JubilTEA

JubilTEA party

Chocolate and blueberry curd tart

This week was an exciting one.  In the lead up to Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee weekend (hurray for 2 extra days off!) I received my permanent UK residency (after a horrific 6 hour wait at the Croydon Home Office).  Which essentially means, as long as I want the UK - she's stuck with me.  It also means that in 12 months I can get my British Citizenship.  I'll happily be a two passport totin' lady (I'll get to to keep my US citizenship - obvs).


So in an impromptu play on words I invited some friends around on Monday afternoon to celebrate my "britishness" with a JubilTEA.  I did so at 9 pm the night before.  That meant that it was just a few who came around - as well that I had to put some hustle in my bustle if I was going to have any tea-time treats ready by 3 pm the next day.


Now, I know it was really just the thought that counts and I could have just as easily bought some scones and such but well...that simply goes against everything I know.  So without further ado, I whipped up the following that morning / afternoon (I won't lie, I was pooped by the time my friends arrived).  But all of that said, it was a lovely way to celebrate the Jubilee and my new residency status.


Scones - two ways (plain and with sour cherries and white chocolate) modified from Sara Foster's recipe (I reduced butter by 1/4 and flour by 1/5)


Chocolate and blueberry curd tart


Chocolate crust - 1.5 cups ground chocolate wafers mixed with 3/4 stick melted butter, baked at 325/ 165 for 12 minutes.  Let cool.


Blueberry curd - In a saucepan over medium heat add 2 cups blueberries and the zest and juice from 2 lemons. Cook for about 10 minutes until the blueberries are soft and starting to release liquid. Transfer to strainer and using the back of a spoon press juice from all the berries.  Discard any leftover fruit (or like me gobble it up by the mushy spoonful). Place blueberry juice back on stovetop, add 1.5 cups sugar and dissolve.  Add 100 grams butter and stir until completely melted.  Sloooooowly whisk in 3 slightly beaten eggs and continue to stir for about 30 minutes on a med-low heat until thick and curd worthy. Strain again if you so choose.  Let cool and then pour into chocolate crust.


In celebration of Great Britain I decided to decorate my blueberry tart with a union jack.  I hadn't really factored that blueberries are actually purple...so you'll have to forgive the photo above. I piped sweetened whipped cream and used some strategically cut strawberries as well to complete.  Voila!


Banana, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies


Ok, this flavour combo is more stars and stripes than union jack but even though I do love my adopted country, I am a good American girl through and through.


Now I love peanut butter any which way - and the same can be said for chocolate. Come to think of it - let's throw bananas into this category as well. These cookies are chewy and full of flavour. Oooh lala. These are good.  I'm planning on another batch, this time with candied bacon* pieces mixed in as well. 

2 cups flour

3/4 tspn baking soda

1/4 tspn salt

8 tablespoons melted (and cooled) butter

10 tablespoons melted (and cooled) crunchy peanut butter

1 cuppacked brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F / 165 degrees C.

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In another bowl, combine butter and peanut butter and both sugars until combined. Lightly whisk egg and add to wet ingredients along with vanilla. Fold in smooshed bananas and mix until combined. Add in dry ingredients and finally fold in chocolate chips. Eat with fingers.

Oh wait...no...that's just what I did (at first).  If you so choose (you may or may not) continue along...

Spoon out tablespoon balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Cool completely. Bottom's up!

*No, not gross.  Expectations for deliciousness exceptionally high with the addition of candied bacon.  Clearly not for the veggies in my life. This one will be for the non-Kosher carnivorous sweet toothers.**


**Never a sentence I imagined needing to write.