It’s only a matter of time before our summer skies flicker to life and are filled with an orchestrated gravelly roll and drum of our daily afternoon Johannesburg thunderstorms. As soon as this happens, we can safely say, summer is finally a reality – and here to stay. So, tuck away the melancholy, rinse out the grey and get ready to burst full blush into summer with this month’s lifestyle choice of ‘The Queen of Tarts.’ Bold, bright and beautiful, just like my mum.
You’ll be tickled pink by our striking combo and playful palette of pastels, pinks and reds. For me, pink is a memory of happiness, instinctively evoking a feeling of being “home” – it shouts out, a sense of euphoria, of love, a place where no worries exist and where your heart is always full, and bursting. I’m crazy for this colour, as its versatility is endless; soft and feminine or loud and brazen. Life just seems better through rose tinted glasses.
“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
– Audrey Hepburn
This month, it’s all about embracing a cluttered style of pinks and reds, with a mix of vintage tea party chic and classic cotton candy fun. I’ll show you how to beautifully recreate a season of summer love, high teas and tarts.
My idea to emulate ‘the tea party’ comes from a very special person and place, my mum. Mum embodied the word pink, she was radiant, flamboyant, fragrant and feminine, she was perfect – and she loved nothing more than entertaining, which she did with panache and such effortless style. What we took for granted as three doted on young girls, was a spoiling tradition of a daily afternoon post school tea. The tray groaned under light spongy cakes, sandwiches or tarts, come 3 o’clock tea was served with a simple swoop and tinkle of her laughter. She made tea time a memory for me, and as a tribute to her, I hope I’ll create a lasting one for you.
If weather permits, plan and set up your party outside, there’s nothing like natural light to shine down on your traditional afternoon garden tea party. However, if the rumblings of an afternoon storm is on it’s way, pitch a tent inside with some of my tricks and tips to make this a perfect (tea) party yet.
Colour is clearly the central theme here, and I’ve chosen to play off the two normally clashing colours of pink and red to enhance a table of whimsical nostalgia and happiness. The mood is set with a heavy striped red and white tablecloth – this thick bold ticking sets the tone and mood from the start.
I have grounded the horizontal stripe with large transparent glass underplates, their colouring, a mix between Winery, Pomegranate and Rococco Red. Bold and punctuating they are quickly offset by dainty Cherry Blossom Pink toille crockery, which hints at the finery of age old china and tradition.
Remember, if you don’t have a full set of pastel pink patterned china, mix and match – pattern and size are not as important as keeping the colour, the constant in pinks and reds. The more mismatched, the better!
The heavy silver utensils lie informally loose on mismatched cloth napkins, some printed with a pop of Fuchsia pink, others muted in pale Dog Wood Pink – I’ve even thrown in a few delicately blue and yellow patterned ones to enhance the magical tea party charm.
Red glassware (both wine and water glass) are the covert of the day, standing tall above the plates, they work wonderfully to pick up the hues and saturations of the darker roses and under plates. On to a collection of fine bone china tea mugs – remember if you have to splurge, it’s here, with your thin-lipped / rimmed mugs, they add a sense of posh and gentry to your table. I’ve dotted my collection of well-worn English country mugs around the table, they are all unique, floral and thin-lipped. The incorporation of glassware is a fabulous way to show off more colour, with their varying heights and sizes it draws in the tea party talk. I’ve filled my glassware differently, some groan with light cloud-like meringues, while others overflow with pink and white marshmallow. Some bob with strawberry and raspberry infused water, while others are heaped with fresh and ripened nectarines. I’ve created contrast and curiosity with simple variety.
Strawberry, lemon or raspberry-laced water jugs are not only easy to recreate, they look good and it’s a perfect way to keep your guests seasonally quenched in the summer months.
When it comes to the tea parties, in my opinion, the most pivotal design / décor feature are the flowers – and in this case, the roses, and lots of them. This profusion of both fragrance and colour is the key ingredient to creating a fanciful feminine appeal. So, go big on the roses! I’ve placed the roses in a variety of ‘vases,’ cutting them to different lengths and placing them in a haphazard structured centrepiece, placed atop boxes, looming large in cut glass vases, and in silver urns, all adding a sense of sentimentality.
Remember if you don’t have a host of vases for your roses, make use of old jugs, silver creamers, cake tins or old hat boxes – this adds to perfect vintage-flavoured affair.
My piece de resistance and personal touch, is my faded photo of my mum, lips ablaze with her signature Fire Engine Red Lipstick and her sparkling blues (eyes that have not been retouched) that look gracefully at the spread before her.
