Paddington Bear Has Tea with the Queen

Today's post is in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, a powerful, elegant, intelligent, and often funny monarch. May she Rest In Peace. 

PADDINGTON BEAR'S MARMALADE SANDWICH

Ingredients 

Two slices of bread 

Butter 

Marmalade 

Directions

 

Spread the butter onto the two slices of bread. 

Add a generous amount of marmalade. 

Do as Paddington Bear does and use your paw (or hand if you’re human) to put it on. 

Place the two slices of bread together. 

Serve the marmalade sandwich with tea poured into a saucer rather than a cup, in true Paddington style. 

PADDINGTON BEAR HAS TEA WITH THE QUEEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, QUEEN ELIZABETH: Chocolate Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth! 94. This is the cake that the Queen favors for her birthday celebrations! It's a pip. Recipe from former Royal Chef Darren McGrady. Technically this is called a Chocolate Ganache Sponge..but that's British parlance for cake.. This is not a sponge cake as we know it in the U.S.

QUEEN ELIZABETH BIRTHDAY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Cake
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup dutch cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted butter

Topping and Filling 
2 cups (1 pt) heavy cream
1 lb Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Directions:
At least six hours before baking the cake, prepare the filling:
Melt half chocolate (227g). Bring to boil 1 cup of the cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until set.
Turn on oven to 350.
Line an 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and grease.
Set pan (large enough to hold mixing bowl) half full of hot water on stove; bring water to boil.
In mixing bowl, add eggs, yolks, and sugar and whisk together. Place over bowl of hot water to allow mixture to heat up. Sieve flour and cocoa and set aside. Whisk egg mixture until it doubles in volume and then fold in butter and flour mixture. Spoon mix into cake pan; bake about 20 minutes, or until cake springs back when pressed. Remove from oven onto cooling wire and make topping while cake cools. Melt remaining chocolate. Bring to boil remaining cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk it until smooth and then set aside off the heat. Slice cake into three discs and spread filling onto bottom two discs and reassemble. Add remaining chocolate mix to hot topping and whisk in. Place cake back onto cooling wire and ladle topping over cake allowing it to run down the sides. Cool cake for at least two hours before decorating and serving.

CORONATION CAKE: 65 years on the throne!

Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. What a long reign. In honor of the Coronation, I found this Vintage Ad from Betty Crocker for Coronation Cake. You can always make a chocolate cake. It's  the Regal Icing decoration makes this cake so special.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S BIRTHDAY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth! This is the cake that the Queen favors for her birthday celebrations! It's a pip. Recipe from former Royal Chef Darren McGrady. Technically this is called a Chocolate Ganache Sponge..but that's British parlance for cake.. This is not a sponge cake as we know it in the U.S.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II BIRTHDAY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Cake
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup dutch cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted butter

Topping and Filling 
2 cups (1 pt) heavy cream
1 lb Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Directions:
At least six hours before baking the cake, prepare the filling:
Melt half chocolate (227g). Bring to boil 1 cup of the cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until set.
Turn on oven to 350.
Line an 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and grease.
Set pan (large enough to hold mixing bowl) half full of hot water on stove; bring water to boil.
In mixing bowl, add eggs, yolks, and sugar and whisk together. Place over bowl of hot water to allow mixture to heat up. Sieve flour and cocoa and set aside. Whisk egg mixture until it doubles in volume and then fold in butter and flour mixture. Spoon mix into cake pan; bake about 20 minutes, or until cake springs back when pressed. Remove from oven onto cooling wire and make topping while cake cools. Melt remaining chocolate. Bring to boil remaining cream. Pour cream onto chocolate and whisk it until smooth and then set aside off the heat. Slice cake into three discs and spread filling onto bottom two discs and reassemble. Add remaining chocolate mix to hot topping and whisk in. Place cake back onto cooling wire and ladle topping over cake allowing it to run down the sides. Cool cake for at least two hours before decorating and serving.

ROYAL CHOCOLATE: The Queen's Coronation & Jubilee

The NewWales reports that Commemorative Tins of Chocolate marking the Queen's Coronation in 1953  have been discovered untouched over half a century later.

I found the news today particularly serendipitous because my neighbor stopped by early this morning with a 400 gram Cadbury's Dairy Milk Bar she brought back from London. The bar she brought, if this huge chunk of chocolate (see photo below) could be called that,  commemorates the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

According to the Swansea Council staff at the West Glamorgan Archive Service made the discovery of the Coronation Commemorative Tins during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations when opening up a Swansea Corporation file in the Civic Centre that had been undisturbed for nearly 60 years. The file contained two special Coronation celebration tins of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate.

The navy blue tins are in a good condition. They were accompanied by a compliment slip that said the items were aimed at commemorating the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. "The chocolate looks in good condition and still smells like normal milk chocolate, but I wouldn't personally recommend tasting it after its being in storage for nearly 60 years!"

 I think I'll eat the Cadbury's Chocolate that Jeni brought back from London!

Pussycat, Pussycat, where you have been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.