A Message from Ruth at Antiques And Teacups

Welcome to the blog of Antiques And Teacups! Let's share a cup of tea and talk about the things we love...like teacups, antiques, collectibles, visiting England, antiquing and learning about victoriana and quirky gadgets. Fun!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Holly Teacup, Chocolate Earl Grey Pound Cake, Museum And Arts Tea

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea, the first in the month of December, with Advent, the first week in Advent.



I hope you have had a lovely weekend. We just got home from a local community theater production of Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, about a boy wanting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas at the Port Angeles Community Players theater. Great fun!  Bazaars and a tea yesterday, but more about that later.






It's the holiday season, so here is a holly design cup and saucer I found at an estate sale a week ago. I am a sucker for Christmas china, I just love it! This is by Norcrest, Japan from the 1960s, and I actually found 3. Cool! I love the holly design. So the holly-day season has started here! For more info on the teacup(s) on Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

Yesterday I went to 2 Christmas bazaars and a fund raising tea with some girlfriends, which was fun.  The fund raising Christmas Tea was at the historic registered Dungeness Schoolhouse which dates to 1893, and recently has received an exterior restoration. The tea was a fund raiser for the Sequim Museum And Arts Center which also helps the Schoolhouse quite a bit, a reciprocal arrangement.




These are official photos from the restoration. It was pouring yesterday! I started taking photos, and my battery went dead, so I only have a few....rats!!!






The first are members of the Dungeness Schoolhouse board dressed in period costume pouring tea from lovely silver tea services and pouring into lovely teacups that have been gifted to the schoolhouse over the years. There were tables of goodies to help one's self, and tables of baked goods offered for sale as a fundraiser. The tea is donation only, and they raise several thousands for the schoolhouse and Museum and Art Center each year.

The last photo is myself, flanked by 2 of my friends, photographed by the fourth of our group.

While at the tea, we had a slice of a marvelous Chocolate Earl Grey pound cake:



The woman who made it was there, and told me where she found the recipe. It was outstanding! The recipe was from a Coastal Living magazine, which is a favorite of mine. So I found the recipe, and here it is:


Chocolate-Earl Grey Pound Cake

Ingredients

  • 4 Earl Grey tea bags 
  • 1/3 cup boiling water 
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup cocoa
  • 1 cup butter, softened 
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs 
  • 1/3 cup milk 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar
  • Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Sauce  (recipe follows cake)
  • Garnish: Bing cherries
  • Preparation

    1. Place tea bags in a glass measuring cup; pour boiling water over tea bags. Let steep 8 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags; cool tea completely.
    2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa, and set aside.
    3. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Set aside.
    4. Stir together milk and tea. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition, just until blended. Stir in vanilla.
    5. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-cup Bundt pan. Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan, and cool cake completely on a wire rack. Dust cake with powdered sugar, and serve with Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Sauce. Garnish, if desired.
    6. Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Sauce

      Ingredients

29 comments:

  1. What a delightful post. I love your holly design tea cup and saucer - it's perfect for the Christmas season :) Have a lovely day!

    Hugs,
    Stephanie

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  2. Hi Ruth,

    What a delightful post with your gorgeous holly teacup and saucer! Everyone looks so pretty at your tea fundraiser event. I would just love to try a piece of your Earl Grey pound cake.

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  3. Good morning Ruth,
    Yum! That cake looks scrumptious! Love the tea sets; especially the silver! A pretty holly teacup too. I love this time of year! Have a wonderful day, my friend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  4. Hello Ruth,
    I am very happy to find your blog and this enchanting post. The photos are full of charm!
    Best advent-wishes, Siret

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  5. Don't you just love this time of year with the bazaars and teas! Your teacup is pretty and the women in period costume at the museum look lovely. I think this cake recipe could be calling to me.
    Judith

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  6. Oh my, I am crazy about that little heart shaped teapot. Beyond sweet. I enlarged the picture so I could see it even better. The cake looks and sounds divine and your Christmas teacup is a pretty one for sure.
    Ruthie from: http://www.ladybstimefortea.blogspot.com

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  7. Love those elegant ladies; i wish we still dressed like that! That cake is temprtng me.
    Rita

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  8. Looks like you have certainly kicked off the season in style! The tea looks like so much fun, and I just love your new Christmas teacups!

