Thanks. I think when it became possible to obtain fresh coconuts, Victorians suddenly developed all sorts of recipes for using coconut. I have a coconut cake recipe (not like yours - no other fruit - just a white cake with lots of coconut in the icing) which was passed down from the 19th century in a PA Dutch family I know.

Jackie

So, afternoon tea at your place, Virginia? Looking forward! Trish

What time do you wish to expect us, Virginia? LOL!

Trish, that's a heckuva trip for tea; maybe you can swing by California, and give Kim a lift as well?

The funny thing is I don't especially like coconut icing... stuff gets in my teeth... but I thought the history was kinda nifty.

Virginia

That it does, but I LOVE coconut! Not water or milk as they do NOT agree with me but shredded, toasted coconut? Oh, yeah!

Ooh, I love the thought of that cake. I used to make a white cake with lemon curd between its layers. We always called that frosting Seven Minute Frosting or Divinity Frosting. I love it on angel food cake, too. What a rare and unusual plate. I have a demitasse cup and saucer and a creamer with a moss rose design--they were made by Rosenthal in Germany. Diane

Diane, white cake with lemon curd sounds delish! I do like Divinity Frosting without the coconut, though I don't think I've ever made it. Something to try in 2017, perhaps?

I found a cake plate in a Rosenthal moss rose pattern; is it the same as your cup, saucer & creamer? Very pretty, indeed.

Now, go get baking and have a sweet New Year!

Virginia

Oh, Virginia!!! That cake recipe sounds wonderful. I have a dangerous love for sweets, and I would like to eat that cake up. Now! For breakfast! I have bookmarked the recipe for future use. Wouldn't the white cake be lovely with some real moss roses on top for decoration? I'll have a word with my only bloomed once, Salet.

I hope you are doing well, Virginia. I've certainly been thinking of you this week. Lisa

Virginia, I'm afraid one cake won't be enough, so why don't I make the second one and the California contingent can swing by my house and pick me up. This could turn out to be quite a party!

I think that would require at least THREE more cakes to fuel the drive! hehehe

Not a problem, Diane, we'll make a slight detour to Idaho, and three cakes is a splendid idea. Don't worry Virginia, you can put your feet up and we'll set the table and wash the dishes afterwards.

I think the idea of 3 cakes is also a fine thought... especially if one has lemon curd filling, and divinity icing with no coconut!

I'll expect you when I see you!

Many thanks to you all for the good wishes for the new year. Strangely, I am looking forward to 2017, despite all the challenges ahead. I have a diagnosis and a plan, and I'm so ready to get started. I don't know if I've ever started any other year with such a sense of purpose.

Diane, I didn't mean to- ahem!- lead you down the garden path, but that is a lovely piece of china...

Love to you all, and best wishes for a happy and healthy new year,

Virginia

Lisa, please tell your 'Salet' we're all expecting more blooms this spring. And nobody will object, I think, if you also get some of that "occasional repeat bloom" that HMF speaks of...

Fingers crossed,

Virginia

I'm late to the party but I hope you'll save a piece of that cake for me..

I also like those plates..

Marlorena, how can you be late to the party when the party can't start without you?

Here, have some cake!

Virginia

Well, thank you Virginia, however it appears Kim Rupert has run off with the Coconut Cake, and I am left with this:-...

...it is at least alcoholic enough to put me under the table...

Oooo! A REAL fruit cake? I LOVE good fruit cake even more than coconut. (no kidding!) I have a friend who occasionally drops a Collins Street Bakery fruit cake on my front step just to keep me anesthetized! LOL! For years, I made forty pounds of them each holiday season, but that was way back in ancient times. Now, that's something worth paying someone else to do WELL. Enjoy your fruit cake and relish in my envy! LOL!

Yum. I'm not much of a drinker, but I do like boozy desserts. And a good fruit cake should- IMO- be pretty boozy...

Marlorena or Kim, do you share your recipes? Kim, If it is only for enormous quantities, never mind... I can't even imagine making so many cakes!

Marlorena, I do like that Florentine pattern on the plate; very nice...

Virginia

Absolutely, Virginia! Would you like the PhD version or the "easy" one? For years, I used the elaborate one from a very old cook book, which I no longer have. One year, due to time, my mom suggested I substitute spice cake mixes for the batter, which worked very well. Another year, no one had enough spice cake mixes, but they could supply Pineapple Supreme to make up the balance. Both sounded as if they would work, but combined, the batter tasted just like Juicy Fruit Gum! Fortunately, I had several friends who loved that combination, as I did NOT. You can do it involved or you can do it "lazy" and it honestly is pretty difficult to determine which is which!

