VICTORIA SANDWICH CAKE

The Victoria Sandwich was Queen Victoria's favorite cake. It was, and still is today served at Royal tea and garden parties. It is said that Queen Victoria ate a whole cake at one sitting, which may be why in her later years she became quite heavy.
This cake is one of the very first cakes to use butter in the ingredients. This helped prevent the cake from sinking in the middle, which often happened as at that time ovens had no thermostats. A Victoria Sandwich cake is usually two large round cakes sandwiched together with strawberry preserves and for a special treat, whipped cream as well.

VICTORIA SANDWICH

Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
4 and half teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
Quarter cup warm water
1 cup sugar
1 cup soft margarine or whipped butter
12 ounces strawberry preserves/ whipped cream (optional)

Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 325F

Method
Sift flour and baking powder together twice
Using an electric mixer beat together eggs, water, sugar, margarine or butter until very light and fluffy. Add the flour/baking powder all at once, resume beating until mixture is pale and has a glossy appearance.
Divide mixture equally between the two pans.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until tops are lightly brown. Cool pans on racks.
Turn out cakes and sandwich together with the strawberry preserves and whipped cream, if using.
Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.

COOKING WITH LAVENDER

These are lovely cookies, not too sweet with just a hit of lavender flavor.

Ingredients
1 and one half cups unsalted butter
Two thirds cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh or dried pesticide free lavender flowers
1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
2 and one third cup all-purpose flour
Half cup corn starch
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 325F
Cover bottoms of two baking sheets with parchment paper. In large bowl cream together
butter, sugar, lavender and mint, using an electric mixer. Cream until light and fluffy.
3 minutes. Add flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat until incorporated. Divide dough in half. Flatten into two squares. Wrap in plastic. Chill in refrigerator until firm. On a floured surface roll or pat out each square to a thickness of half inch, Cut dough into 1 and one half inch squares. Prick each cookie with a fork.
Bake 20-25 minutes until pale gold in color. Do not over bake. Cool slightly.
Transfer to wire rack. Sprinkle with lavender powdered sugar.

Lavender powdered sugar: Put 4 - 5 sprigs of lavender flowers in a sealed jar with the powered sugar for a day before using the sugar.

COOKING WITH TEA - Tea Punch

Half pint strong black tea
6 ounces sugar
Half pint orange juice (not solid)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cans ginger ale
1 large bottle seven-up
1 orange sliced

Put hot tea in a bowl. Add sugar until dissolved. Add orange and lemon juices. Strain.
Chill. Just before serving mix in the ginger ale, seven up and orange slices.

COOKING WITH TEA NATURALLY - Tea dressing/Marinade

Half cup strong Earl Grey tea (substitute another flavorful tea, such as English breakfast, if desired.
2 tablespoons orange juice
Half teaspoon sugar
Half teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Quarter cup fresh basil, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Quarter teaspoon salt and pepper

Place tea, orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan or skillet. Bring to boil.
Reduce to about two tablespoons. Combine tea mixture, vinegar, garlic, slat, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Stir in basil.
Use for cooked pasta,green salads etc.

COOKING WITH TEA -Sencha Scented Lamb on Rosemary Skewers

1 pound lean lamb
1 recipe Sencha green tea marinade
12 rosemary skewers
24 garlic cloves, roasted.

Marinate lamb in Sencha green tea for one hour
Cut meat into cubes, skewer size
Saute lamb in olive oil until medium rare
Roast garlic cloves in 350F degree oven until soft and golden
Place roasted garlic, peel if desired on each rosemary sprig and then a cube of Sencha lamb. Continue with lamb, until it is all used. End with the other garlic clove. Serve immediately. Substitute chicken if desired. Serves 6

COOKING WITH TEA - Sencha Tea Marinade

Marinade
Half cup Sencha green tealeaves
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic
sea salt
pepper
1 shallot

Pour boiled water over tea leaves in an open dish. Chop garlic and shallot finely.
Add garlic, shallot and lemon juice to tea leaf mixture.
Use to marinate meat, fish or poultry. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

COOKING WITH TEA -Chai Tea Bread

1 three quarter cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Half teaspoon salt
three quarter cup sugar
8 ounce packet cream cheese
2 large eggs
Three quarter cup mashed bananas
Quarter cup of brewed Chai tea

Preheat oven to 350F. In separate bowl beat sugar, cream cheese and eggs until light and fluffy. Add mashed bananas, brewed chai tea and mix together gently. Gradually add flour
until thoroughly incorporated. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9" x 5"baking pan.Baking for approximately one hour, until bread tests done.