“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
–Henry James
Roses are the perfect flower for this elegant, sumptuous afternoon feast of tea and tarts. With their strong, sturdy stems that open slowly to reveal unforgettable fragrance and colour, gather up these gorgeous blossoms and get ready to shine. Start by mixing up your colour palette with an array of pinks and reds – you want this arrangement to pop. Although you want to maintain some of the greenery and leaves, remove most of them, it’ll make arranging a whole lot easier. Cut stems at varying lengths to create a multilevel arrangement, with longer stems in the middle, working your way out with shorter stems to create height. Don’t forget to cut them at 45 degree angles with a good pair of gardening shears. Roses are thirsty flowers and you want to enjoy them for as long as possible, so don’t forget to replenish the water often and a little trick I learnt which works wonders in both reviving a tired looking arrangement of roses and keeping them going for longer is to mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in a litre of warm water. Stir until dissolved. When you fill the vase, make sure the cut stems are covered by about 10 centimeters of the prepared water.
Another great invaluable tip to ensure your arrangement looks loose and informal is to (once all the roses are arranged and in place) gently hold them just under the buds, lifting them just out of the vase and slowly lower them back into the vase. Make use of a variety of vases, you can see here, I’ve utilized an old pink and white striped hat box – have fun with your vases, think quirky and cheeky to add to your vintage chic.
The beauty of a vintage tea party is that you can go to town with the menu, with a delicious combination of sweet and savoury, your guests will be in the pink. I’ve baked up a decadent storm of delicious tarts in every which way
Serves 8
Ingredients:
For the pastry
For meringue
For the lemon curd
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Serves 8
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Makes 18 tartlets
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For the crème pâtissière
To finish
Method:
Serves 8
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Serves 12
Ingredients:
Method:
Serves 12
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Method:
Serves 8
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Method:
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Flans and tarts to serve cold are sometimes made with sweet, enriched shortcrust pastry which can be rolled out very thinly. It is usually baked at 180°C
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Method:
Shortcrust pastry
Shortcrust pastry should have a crisp, short (melt in the mouth) texture. The pastry is usually baked at 180°C depending on richness and size.
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Method:
Blind Baking
Although this little gem is used for icing, I use Sweetly Does It Cupcake Offset Spatula to gently loosen my tarts from their tins – of course you can also use if for it’s real purpose of icing cakes and cupcakes as well as smoothing spreads, jams and cream. You can order it online from from Yuppie chef for a R139.00
If you are not up to donning the oven gloves, and rolling out the pasty, why not pop into my sneaky selection of high tea goodies, ready to rock n roll, unbox and look pretty on any plate or table. It’s not easy finding the perfect patisserie, or a crispy crumbly tart crust, but after much tasting, nibbling and tea (aka coffee) – my choices are:
The Hoghouse Bakery – tucked away between Maitland, and north of Pinelands, this bakery is sandwiched right in the middle of the industrial area, some 8 kilometres East of the Cape Town city centre.
This unlikely contender is primarily known for its beer and Texan style cuisine and atmosphere before its pastries, but don’t be put off, don your stretson, and pony up to try their incredible and signature pastry – Pasteis de Nata. When it comes to the King of the Custards, the Hoghouse is Queen of Tarts in perfecting these creamy custard tarts. They literally went the whole hog (sorry couldn’t resist) when whipping up these tasty tarts – free range eggs from the happy clutch of the free-roaming chicks of Farmer Angus, combined with Wayne Rademeyer’s buffalo milk from his herd at Buffalo Ridge. The almost singed browned pastry top is the result of piping hot wood-burning oven, adding yum and deliciousness to the first and final bite (gone too soon!).
Glenda’s Restaurant –
This all-day-old-fashioned-all-time-favourite is filled with colourful memories of delectable patisseries, dripping in colour, texture and taste. Started by the doyenne of pastries, Glenda Lederle – a seasoned and world trained chef brings panache and style to the table while whipping up a frenzy of feminine and floral Frenchness. There are gorgeously glazed scented and sweet petit-fours, to the fluffiest choux pastry, decadent chocolate brownies, mini mes madelines and a medley of other treats to chose from at her takeaway patisserie “Dotty Choux” – which specialises in choux pastry. And if you’re in the mood for celebration, sit down and enjoy the ‘choux choux’ lounge, with a chilled glass of bubbles and nibbles so good that’ll make even your grandmother blush.
Celebration are made to order with beautifully decorated cakes and assorted pastries.