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My book MsMarmitelover’s Secret Tea Party is published today!

November 27, 2014 12 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

I’m very proud to announce the publication of my new book MsMarmiteLover’s Secret Tea Party today. Published by Square Peg, part of Random House, it is a thick luxurious volume with gold lettering and a red gingham cover with a silky red ribbon as a bookmark. It contains tips how to hostess the perfect tea party with craft workshops, how to lay a tea table, the best way to make a cup of tea, teapot cocktails, savouries hot and cold, including sandwiches, and, last but by no means least, cakes. There are recipes for small cakes, big cakes, icecream cakes and plenty of guest recipes from other secret tea room hosts around the UK.
Nobody does afternoon tea better than the British and every visitor should make a booking at a home tea room which often has better baking and is certainly a better deal than afternoon tea in a hotel. Remember at secret teas, just like at supper clubs, you can often ask for seconds. No stingy portion control here.
I’m a great believer in the hot savoury; so there are recipes for tea cakes, crumpets, tartlets and Shetland bannocks. I also think the ultimate tea party needs a little bit of alcohol to make it go with a swing, so apart from the always popular glass of champagne, you will find recipes for tea time cocktails.
This is a wonderful present for Christmas for wives, girlfriends, sisters, mums, daughters and any man that is dead keen on tea and baking. (Strangely I’ve found this to be more the case in the north than in the so-called metrosexual south. Up north, men don’t feel dainty china and cakes to be a threat to their masculinity!). 
Order at your local bookshop or buy it here online from Random House: MsMarmiteLover’s Secret Tea Party £20
Again here is that link to buy: MsMarmiteLover’s Secret Tea Party  and if you are fine about buying it on Amazon (some people aren’t) here is the link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marmite-Lovers-Secret-Tea-Party/dp/0224098756

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Previous Post: « Secret Tea Party in Manchester
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Downs Side Up

    November 27, 2014 at 2:21 pm

    This looks absolutely stunning and the perfect gift for my tea party Queen sister in law for Christmas. Good luck with the launch. Hayley

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      November 28, 2014 at 3:08 pm

      Thank you Hayley xx

      Reply
  2. Debs Dust Bunny

    November 27, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    Hurrah! Looks gorgeous.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      November 28, 2014 at 3:08 pm

      Thanks Debs, I hope you like it xx

      Reply
  3. Laura Shimili

    November 29, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    The photograph of the Baked muffins is fantastic! It looks like a painting from a classical school. Great book. Do you share secret tea house hosts in the book? That would be an extra. Laura

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      November 29, 2014 at 8:24 pm

      HI Laura, thanks for your comments. Yes there is a directory in the back. x

      Reply
  4. Anonymous

    November 30, 2014 at 6:41 am

    Wow! Congratulations, it looks fantastic! I would love to visit a secret tea room someday 🙂

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 4, 2014 at 7:26 pm

      I hope you manage to ToC x

      Reply
  5. Regula Ysewijn

    December 4, 2014 at 1:34 pm

    Looks gorgeous, so in love with the green pottery! I have a couple of plates from a similar pottery. They are so so pretty. Looking forward to reading it!

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 4, 2014 at 7:26 pm

      Thanks Regula. And your recipe in the book looks great! xx

      Reply
  6. Ethel Beetroot

    December 9, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    I pre-ordered this book months ago, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Honestly it's the best book I've ever read- I loved every single page. I'm very much a wannabe Secret Tea Party host and you're a great inspiration to me. It's about time I pulled my finger out!

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      December 9, 2014 at 3:27 pm

      Ethel, I totally love your name (although I must admit I don't particularly like beetroot). It is the perfect name for a Secret Tea party hostess. Thanks so much xx

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam. Rose Appl Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam.  Rose Apple Blossom Tarts

Serves 8

Equipment: 
Microwave
Cupcake or muffin tin

I use a red-skinned apple to make these, to get a hint of blush at the edges of the ‘petals’.

Ingredients:
4 Pink Lady or Royal Gala apples, cored, cut into quarters, sliced thinly into half moons
1 lemon, squeezed
1 pack all butter readymade puff pastry 320g, on a roll, cut into 8 strips about 6 cms long
100g of melted butter
1/2 jar of rose jam
1 or 2 tbsp cinnamon or cardamom, ground 
Pinch maldon salt
2 or 3 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

Prepare a bowl of acidulated water (cold water with lemon juice) to prevent browning.
Core the apples, and cut them in quarters. Slice thinly into half-moons (a mandolin is useful for this). 
Put them into a large bowl of cold water with the lemon.
Microwave the bowl of sliced apples for 5 minutes until soft enough to bend slightly but not cook them.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Roll out the puff pastry. Divide into 8 sections by cutting the roll into quarters then halving each quarter. You will end up with 8 approximately 6cm strips.
Brush the strip with melted butter then paint with a layer of rose jam. You can then dust with either ground cinnamon or cardamom.
Lay the apple slices along the top of the pastry strip, overlapping them. Fold up the bottom half of the pastry strip to make an pleat with the skin side of the apple half moon poking over the top.
Roll up the folded pastry strips until they look like a rose made of apple at the top
Place ‘rose’ side up, in a buttered cupcake tin
Repeat until all are done and bake for 20 -30 minutes.
Using a tea strainer or small sieve, sprinkle with icing sugar.
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