I love a challenge, but cake mixes not as much... But you sold me with the reference to a very old cookbook. I don't think old recipes deserve to die out any more than old roses do...

So, PhD version, please, if it's not too much trouble.

Virginia

I'm glad you enjoy fruit cake Kim.... I think you would like this one.

Virginia, my recipe is actually very simple, it's one of the easiest cakes to make as one just throws it all together in a pan, simmers for a short time, then into the tin and put in the oven. It's called a 'Porter Cake', usually made with, as the name implies, Porter or Guinness but I use a variety of ales, one called 'Old Speckled Hen' went into this one. This alone is not powerful enough, so after the cake is cooked I insert a skewer all over the top and base and pour over my secret ingredient - generously, and intermittently over a period of weeks, as it keeps in a cake tin for a long time.

I use something you may have heard of as it's distilled and bottled in Madison, N.C. called 'Midnight Moon'...

the blurb goes like this:-

''Few family recipes carry a jail sentence. But to Junior Johnson's family, it was a way of life with the law on his heels, junior ran the finest moonshine to the dry rural South.

Midnight Moon is inspired by the Johnson family recipe. It's proudly made with real apple juice and cinnamon, crafting a smooth spirit that tastes like homemade apple pie.
Distilled from corn, Handmade with real fruit. No extracts, No artificial flavors... 36% alcohol by volume...''

I make sure my guests get a taxi home after sampling a piece or two...

Here's a recipe for Persian Love Cake which I've intended to try. It has cardamom in the batter and rose water in the icing, with some pistachios and rose petals on top. Some reviewers say the flavor is not strong enough, so it might be good to add more of the interesting ingredients. I've had rosewater in iced tea and it was really good. I looked in the local health food stores for rosewater but all they had was cosmetic or bath type products. Amazon has food grade rose water. Middle Easterners put rosewater in a number of their desserts. http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/persian-love-cake

I have heard of Porter Cake, but not Midnight Moon. I did look it up, and it is available hereabouts. Might be good on gingerbread cake, too? We just tried Eliza Acton's gingerbread recipe, and thought it was quite good. But some Apple Pie 'Shine might improve it further... Or some Calvados, which I might actually have...

I had to look up Madison, NC... it's a small town near the Virginia border, so not surprising I hadn't heard of it. I like this idea, and may have to try it out when fruitcake season rolls around next.

Thanks,

Virginia

Linda, that Persian Love Cake is amazing. No way that it would look that good if I were in charge, but it should still taste good even without the professional cake decorating. I like cardomom and pistachios and rosewater... I think I can find rosewater at a local restaurant/deli/bakery with a number of Middle Eastern grocery items. Or at World Market.

The cake does seem like it would be more interesting with more spices, but I do like to try a recipe "as is" before making changes.

I hope you'll post a photo if you do make the cake- or even just those candied rose petals.

Thanks,

Virginia

Virginia, ..Eliza Acton's 'Rich Rice Pudding' used to be a favourite of mine, now I prefer a simpler version but good to see she gets a mention here...

I think the Persian Love Cake looks like a breath of spring with the pink and green. I like whipped cream icings as they're not too sweet. I made a new ( for me) cake a couple of days ago...Raspberry Almond Bakewell Cake. Seems like all the recipes for it online are English and ingredients are measured in grams. I found a raspberry almond bar recipe and used that, as proportions were similar. Kind of hybridized it with the bakewell cake recipe. It was really good, not too sweet, good with coffee. Daughter had brought home some delicious Rasp. Bakewell Cake from a market in Seattle.

To me the best coconut cakes are made with fresh coconut milk and freshly grated coconut but you can buy a good unsweetened frozen coconut. I think it's a lot of bother to peel fresh coconut but it makes the best cake.

I found a good baking site last year, thetoughcookie.com.

Hey, Marlorena - I have that plate too! It's a Royal Horticultural Society one I think, isn't it? I bought mine at their Rosemoor Garden in Devon when I was visiting there with a friend a few years back.

I'm very much hoping I can make it to this tea party too, if I may, along with the Australian contingent; I'm always up for an indulgent afternoon tea with cake et al... Perhaps I could bring some homemade scones with rosepetal jam and (preferably clotted) cream - just to balance the menu? :-)

Comtesse, you will be most welcome. Dieticians are always advising a balanced diet, and I'm pretty sure they mean having scones with jam and clotted cream to balance out an all-cake menu, yes?

Despite being a life-long American, my husband makes remarkably good scones. I may need to request a batch to tide me over until y'all get here...

