Grace Magazine

Here’s a simple gingerbread cake recipe to spice up your holidays.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon marmalade
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
confectioner’s sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• Line and 8-inch square cake pan with waxed paper, grease lightly with butter and dust with flour. (I don’t have a square pan, so I use an 8-inch round pan and the recipes turns out fine)
• Combine butter, sugar, dark corn syrup and marmalade in a saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs and milk, then stir in the syrup mixture.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the self-rising flour, baking soda, spices, salt and whole-wheat flour.
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Pour into cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
• Allow to cool in the pan.
• Remove from pan, peel off the wax paper. Sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar. Cut into squares and serve.

Gingerbread is wonderful served with pears and whipped cream and a nice strong pot of tea.

Harry and David, purveyor of fine foods, has partnered with specialty tea maker, The Republic of Tea, to create a series of fruit-inspired teas.

My current favorite is Bing Cherry Black Tea. It’s lovely iced in this hot, hot weather.

Here is the description from the package:

Life if just a bowl of cherries with this sweet, rich, satisfying brew. Ripe, juicy Bing cherry bits are artfully blended with fine black tea leaves to create the ideal balance of flavors. And the best part — no pits. This deep, dark blend is delicious served hot or try as a refreshing iced tea.

But hurry, it’s a limited edition tea. The label warns, “When It’s Gone, It’s Gone.”

Williamson Single Estate Kenya is a black tea with a robust flavor.

From the Williamson Web site:

The teas are preselected from our farms during the brief Kenyan quality period and like good wine will display seasonal quality variations from year to year. A tea to drink for those who like premium quality, and are not afraid to try something new.

Enjoy a cup with milk.

You know the delicious tea you are served when dining in a Chinese restaurant. It’s usually Oolong tea.

It’s very nice after a meal. You can also combine it with other teas to make interesting blends. I like to mix it with black tea at night to create a milder tea before bed.

Enjoy a nice hot cup of Trader Joes’ Jade Oolong Tea. It doesn’t need any milk or lemon. It’s perfect as is.

Jackson’s of Piccadilly Russian Caravan Tea

I was saving this tea for a December post, but I find I’ve been drinking a lot of this tea lately. It is delicate and smooth and nutty. On the package it says “A blend of fine China black teas favored by the Russian Aristocracy.”

The suggested serving is with lemon, but I like mine with a little milk.

Enjoy!

With the weather getting warmer, I find myself looking for a nice iced tea.

This weekend, I made a pot of White Tea with Jasmine and let it cool. Then I poured it over a glass full of ice.

It was mild and refreshing. And the scent is lovely. It’s a perfect Mother’s Day treat.

You can find a selection of white teas at The Republic of Tea. Here is a link to their Asian Jasmine White Tea. Yum.

When you need a little quiet time, try some Green Tea with Jasmine.

Trader Joe’s sells a lovely jasmine-scented green tea. It has a calming scent that is as fragrant as it is tasty.

Aromatherapy and antioxidants in one cup.

Dreaming of spring? I know I am.

That’s why March’s tea is Spring Cherry by The Republic of Tea.

Spring Cherry is Japanese sencha green tea scented with cherry essence and floral notes of peony and rose. The flavor is light and soothing and the fragrance is so heavenly, you’ll want to bathe in it.

If you want to relax in the afternoon without too much caffeine, try a lovely cup of Spring Cherry and imagine you are walking along this path…

…and feel your stress melt away.

This month’s tea is Assam, an Indian tea with a slightly malty flavor.

It’s perfect by itself during the day. Sometimes in the evening I like to blend it with Oolong.

There’s nothing like a warm cup of tea on a winter’s evening to help you relax and melt the day’s stresses away.

Put on some soothing music, take a deep breath and enjoy.

Coffee in the morning, tea at night. That’s the way I do it.

Coffee perks me up in the morning, and tea helps me unwind after a long, hard day.

This month I have been enjoying a combination of Ceylon and Oolong teas. Oolong is a great mixer. I take a small teapot, add one bag of each tea, let steep for a few minutes, and then enjoy with a smidgen of milk.

Oh, and a cookie. I must have a cookie at night. It’s mandatory.