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  9. Hi Ruth. The holly china is a very pretty vintage pattern. It's interesting that you saw the play of A Christmas Story as I saw the musical while in New York and really enjoyed it. The Dungeness Schoolhouse is a beautiful building and the tea looks wonderful. The costumes the servers are wearing are fabulous. I hope you have a lovely week.

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  10. Hi Ruth,
    that Holly tea cup is precious. The bazaar and the tea party look like great events. So charming to see the ladies in costumes. And the cake looks superyummy. Thank you for sharing this little trip and the cake recipe. Have a wonderful Advent time.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  11. Hello Ruth,
    How lucky you were to find this holly tea set to celebrate Xmas time! I think I have a similar plate :)
    The heart shaped crenoline lady teapot is also a beauty, so unique!
    You must have had a wonderful time with your friends!
    Hugs

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  12. Looks like you had fun at the Christmas tea, Ruth. I like the hats!!! The cake looks superb, and I like your teacup too. Merry Christmas!

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  13. Ruth, The experience with your friends looks like great fun! Love the hats!!! The cake looks superb and I like your teacup too. Merry Christmas!

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  14. Earl Grey and chocolate - two of my favourite things! :) I've made an Earl Grey cake before but never both ingredients in one dish. Ought to try that sometime! Looks great!

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  15. What a lovely tea cup and saucer. Love the Christmas theme.

    The schoolhouse project is wonderful and looks like you had a great time.

    thanks for sharing the recipe, it looks wonderful!

    Leann

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  16. How wonderful that you recently found three holly teacups. They're lovely! Your fundraiser tea looked lovely too. I liked seeing the festive Christmas wreaths hanging in the windows. And that chocolate Earl Grey pound cake looks delicious. Thank you for providing the recipe.

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  17. Love the holly teacups! And the Earl Grey chocolate cake with sauce sounds divine! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  18. What a lovely looking tea, wish I lived closer. Also, the mob singing, was amazing, love to have been there. Although, you wouldn't want me to sing. God Bless...

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  19. I love the holly berry cups! And the Earl Grey Chocolate cake sounds divine! How wonderful to do fundraising with a tea. Love the ladies hats. :-) If I lived near, I would come.

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  20. What a fun and special event! How i wish we had something like that around these parts!

    Thank you for the cake recipe- wow does that ever sound yummy!

    I love your Christmas tea pattern you found - havent' seen that one, very unqiue and pretty!

    Hugs,

    Michele

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  21. ooooooh, I can't stop thinking about the pound cake! YUM! Thanks so much for sharing it. And your Christmas tea cup is very vintage sweet! Exactly the kind I love.
    Your tea looks fab too, you must have had a great time!
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  22. What a fun event to attend! It looks like everyone had a fun time! And your teacup is a perfect Christmas set. Thank you for hosting and have a wonderful week!

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  23. Looks like a wonderful tea! Love the photos!

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  24. Looks like a lovely tea event! I wish I could find some around HERE!

    Your teacup is a great find just in time for Christmas tea!

    Have a wonderful week!

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  25. Oh goodness this cake sounds wonderful- my son loves Earl Grey tea so I am going to try and make one for him! What a fun tea!

    Hope to join your fun party one of these days- love tea and have lots of pretty teacups and things just not the time to get a post up-

    bee blessed
    mary

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  26. The period costume looks fabulous. I love the Christmas tea cup. I can always use another theme for collecting :) I will definitely make that cake. Thanks for the recipe.

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  27. Wow........I want to try this recipe sometime but just not THIS WEEK. To much going on - I did print it out and will let you know when I make it Ruth! Thanks for sharing on my link party!

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  28. This cake sounds like my dream cake! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I'm having so much fun over here looking at all of your Christmas china, and I truly love your Christmas needlework. I have a Christmas teacup cross stitch that I worked over twenty years ago. I hang it every Christmas!

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