Virginia

Yes it is comtesse, RHS china from the Applebee collection. It's not expensive and I bought it as new, I have the whole set I think, although you can get 'seconds' quite cheaply. It's the same plate as this one showing on Ebay right now, with the Tulip... here

I've been to Rosemoor several times but I bought my China from their Wisley centre.

Nothing better than scones with clotted cream, I'm Cornish and we put the jam on first then the cream [very important]... however as this seems to be an American Tea Party, and I stress no connection with any political group - that wouldn't do - it cannot be complete without one of these HERE

Cinnabons !

A once a year treat [as they're not too healthy to say the least]. When on trips to the U.S. our first port of call was to one of the shopping malls where we would find the Cinnabon café... now we can get them over here although it's not quite the same somehow...

Virginia, you're so right - I'm quite sure a lot more cream and jam is exactly what the nutritionists have in mind... :-) How clever of you to have a talented baker for a DH - you chose well...

Marlorena - aah - mine has a different flower in the centre - I can't quite think what it is now; looks rather hibiscus like, but it wouldn't be that. I must check it out.

Fancy you being a Cornish girl! (We learn more about each other on this forum every day!...) As a child we had several blissful summer holidays in Cornwall, and my sister lived there for many years. One year, our family stayed in a farmhouse way down in the south west, where the lady of the house kept us stuffed to the eyeballs with the most enormous home-cooked meals that seemed to arrive roughly every half-hour whenever we were at home. Every meal was accompanied by lashings of clotted cream, and one day Mrs Jeffries invited us girls into her kitchen to see it being made. There it was, in big trays sitting on top of the kitchen range, gorgeous creamy raw milk direct from their cows, gently heating as the cream slowly thickened, separated out and collected in an unctuous golden crust across the top, to be scooped off with a big flat spoon. I was fascinated, and wanted to hang around forever to see and understand the whole thing...

I always carried that image in adulthood, as being exactly how food 'should' be - straight off the land in which it grew/was produced, and cooked, baked and served up in a generous, never ending flow from a big, plain farmhouse kitchen by an apple-cheeked farmer's wife!

comtesse.... how interesting to see how the cream was made, and in such a traditional manner. I expect it's all made in a factory today of sorts.... I have to admit, and I would be chucked out of Cornwall for saying it, but I prefer Devon clotted cream, it's less rich yet still has a unique taste... Neighbouring counties with a long standing rivalry, the Cornish would not be pleased...

One thing I miss from Cornwall is the Saffron Cake, I would have to bring one to any party going on... it's an oblong shaped caked, light brown on top but golden yellow when you slice into it. A fruit cake, currants/sultanas mixed, and you should see the saffron threads running through it, which of course gives it its colour and flavour that is unlike any other. Did you ever try it? It's an essential Cornish treat to this day, sliced and buttered, that's the way to serve it...

Roses grow beautifully in Cornwall too, zone 9 winters... despite the reputation with its mild damp climate... I miss it, along with the Rhododendrons etc...

If everybody is travelling around for/with cake, swing by here in cold Canada. I will serve tea from moss rose cups (not Limoges I am afraid).

This is one helluva tea party!

Marlorena, I've never had Devon clotted cream, but I remember holidaying with my best friend and her parents, as a 13 yo, and having scones with jam and clotted cream, and the woman who served us having flour all over her face and hands. That clotted cream has stuck in my memory! Also the Spanish waiters at the hotel!

..the more the merrier, Trish... we can call it a BYO, for cakes...

I don't expect you remember how the scones were served to you - you obviously had your eyes on those Spanish waiters - but in Devon they put the cream on the scone first, then the jam, which is the other way around to us in Cornwall, and we would consider that quite wrong, absolutely totally wrong ! [big issue this -... not]...

Just one of the many rivalries, but then they produced 'Devoniensis' and we don't have an answer to that, except Camellia 'J.C. Williams' one of the finest ever produced... although the 2 that I had growing both died on me here in the much colder east...

Rhododendron 'Penjerrick' is another of ours and I can claim some association as some distant male members of my family worked at the Penjerrick gardens in the 1920's where it was bred of course.. sorry for going o/t here..

gdinie... I love that cup and saucer.. .. I'll have a nice cup of tea please...

Marlorena, we always had cream on top of the jam, so I think I'd remember if it had been the other way round. Plus which I remember going to where King Arthur's castle was supposed to have been. It was also the first time I had Babycham. It was a great holiday!

Once upon a time I was an au pair girl near London. And yes, clotted cream... swoon!