Manly Tea Party Day

Due to a long standing family joke, the third day of our advent calendar is dedicated to manly tea parties.

For days now, Blaze has been bring me cups of imaginary tea, which he calls "apple crumble tea", every time I sit down at the computer. He even rigged up a robot delivery service, so I could have refills. So, for today's tea party, DH and I helped him make his own tea blend that really does taste like apple crumble.

Apple Crumble Tea

2 Tablespoons of broken Orange Pekoe tea

2 Tablespoons of dehydrated apples

1 teaspoon toasted pecans

1 teaspoon toasted oatmeal

1 teaspoon of rough broken pieces of cinnamon bark

1- 1 1/2 teaspoons of crystalized ginger

Blend well. Steep for four minutes. Serve with a teaspoon of brown sugar to get that real apple crumble flavor.



I've been working on my own culinary experiment, brown sugar casting to make shaped chocolates. It's the same process as sand casting, just with all edible materials.

Make the shape you wish to replicate in the brown sugar.



Pour melted chocolate into the design you have made.



When the chocolate is fully hardened, remove it from the sugar and wash off any excess sugar under cold water. Let it dry.

Mustache and monocle cupcakes: