The most famous traditional dessert to serve with tea is Crumpets. When you top those delicious Crumpets with the oh so elegant Devonshire Cream, your taste buds will thank you!  To make these delicious Crumpets, search the Internet or your local gourmet shop for Crumpet rings.  They are not expensive and will make your Crumpets real treat.

Crumpets Recipe

1/2 cup warm water (105? - 115?)
2 teaspoons sugar or honey
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups milk

In a large bowl, stir the sugar or honey into the warm water. Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the top and let it sit until it bubbles, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and let it sit for about half an hour in a warm place.

Grease a griddle or frying pan and the crumpet rings or cookie cutters. Place the rings on the cooking surface and preheat all.

Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into each 3″ ring and cook over medium low heat until set, about 10 minutes. (Avoid cooking them too quickly.) The top should be full of holes when they are ready to turn.

Remove the crumpets from the rings, turn, and brown the other side, if desired, for a minute or so.

Repeat until all the batter is used.

Serve warm with butter and jam or clotted cream and jam. Makes 16 crumpets.

Devonshire Clotted Cream

True Devonshire Cream is a very thick, rich cream actually very similar to butter. It is unsweetened, so it pairs very well on a crumpet.

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

OR

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup mascarpone or 1/4 cup softened cream cheese
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The directions are the same for both cream recipes: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until stiff. Refrigerate until ready to use. Best when prepared and served the same day. Makes 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Betty Lynch, author of Back to the Table with My Country Kitchen, and owner of My Country Kitchen, Easy Answers to Bring Your Family Together.  You may visit her website at http://www.mycountrykitchen.com

Tags: Betty Lynch, My Country Kitchen, Tea Party Recipes

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Articles, Recipes, Tea Party Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.