How to Throw a Valentea Party

I’m not one of those people who likes to take their holiday decorations right when the holiday ends and set up for the next one. I also celebrate Valentine’s Day until February, but last year I threw a Valentea party in two weeks and wanted to share it with you all. However, I know people need more time than that and wanted to share it with you all.

Christmas 2021 my friend was given a book that had ideas to hold a tea party every month. She held the first party on January 29th and no one wanted to do the next one, the Valentine’s Day party. I agreed and of course had to change the direction to Valentea and Jane Austen.

Invitations:

So the first thing you need for a party is invitations. I like to make my own cards and sent everyone a Valentine. I used romantic and love quotes from my favorite books.

Decorations:

After planning that came decorations. I’m lucky that I still have the ones from my bridal shower. I have reused those so many times! Yep, I used my pink floral table runners, framed Jane Austen quotes (which can be purchased from this shop); along with pink and white flowers.

Menu:

I was able to figure out my menu pretty quickly as I have a Tea Time magazine subscription, a Betty Crocker holiday cookbook, a Nancy Drew Cookbook, etc. I had a lot of recipes to choose from.

Tea Choices:

I wanted everything to be pink and red as it was a Valentea party so I had MadsenCreations make a Red Chai and Pink Moon Tea. I also picked Tiesta Tea Nutty Almond Cream Tea (which turns the water pink).

Food Menu:

We made Teatime Magazine Orange Cream Scones, Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones, Tea Time Magazine’s Triple Stack Red Bell Pepper and Cream Cheese Sandwiches, Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Eating Well’s Radish Tea Sandwiches, French Onion Soup, Tomato Soup, a tart, and Heart Shaped Rice Krispy Treats.

Tea Time Magazine Orange Cream Scones

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy whipping cream, divided
• 2 large eggs, divided
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until combined. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup cold cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture, stirring until a dough begins to form. Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch fluted round cutter dipped in flour, cut 13 scones from dough, rerolling scraps as needed. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon cold cream and remaining egg until combined. Brush egg mixture over tops of scones.
6. Bake until edges of scones are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Serve warm.
7. Optional: Add a glaze.

Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
3. 2 teaspoons baking powder
4. ½ teaspoon dried culinary lavender
5. ½ teaspoon salt
6. 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces
7. 1 cup chopped dried Cranberries and Raspberries
8. 1 (4-ounce) bar white baking chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, chopped
9. 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
10. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, ⅓ cup sugar, baking powder, lavender, and salt, whisking well.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries, strawberries, and chocolate; stirring until combined.
5. In a liquid-measuring cup, combine cream and vanilla extract, stirring to blend. Add to flour mixture, stirring until mixture is evenly moist. (If dough seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
6. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut 12 scones from dough. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle tops with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
7. Bake scones until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Games:

Game 1: Who Said It?

For this game I took all the romance quotes I had used on the Valentines and people had to match up the quote with who said it.

Game 2: Who Can Name the Most Romance Movies?

For this game I had everyone turn their sheet of paper over and write down as many romance films they could think of in a minute. This was a ton of fun as afterwards we all talked about which ones we liked and what films were our favorites to watch.

I had a lot of fun with our tea parties, and I hope this helps if you want to plan a Valentea party.

Valentea food also doesn’t count.

For more party posts, go to Jane Austen Birthday Party Music & Party Review

For more Valentine’s Day posts go to, Jane in Love

For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: Alley Cat Cafe

For more recipes, go to Dragon Cheddar and Tomato Scones

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Parmesan and Chive Scones

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). The first week we had Cederberg Tea Company Rooibos + Ginger Tea, Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream, Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches, Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés, Fotina & Pork Puffed Pastry, and Mini Apple Pies.

The second week week two was Chami Spice Ginger Plum Tea, Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones, Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches, Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches, Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry, and Lemon Gingerbread Cake.

The third week we had Organic India Tulsi Masala Chai Tea, Parmesan and Chive Scones, Ham & Apple Sandwiches, Cucumber Aioli Canapés, Cranberry and Brie Bites, and Mini Pumpkin Creme Brulee.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfst IX, so I am catching up and of course starting off our third dinner with scones.

This comes from Tea Time Magazine‘s 2020 Sept/Oct issue. The original recipe calls for dates, but I don’t like dates so I just took them out.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Cold Unsalted Butter, Cubed
• 1/2 Cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons of Chopped Fresh Chives
• 1 1/4 Cups + 1 Tablespoon of Cold Heavy Whipping Cream, Divided

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add cheese and chives, tossing to combine.
5. Add 1 1/4 cups of cold cream to flour mixture, stirring until a dough begins to form. Gather dough into a ball in the bowl.
6. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 3-4 times.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 3/4-inch thickness.
8. Fold dough into thirds (like an envelope). Roll dough again to a 3/4 inch thickness.
9. Using a 2 1/4-inch round cutter, dipped in flour, cut dough without twisting-rerolling scraos once.
10. Place scones 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
11. Freeze for 10 mins.
12. Brush tops of scones with remaining 1 tablespoon of cream.
13. Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, approximately 17 mins.
14. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 mins.
15. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These were delicious! I loved them and will most likely make them again.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Lemon Gingerbread Cake

For more recipes, go to Heirloom Tomato Tart

For more Tea Time Magazine Recipes, go to Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry

For more scone recipes, go to Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones

For more tea posts, go to Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). The first week we had Cederberg Tea Company Rooibos + Ginger Tea, Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream, Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Cucumber Sandwiches, Fotina & Pork Puffed Pastry, and Mini Apple Pies.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfst IX, so I will be starting now-and of course beginning with scones.

So last time I made scones I was trying to decide between Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones and this one-Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream. When it came to picking out a scone, I immediately went to this one as it was part of a Fall Teatime and because I really, really want to try it.

This comes from Teatime’s Teatime Celebrations Autumnal Harvest Tea

Cranberry-Spice Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Flour (They said whole wheat but I just used regular)
• 1/4 Cup of Granulated Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Allspice
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 Cup of Cold Unsalted Butter, Cubed
• 1/3 Cup of Dried Cranberries
• 3/4 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• Sugar for Garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, allspice, and pepper, whisking well.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Add cranberries, stirring to combine.
6. In a small bowl, combine cream and vanilla extract, stirring well. Add to flour mixture, stirring until mixture is evenly moist. (If dough seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
7. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a ¾-inch thickness. Using a 2¼-inch round cutter, cut 10 scones from dough. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
8. Garnish tops of scones with additional sugar, if desired.
9. Bake until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes.

Maple Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Cold Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 Tablespoons of Confectioner’s Sugar/Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup, Divided

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed with a mixer until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons maple syrup, beating until stiff peaks form.
2. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 2 hours.
3. Before serving, drizzle cream with remaining ½ tablespoon maple syrup.

 

OMGOODNESS these were so good! They were just beyond delicious. I loved them and I loved the cream that went with it. All of us at the tea party did and couldn’t stop eating them.

No, stop! Alright.

If you like good scones, you should definitely make these.

For more recipes, go to Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones

For more scones, go to Scottish Oat Scones

For more tea posts, go to Countdown to Christmas: Tea Advent Calendar Swap 2019