A new teacup for Tea Time

Recently I was gifted with this pretty new teacup. It belonged to my grandmother, who collected teacups - and also was a "big time" gardener - guess who I took after in those two interests!

This is a Staffordshire teacup. I think it's really pretty.

 Today I'm enjoying Raspberry Royale black tea.

My nosh is a slice of Dr. Pepper cake - my first time to make this, I find it's very much like my very favorite chocolate cake, Texas Sheet Cake.  The main difference is that this cake uses Dr. Pepper for the liquid. If you want the actual Dr. Pepper cake recipe, you can find it here.

Texas Sheet Cake

1 cup butter
3 T. cocoa
1 cup water

Heat the above to boiling and add:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 t. vanilla

Bake in 12x18 pan for 20 minutes at 350. Top with 12 to 18 marshmallows and bake 2 minutes longer and spread while hot. Frost when cool with icing. (Note: I often omit the marshmallows, and I also usually bake this in a 13x9 pan.)

Icing for Texas Sheet Cake

1/2 cup butter
3 T. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
6 T. milk

Heat the above ingredients, then add powdered sugar to desired consistency, beating until thick and fluffy.


Today I'm joining in tea parties at:
Rose Chintz Cottage
Martha's Favorites
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

as well as
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Valentine's Tea #2

IF YOU ARE HERE TO VISIT MY "GROW YOUR BLOG" PARTY POST (WITH A GIVEAWAY), CLICK HERE.

Tea time gives one a great respite from the stresses and busyness of a typical day, and provide a bit of warmth in the cold winter. Dressing the tea table up and playing with my dishes for holidays make it even more of a pleasure!

 Tea for three with Old Country Roses
There are two teapots on the table for my guests.

 A heart-shaped box of candy graces each place setting.

 A two-tiered tray of goodies

 I made heart-shaped butterscotch scones. The recipe can be found here; I omitted the ginger.

 I served the scones with strawberry jelly and butter in vintage glass dishes.

 Mini cherry cheesecakes - a vanilla wafer on the bottom - a cream cheese/sugar/cool whip mixture in the middle and a little cherry pie filling on top - the recipe can be found here.

 Several teas to choose from -

I'm closing with a close-up of my Old Country Roses teapot. This is different from the OCR teapot one usually sees. I rather like it.


Linking to Tea Time Tuesday, Friends Sharing Tea, and A Return to Loveliness

All Things Pumpkin

Pumpkins are for decorating.

Pumpkin is for cooking, too. Making super-delicious goodies, great for fall, but yummy anytime!

 'Landon' by Noritake

Tea and pumpkin bread - always good together.

 Also good - you just can't beat a pumpkin bar!

 The cup and saucer are Delft, made in Holland. They were actually purchased in The Netherlands. My grandmother collected teacups, and her nephew brought this back for her from a trip.

 This is 'Blue Bonnet' by Harmony House. I thought its blue and whites would go well with the Delft. It's a thrift store find.

The recipe for my pumpkin bars is at the end of this post. I've been making these for nearly 30 years; I got the recipe from a friend way back then.

This is Kylee's Pumpkin Torte. It is the most delicious pumpkin dessert I've ever had! Kylee blogs at Our Little Acre, and you can find her recipe here.

 Pumpkin torte tastes extra good with tea.

Kutschenreuther Selb from Bavaria     I bought these at a thrift store too.


One cannot mention "all things pumpkin" without talking about pumpkin pie!

 I have two favorite pumpkin pie recipes. The first is from the Libby's pumpkin label. It's a mild but absolutely delicious pie, which I'm sure most of you have tried (pictured).

For a spicier pumpkin pie, try this recipe.

 Pumpkin PIE, and Pumpkin CHAI

 Pumpkin chai from David's Tea, in my Aynsley teacup (thrift store find). In the photos, it looks coral colored but it is actually bronze/brown.

Pumpkin chai: "This autumn treat has it all. Cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy."  Note: I like this year round!

The recipe I promised:

Barb's Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
15 oz pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together dry ingredients; then add to pumpkin mixture. Bake in an ungreased 15x10x1 pan for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Frost with cream cheese icing.


It's Autumn! Enjoy some pumpkin!

Last, but not least, if you want pumpkin but aren't in a baking mood, how about a Dairy Queen Pumpkin pie blizzard? Mmmmmm!

Linking to Tea Time Tuesday, Friends Sharing Tea, A Return to Loveliness, and Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Luscious Lemon Lush, for Tea Time Tuesday

It's that time of the week when we celebrate with a tea party. Come along as I show you my Delft and my delicious Lemon Lush dessert.

 I placed a blue quilt on the table as a tablecloth, and added my Delft teacup and saucer, and cream and sugar. I added the teapot, which is not Delft, but it matches well.

 A better look at the teapot. I purchased this in Pella at the Historical Village giftshop.

 These came from my grandmother. Her nephew bought them for her in Holland.

 The pretty Delft teacup was also a gift to my grandmother from her nephew. I've filled it with Egg Noggin' tea.

Would you like dessert with your tea? This is called Lemon Lush, and it is absolutely divine! Easy too!

The recipe can be found here.


Linking to Tea Time Tuesday, Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Tea in the Garden

A Valentine's Tea, just for me

I was in the mood to bake cookies for Valentine's Day. I altered my Christmas sugar cookie recipe to make it chocolate. Then, I put on the tea kettle and made myself a cup of tea to drink with my snack.

 When we went to Dubuque last fall, I found this brown transferware teacup at an antique store.

I find the design enchanting. There was no saucer, but a plain white one will do.

 The cup is ironstone 'Royal Mail' by Myott. (Thanks to Ruth of Antiques and Teacups for information on my teacup!)  The bottom of the cup shows wear, but the rest of it looks nice.

 Faux white roses in a red vase look nice on the table for Valentine's Day.

 In my cup:  Stash Licorice Spice herbal tea - delicious!

Decorated cookies, plus a cupcake from the bakery. It all made for a nice tea time for me this cold winter day.

The cookie recipe came from Jacqueline at Purple Chocolat Home and can be found here.

The original recipe calls for a French Vanilla cake mix. I used chocolate this time. Jacqueline's vanilla has become my go-to recipe for cut-out cookies. Easy and delicious. It makes a small batch (about 15 cookies), so you may wish to double the recipe.


Linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Friends Sharing Tea, Tea Time Tuesday, Teacup Tuesday, and A Return to Loveliness

Tea with Apple Bread

Welcome to Beyond The Garden Gate, where it's time for tea.

Come on in; I've been baking.

 Apples are great this time of year. These are called "Missouri apples," and I found them good for  both baking and eating.

 This is 'Old Britain Castles' by Johnson Brothers.

 An apple plate (Dollar General) holds a warm slice of apple bread with butter.

Thanks for sharing tea with me today. I have a recipe for the apple bread below.


Apple Bread - from Hometown Press cooking column, submitted by Margaret Vander Weerdt (used with permission)

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp soda
2 Tbsp sour milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 cups chopped apples

Mix margarine and sugar well. Add eggs, soda, milk, salt, flour, and apples. Pour into loaf pan. Sprinkle topping over loaf. Bake 15" at 325; turn oven down to 300 and bake one hour more.

Topping:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp margarine
1 Tbsp cinnamon


Today I am linking to Friends Sharing Tea, A Return to Loveliness, Tuesday Cuppa Tea, and Tea Time Tuesday.