The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry

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). I also need to catch up on these recipes, 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.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfest IX, so I am catching up and of course after sandwiches we have our sides.

And food to go with.

This comes from Tea Time Magazine. I did change the recipe a bit as I took out the olive salad, I forgot to buy it. Oops!

Ingredients:

• 1 Sheet of Frozen Puff Pastry, Slightly Thawed
• 6 (1-inch) Cubes Fotina Cheese
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tablespoon of Water

Directions:

1. Preheat the Oven at 400 Degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Using 2 1/4 inch flower-shaped cutter, cut 12 flowers from puff pastry sheet.
4. Using a 1-inch round cutter, cut out and discard centers from 6 flowers.
5. Stack a cutout flower on top of a whole flower and place on a prepared baking sheet.
6. Repeat for remaining flowers. Press edges together using a fork.
7. Place a cheese cube in the center of each flower.
8. In a small bowl, combine egg and water, whisking well to make an egg wash.
9. Using a pastry brush, brush tops of flowers with egg wash.
10. Bake until flowers are puffed and golden brown, 10-12 mins.
11. Serve Warm

These weren’t bad but very cheesy. I think they would have been better if I had put in something with the cheese, the olive spread or basil or something.

But otherwise tea was wonderful.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches

For more recipes, go to Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches

For more Tea Time Magazine Recipes, go to Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches

For more sides, go to Tea Time Magazine’s Fotina & Pork Puffed Pastry

For more tea posts, go to Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones

Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones

So last weekend I had a tea party with my friend and sister.

I wanted to share this amazing Golden Tip Lapsang Souchong tea from Crafted Leaf Teas. I got us chocolate biscuits, made Cucumber and Chicken Salad sandwiches, and for dessert the Triple Berry Salad. 

And then it came time for the scones. The previous recipes were ones I had made before, but for the scones I wanted to try something new. My friend had bought me a subscription to a tea magazine for my birthday, the first magazine being on Teatime Celebrations, and I thought I would try one of its recipes. You know me and holidays!

So I was flipping through the magazine and I had a hard time choosing between Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones from Mardi Gras teatime and Cranberry Spice Scones with Maple Cream from Autumnal Harvest Tea. I eventually decided on Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones with plans to make the cranberry ones at a later date.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of All-Purpose Flours
• 1/3 Cup of Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/4 Cup of Cold Salted Butter, Cubed
• 3 Ounces Cream Cheese, Cubed
• 3/4 Cup plus two tablespoons of cold Heavy Whipping Cream, divided
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• Garnish: Turbinado Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl: whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Add cream cheese, stirring to combine, but leave in cubes.
6. In a small bowl, stir together 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of cold cream and vanilla extract.
7. Add the mixture into the flour mix, until it is evenly moist. (If dough seems dry, add more cream-1 tablespoon at a time).
8. Working gently, bring the mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
9. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4 to 5 times.
10. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to be 3/4 inch thick.
11. Using a 2 1/4 inch fluted round cutter, cut 12 scones from the dough.
12. Place the scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
13. Brush scones with remaining cream.
14. Garnish tops with turbinado sugar.
15. Bake until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20 mins.
16. Serve warm.

I also made some mock clotted cream to go with them:

So first of all, I completely recognize that I rolled these out too thin. I wasn’t paying attention to how thick they should be and then just got carried away. They don’t really rise so it is important to make sure  they are the right level of thickness.

These scones weren’t horrible but they turned out a bit plain. They definitely are in need of clotted cream, honey, jam, etc., something to give them a little more umph. But not bad-I would definitely make these again if I wanted to showcase a nice jam or something. They definitely do not overpower the tea or the meal. My sister put the cream on the scone and topped it with berries from the Triple Berry Salad and that came out really good.

For more scones, go to Scottish Oat Scones

For more recipes, go to Super Easy Classic Deviled Eggs