Babies are wonderful, cuddly, adorable, but oh so time consuming! For the new mother, the very idea of the christening tea can be terrifying. Do not panic! Make full use of your deep freeze. If this is the first christening tea that you have given it may be good idea to prepare all in advance. Sit down and relax with paper and pencil and decree first of all on how many guests you will be inviting. Next, plan your menu, work out quantities and a shopping list. When a baby is tucked up for a long sleep you will have time to prepare at least one dish on your menu. Pop it into freezer, well packaged of course, and store it in preparing for 'the big day'. The christening cake may also be stored in the freezer but this is not admittedly important as rich fruit cakes keep very well admittedly for many weeks, if stored correctly in an airtight container.
Try the following menu if you have to cope with a christening tea. You will have very puny finishing off to do on the actual day if you succeed the instructions carefully. The menu and recipes serve 12. Serve champagne for the toasts.
Pine Wheel Sandwiches
Coffee Creams
Creams Puffs
Petit Fours
Pine Wheel Sandwiches Recipe
Serves 12
Ingredients:
12 slices white bread
12 slices brown bread
3 oz. Butter, melted
cream cheese and gherkins filling:-
4 oz. Packet cream cheese
4 tablespoons chopped gherkins
½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
salmon filling:-
1 x 6 oz. Can salmon
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method:
For sandwiches:- carefully take off all crusts from bread and brush slices with melted butter.
For cream cheese filling:- Soften cream cheese at room temperature and blend all ingredients together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For salmon filling:- Drain salmon and take off all bones. Finely flake salmon and join well with remaining ingredients.
To make sandwiches:- Pile sandwich filling onto buttered slices. Roll bread slices as for a Swiss roll, development sure the bread is as tightly rolled as possible, without losing the filling.
To freeze:- Wrap the filled rolls of sandwiches in foil. Place in airtight plastic bags, seal, label and freeze. Alternatively, frost the foil wrapped sandwiches in sealed plastic containers.
To serve:- Thaw sandwiches in wrappings in a refrigerator for about 2 hours. When thawed, unwrap and cut each sandwich into three parts. Place on plates and ornament with sprigs of parsley and wedges of tomatoes.
Coffee Creams Recipe
Makes: 36
Cooking time: 12 to 15 minutes
Temperature: 325-350ºF, gas estimate 3
Biscuits:
8 oz. (2 cups) self raising flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
4 oz. Butter
3 oz. (½ cup) castor sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 tablespoon hot water
coffee butter cream:-
1 oz. Butter
6 tablespoons sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon full cream powdered milk
½ teaspoon instant coffee
3 teaspoons hot water
Method:
For biscuits:- Sift flour and salt. Beat egg. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and add the instant coffee dissolved in hot water. Fold in flour and mix thoroughly. Force mixture straight through a forcing bag with a star pipe, or place teaspoons of mixture on greased baking trays, allowing room for spreading. Bake in a moderately slow oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire cooling tray and sandwich pairs together with coffee butter cream.
For butter cream:- Cream butter, sugar and powdered milk. Add instant coffee dissolved in hot water. Mix thoroughly.
To freeze:- Place biscuits on a tray in freezer and when frozen, lift off and carefully pack in polythene bags or containers. Seal, label and refreeze.
To serve:- Thaw in containers for 30 minutes. take off and place on serving dishes.
Cream Puffs Recipe
Serves 12
Cooking time: 30 to 35 minutes
Temperature: 400-450ºF, gas estimate 6-7 reducing to 350-375ºF, gas estimate 4
Choux pastry:
4 oz. (1 cup) plain flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
4 oz. Butter
3 eggs
Method:
For cream puffs:- Sift flour. Place water, salt and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil. take off from heat. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Allow to cool slightly. Add 1 egg at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. The mixture is ready for baking when the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is shiny and smooth.
Using a forcing bag and a plain pipe, place quantities of mixture on a greased baking tray, leaving space for spreading. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes, then sacrifice temperature to moderately hot for an additional 10 minutes. When risen, golden brown and crisp, take off from the oven and puncture the cases with the tip of a sharp knife. Return to the oven at a lower heat to thoroughly dry out the inside. Cool before freezing.
To freeze:- Wrap pastry cases in plastic film and place in an airtight plastic box for extra protection.
To serve:- Thaw pastry cases in wrappings at room temperature for about 1 hour. Fill with whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with icing sugar. Use about 1 pint cream, whipped and 4-6 tablespoons icing sugar.
Petit Fours Recipe
Makes: approximately 4 dozen petit fours
Ingredients:
1 slab cake 12 x 8 x 1 inches (one day old)
2 oz icing sugar
4 oz. Almond paste
½ cup apricot jam, sieved
1 quantity glace icing
decorations as desired
Method:
Cut slab cake into shapes such as circles, crescents, triangle, squares, oblongs, no larger than 1½ inches across. take off all crumbs from working area. Sprinkle bench with a puny sifted icing sugar and roll out almond paste to â...> inch in thickness. Cut into shapes corresponding to cakes. Any remaining almond paste can be colored and rolled into shapes to decorate the cake or can be used under the icing to mould the cakes. Coat the top and sides of cakes with hot apricot jam and place almond paste on top. Warm the glace icing moderately in the top of a double boiler and individually ice each cake, coating it completely. Allow to drip and set on a wire cooling tray. Decorate cakes as desired.
To freeze:- frost each cake individually for 2 to 3 hours. Wrap individually in foil and place in airtight containers to prevent damage in freezer.
To serve:- Thaw in wrapping for 2 hours, loosening them when important to prevent sticking. Serve on dainty plate.
frosty For a Christening
No comments:
Post a Comment