Apricot Tea Bread

This delicious tea bread will be the perfect addition to your Princess Tea Party. Using cookie cutters cut dainty shapes out of freshly baked slices. And even though your Princess probably will not care, each slice is packed with nutritional power as the batter contains mashed ripe bananas and finely chopped dried apricots along with eggs and lots of other quality baking ingredients.
Ingredients:
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
11 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons)
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 to 5 bananas)
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots (tossed with one tablespoon flour to keep pieces from sticking together)
1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger
Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bottom and sides of two 9" x 5" loaf pans with non-stick vegetable oil cooking spray.
Step Two: In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
Step Three: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in mashed bananas, scraping down sides of bowl once.
Step Four: With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in three batches, beating just until flour disappears. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in apricots and ginger.
Step Five: Divide batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until nicely browned and puffed at center of loaves, about 45 minutes; a toothpick should come out clean when inserted into center of each loaf. Transfer pans to wire racks; let bread cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Servings: Makes two loaves

Cran-Raspberry Tea

This mulled concoction will be a big hit at your Princess Birthday Tea. It has only three ingredients and can be made in five minutes.

Ingredients:

1 quart cran-raspberry juice

1 large cinnamon stick

1 lemon, zested

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to simmer. Strain and serve.

Servings:

4 8-ounce cups

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This elegant treat will be perfect for your Princess Birthday Tea. Chocolate covered strawberries may look like you need to slave all day in the kitchen to make them. Don't be fooled. With three ingredients and three steps you can serve these delicious berries at your daughter's birthday tea.

Ingredients:
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces of white chocolate chips
1 pound of strawberries with stems, washed and dried very well
Step One: Put the semisweet and white chocolates into two separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill two medium saucepans with a couple of inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (If you prefer, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave at half power, for one minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)
Step Two: Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.
Step Three: Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.
Makes about 20 chocolate covered strawberries

Linzer Sandwich Cookies

With a delicious raspberry filling, these fabulous linzer cookies will add a festive flair to your Princess Birthday Tea.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup hazelnuts (filberts)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar, if desired

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Step One: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread hazelnuts in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake uncovered about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rub nuts in a kitchen towel to remove loose skins (some skins may not come off); cool 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off oven.

Step Two: In food processor bowl with metal blade, place nuts and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Cover; process with about 10 on-and-off pulses, 2 to 3 seconds each, until nuts are finely ground but not oily.

Step Three: In small bowl, mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

Step Four: In large bowl, beat butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed about 3 minutes or until smooth. Add nut mixture; beat about 1 minute or until mixed. Beat in egg and vanilla. With spoon, stir in flour mixture about 1 minute or just until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls; flatten each ball into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm.

Step Five: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator. On well floured surface, roll dough with floured rolling pin until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter in desired shape. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts about 1 inch apart.

Step Six: Roll and cut half of dough. Using a 1-inch round or heart cutter, cut out the center of half of the cookies. Reroll dough centers and cut out more cookies.

Step Seven: Bake 4 to 5 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool about 10 minutes.

Step Eight: Lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over cookies with center cutouts. Spread about 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over each whole cookie. Top with a cutout cookie. Cool completely, about 1 hour before serving or storing.

26 sandwich cookies

Coming Soon - How to Throw a Princess Birthday Tea

Tea parties and princess parties are popular with birthday girls. Combine the two themes and you will make a magical event for your daughter's special day. Come back here on Friday, August 6, 2010 to see the full Princess Birthday Tea party plan. It will include suggestions for everything from invitations to activities that are sure to make all your little guests feel like high society.

Heart-shaped Petit Fours

These tiny cakes are a real showstopper - especially for a special occasion like a Princess Birthday Tea. And since they are made from store-bought pound cake, they are surprisingly easy to prepare. You can finish them with artful designs in decorating frosting or candy flowers.

Cake:

2 frozen pound cakes, thawed and cut into 1-inch thick slices

Icing:

2 pounds of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cream

Food coloring

Tubes of decorating frosting, if desired

Candy flowers, if desired

Step One: Cut two heart shapes from each cake slice, using a 1 1/2 heart-shaped cookie cutter. Reserve excess cake for another use - maybe a trifle.

Step Two: Boil water in bottom half of a double boiler, and place all of the ingredients in the top half until they form a smooth mixture. Divide the icing into three or four bowls, and add a few drops of food coloring to each to create icing in several colors.

Step Three: Using a toothpick or a fondue fork, dip the heart pieces of cake, one-at-a-time, into the colored icing, and then twirl them gently so that the cakes are coated evenly. Set the cakes on a piece of wax paper to dry. Then top them with decorating frosting or candy flowers. Need some pointers on how to decorate with frosting? Then check out this Betty Crocker how-to video?

How to Make a Princess Cake

Delight your princess with an adorable cake at her birthday tea. This cake may look like you need to slave for days in your kitchen, but it is really quite easy to make. The process is foolproof with cake mix and purchased frosting decorated with candies. And the geniuses at Betty Crocker make it even easier for us by providing us with a How-to Video. Click here for full recipe and link to video instructions.


Another way to make a princess cake is to use a Wilton Classic Wonder Mold ($19.99) - finished product pictured on the right. This kit includes doll pick, pan, heat-conducting rod to assure even baking and complete instructions.