| On June 1, 2001, Clan Carmichael USA held
their annual meeting in Glasgow, Kentucky. In conjunction with the
meeting, we held a fancy afternoon tea with lace tablecloths, yellow
roses and thistle centerpiece, and imprinted napkins. These are five of
the most popular recipes at the tea. For more tea recipes, especially
Esther’s Orange Marmalade Cake, Kathy’s Coconut Bread and Salami,
and the Rum Truffles, which also were very popular, see An
Autumn Tea in this Food section.
Blackberry Wine Cake
This cake was extremely popular at the
Carmichael Tea in Glasgow, Kentucky, on June 1, 2001. Bake it a day or
so ahead to let the cake season. Keep refrigerated until shortly before
serving.
1 white cake mix
1 pkg. (3 oz.) blackberry gelatin
4 eggs
1/2 c. cooking oil
1 c. blackberry wine
1/2 c. chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine cake mix and dry gelatin powder, add eggs, oil, and wine. Beat
with a mixer on low speed until moistened, then beat on medium speed for
3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently.
Grease and heavily flour a Bundt cake
pan. Sprinkle pecan pieces in bottom of pan. Pour in batter and bake in
preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
Make the glaze while the cake is baking.
When cake is done, take from oven and pour two-thirds of the glaze over
the warm cake while still in pan. Let cool 30 minutes then turn cake out
of pan and cool. Then add more powdered sugar to the glaze until
thickened and pour glaze over the cake allowing it to run down the
sides.
Glaze
1 c. powdered (confectioners’) sugar
1/2 c. blackberry wine
1/2 c. margarine or butter
Mix ingredients together and bring to a
hard boil.
Ambrosia Trifle
I took a mixer along and mixed the
pudding for this cake in the hotel room the night before the Carmichael
Tea. I put the trifle together that night, all except the cherries, and
set the bowl down into a cooler so the flavors could blend overnight.
Take it out just before serving and add the cherries to the top. If you
cannot find pineapple coconut cake, coconut cake alone will work. Just
layer in a can of very well drained crushed pineapple to the layers of
mandarin oranges.
1 (5.1 oz.) pkg. vanilla instant pudding
3 c. milk
2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 (8 oz.) ctn. sour cream
1 (28 oz.) pkg. frozen golden pineapple coconut cake, partially thawed
(Pepperidge Farm recommended)
1 (15 oz.) can mandarin orange segments, drained
1 1/2 c. frozen whipped topping, thawed
Garnishes: shredded coconut, stemmed
maraschino cherries
Combine pudding, milk, orange juice
concentrate, and sour cream in a large bowl, beat at low speed of
electric mixer 2 minutes or until thickened. Spoon one-third of pudding
into a 3-quart trifle bowl. Cut coconut cake in half lengthwise. Cut
cake halves crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange one-third of cake
slices in a single layer over pudding. Arrange one-third of mandarin
orange segments over cake. Arrange half of remaining cake slices over
orange segments. Cover cake with half of remaining pudding; top with
remaining cake slices and half of remaining orange segments. Top with
remaining pudding and orange segments. Mound whipped topping over
trifle. Garnish, if desired. Cover and chill several hours. Yield: 12-14
servings.
Strawberry Tea Cake
I baked this recipe in four small loaves
and mailed them to my cousin who lived nearer the game site than I did.
She put them in the freezer and we took them out and put them in a
cooler the morning we left for the games. The tea was the following day
and they were moist and very good.
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. coarsely broken pecan pieces
2 lg. eggs
1/2 c. corn oil
1 (9-10 oz.) pkg. frozen sliced or halved strawberries, thawed but
undrained
Grease and lightly flour a 9X5-in. loaf
pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir in
sugar, then pecans. In a large bowl, beat eggs and oil until blended;
add undrained strawberries and at lowest speed, moving beater around
bowl, beat just until strawberries are partly broken up. Add flour
mixture and beat at lowest speed until batter is smooth and strawberries
are in small irregular pieces. Turn into prepared pan. Bake in a
preheated 350 degree oven until cake tester inserted in center comes out
clean, about 1 hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes;
loosen edges and turn out on rack, turn right side up; cool completely.
Store in tightly covered plastic bag; if not eaten in a few days, store
in the bag in the refrigerator.
Grover’s White Chocolate Macadamia
Nut Cookies
Grover bakes some of these for various
games and they are always a hit. He brought them to the tea and there
were none left over at the end of the weekend.
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 lg. egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (6 oz.) pkg. white chocolate chips
1 (7 oz.) jar macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
Beat the butter and shortening at medium
speed with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Gradually add the
sugars, beating well. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Gradually
add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in white chocolate chips and
nuts.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches
apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10
minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets and
then remove to wire racks and let cool completely. Yield: approximately
5 dozen.
Chunky Chocolate Cherry Pecan Muffin
Cakes
I baked these as small muffins for the
tea, but last Christmas I baked this recipe in Santa head muffin pans
using a maraschino cherry for the nose. I wrapped each one up in plastic
wrap and tied the top up with a red ribbon to which I had attached a tea
bag. I delivered them to friends, the postal clerks, the cashiers at
Wal-Mart, my travel agent, and others who I thought could use a tea and
muffin break during the busy holiday season. You should have seen the
reactions I got!
1/2 c. stick butter
3/4 c. light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. dried cherries
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. (2 oz.) semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4-in. pieces
Glaze:
1/4 c. powdered (confectioners’) sugar
1 T. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl
with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy.
Add the brown sugar and continue beating until blended. Add the eggs,
one at a time, and continue mixing, blending each egg into the butter
mixture. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and
baking soda. With a wooden spoon, stir half of the flour mixture into
the wet ingredients. Then stir in the buttermilk, being careful not to
overmix. Carefully fold in the remaining flour mixture, cherries,
pecans, and chocolate. Drop the batter into small heart-shaped cake pans
or muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
To make the glaze, in a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar,
water, and vanilla until smooth. With a rubber spatula, drizzle
approximately one tablespoon of the glaze over each muffin top. Remove
from the pan and serve. Makes 6 large muffins or 12 small muffins. |
