Tea Wares

I love tea wares

I have loads of tea wares

One of my favorite, of course, is Spode Blue Italian

In England a tea set is this:

Six cups, Six saucers, Six tea plates, an open sugar and creamer and a square cake plate

You often find these sets here in the United States

I think they're often souvenirs  from a trip to England

 Sometimes you'll find a set with a pot -- rarely, but sometimes you do

(I think that tea is brewed in a favorite pot and so a "special", "matching" tea pot is not a necessity)

Another tea ware:

The Sandwich Plate

(rarely do you find these as part of the tea set -- but you can purchase them separately)

They're a long rectangular plate

(I use mine more for loaves of tea breads or pound cakes than sandwiches)

This was an airport purchase from the Harrod's Store at Heathrow --

just before we boarded the plane.

In looking on line I found this ad from the 1930s:

And there is my sandwich plate

Called "a set" with six square plates . . . 

Hmmm . . . 

So now we have all the accroutrements of tea --

cups, sauces, plates, pot, sugar, creamer and a plate for cakes and a plate for sandwiches!

Cakes on the top

Sandwiches on the bottom!

Both Spode Blue Italian

My cake plates (yes, plural, I have two) were an always wanted.

I didn't buy one when I bought the sandwich plate on the way to the gate as we left Heathrow

And I regretted it

Then I would search on eBay and find one . . . 

But I could never complete the transaction.

Then I would forget bout it . . . 

And months later look again

But, alas, I went Spode Blue Italian Cake Plateless!

Until last Friday!

My son-in-law's Aunt, Jo, found two . . and bought them

for me!

She knew how much I loved Spode Blue Italian 

I met her Friday in Springfield,

we had lunch in a tea room

And she gifted me with two cake plates!

How sweet of Jo!

But we are, after all, kindred spirits --

we both love crystal, china and silver

And we use them!

Today, I made a lemon drizzle cake

For tea

A cake rather than cookies because I had a cake plate

That I needed to use!

Tea for the two of us!

How I wish Jo could have joined me for the maiden voyage of one of the cake plates!

Traditional English Lemon Drizzle Cake on a Spode Blue Italian Cake Plate

(Doesn't get much more English than that!)

The cake is easy to make and is a favorite of ours:

Lemon Drizzle Cake

1 cup self rising flour

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

2 teaspoons lemon curd

grated zest of 1 lemon

For the drizzle:

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 T. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a loaf tin and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put all the cake ingredients into a food processor. Blend together for 2 minutes. Scrape mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake is still warm, and before turning it out of the tin, mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves somewhat and pour this mixture over top evenly. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

A big thank you to Jo, a kindred spirit, for the wonderful gift

of not one but TWO Spode Blue Italian Cake Plates!