We all wore hats and had a grand time !!