Birthday Par-Tea

I hosted a little tea party for my soon-to-be four year old daughter yesterday. Moms were invited, too, although the Mom tea party was much more casual and more for observing their daughters in the dining room.

The cake was made by Simply Cakes by Alison. Her cakes are amazing - beautiful and also delicious. Molly's cake was vanilla with strawberry buttercream in between the layers and a lemon buttercream under the fondant. It was light, moist, and so yummy.

Here's what was on the menu for the little princesses:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Turkey and Swiss Sandwiches
Cucumber Sandwiches

Chocolate Chip Scones with Lemon Curd and Creme Fraiche

Birthday Cake
Assorted Cookies
Dipped Marshmallows
Lemon Curd Profiteroles
Vanilla Custard Tarts

Angel Falls Mist herbal tea

I realized after everyone had left and we were cleaning up that I forgot to get the tarts and profiteroles out of the frig. Oops. Here's a picture of them.

I got the idea for the dipped marshmallows from Pinterest. I used the vanilla candy melt and Easter sprinkles. The kids helped - both in the dipping and the eating.

For the moms I did some Bacon and Tomato Sandwiches in addition to the others. I'll provide recipes for some of the spreads and which ones were used on which sandwiches below. Also, the scones were traditional raisin for the moms. (Scones were provided by Tea For All Reasons.) The moms enjoyed some Cream Earl Grey tea, also provided by Tea For All Reasons.

So here are the recipes for the spreads. I recommend making the spreads the day before you plan to make the sandwiches to allow for the flavors to meld really well. On the day you make the sandwiches, bring the spreads to room temperature so that they are soft enough to spread on the bread without tearing it.

Chive and Dill Compound Butter
1 stick butter (unsalted or salted, either is fine)
1 Tbsp minced fresh chives
1 Tbsp minced fresh dill

Soften butter until it is very soft. Mix in the herbs until well blended.

I used this butter on the Turkey & Swiss sandwiches as well as the Cucumber sandwiches.

For the turkey-Swiss sandwiches, I used the compound butter on one slice of bread and mayo on the other. I also used one slice of white bread and one slice of wheat for visual interest.

For the cucumber sandwiches, I used the compound butter on one slice of bread and a thin layer of plain cream cheese on the other slice of bread. I think these were on white. I can't remember and I didn't get pictures because I was running so behind all morning as I prepped for the party. It was madness.

Bacon Cream Cheese Spread
1 block of cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
8 slices of cooked bacon, diced

Soften the cream cheese. Mix in all of the ingredients and blend well with a hand mixer.

I used this spread for the Bacon-Tomato sandwiches. I spread the cheese mixture on both slices of bread. Then I layered baby spinach and one thin slice of beefsteak tomato in between. These sandwiches were on wheat. I thought these sandwiches were super yummy. (Original recipe)

Finally, here's the recipe for my Creme Fraiche, which I opted to do instead of having  Devonshire cream. It's really easy to make, especially if you can't find Devonshire cream.

Creme Fraiche
8 oz whipping cream
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp regular sugar
1 tsp confectioner's sugar

Mix the whipping and sour cream together well. Cover and let sit at room temperature for about 8 hours. At the 2 hour mark, add the sugars and mix well. At the 8 hour mark, stir it again and then put in the frig until the day you plan to use it.

On the day you plan to use it, take it out of the frig to allow it to come to room temperature. Give it a good stir before serving to make sure it's all blended well.

It will have a hint of both sweet and the tang of the sour cream and is a nice topping over the curd on a scone.

Add salt instead of sugar (although a much smaller amount or none at all) and you'll have a nice tangy topping for savories like soup, stew, or chili.

OK, so the party was a success and the girls went home with fun goodie bags with pearls, cocktail rings, tiaras, and boas for playing dress up. Also included were these fabulous princess cookies and some great fairy wands.