Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

I have started a new tradition where once a year I host a tea party. I love doing this and all the details it involves.

The theme this year was Alice in Wonderland. We did my daughter's birthday in this theme and it was so much fun that I wanted the same party for me. Below are a few photos from that day.

The mini cupcakes on the cake stand are lemon poppy seed, they are so yummy.  You can find the recipe here and the cake stand is from Rosanna Inc.

I made some meringue mushrooms, the recipe I found on Sweet Treats blog and I am quite happy how they turned out. Below that are 'Sue Bars', it's a recipe my mom used to make so it brings back fond memories.

Some tea cup sugar cookies (recipe found here) decorated with royal icing (recipe from Sweet Sugar Belle). I tried a new sugar cookie recipe and these are by far the best that I have found so far.  You don't need to refrigerate the dough, you just roll it out and bake. And the best part is, besides tasting really good, is that the cookie doesn't spread.  The shape you make is the shape you get.  

A tea party is not complete without some pretty macarons. These have a chocolate ganache icing in them, so yummy.

Many of my parties include homemade marshmallows, these ones are blackberry flavoured.

A few Alice in Wonderland figures to help create that bit of whimsy. And some peppermint naniamo bars, these are super yummy. The recipe is from Butter Celebrates, here is a copy of the recipe I found printed in our local paper.

Chocolate dipped Macaroons, cranberry pistachio cookies and more mushroom meringues, oh so good.

Alice in Wonderland Birthday Celebration

We did an Alice in Wonderland inspired birthday celebration, it was such a fun party to plan. I made a scroll birthday invitation that we rolled up and tied with a ribbon and a tag for the name.

I had decided to buy some artificial turf from my local hardware store for a table runner, it was such a fun detail.

Some fun table details.  Every girl had their own pretty tea cup to drink out of.

A mini tea set, a terrarium with a little deer and the Mad Hatter, so fun.

The Cheshire Cat had to be on the table too. These figures are from Disney that I happened to stumble across.

I made bubble gum flavoured marshmallows, they were super yummy. Below the marshmallows are a childhood treat I had, called Sue Bars, and a lemon cake in the background.

Some tea cup sugar cookies (recipe found here) decorated with royal icing (recipe from Sweet Sugar Belle). I used an edible maker to write on some the cookies, so fun. I made my icing a bit too runny, so some of the cookies didn't quite turn out as I had envisioned but they were still tasty nonetheless.

I made cake pops and had left over candy melts, so I grabbed a box of Oreo cookies and dipped them in there and then into the sprinkles. These were a hit, I don't think I had a single one left over.

From left to right at macaroons, mushroom shaped meringues and chocolate cupcakes. The meringue recipe I found on Sweet Treats blog and I am quite happy how they turned out. They were a little delicate so I broke a few of them but they were also a hit. The chocolate cupcake recipe was from Butter Baked Goods and inside was a surprise, a bit of Nutella and then topped with cream cheese icing.

The girls all got to decorate a foam glitter crown that is worn as a hair band. We used buttons, feathers, glittery pom poms and gems to decorate these adorable little crowns.

And finally the cake. I made a white cake from Butter Baked Goods. I used cream cheese icing from Martha Stewart and used just pink and cream, simple but pretty.

blackberries...mmmm

We were at Iona Beach today and though it was overcast, it was still very picturesque.  Some of the grasses have turned brown and you know that fall is just around the corner.  But amongst some of the grasses were some delicious blackberries, very hard to resist.

Once I got these berries home I made haagse bluf, a Dutch dessert topping that we put over ice cream. Yummy summer treat or any time treat for that matter.

Haagse Bluf

1 cup blackberry juice

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg white

Beat until light and fluffy. 

I got the juice out of the blackberries by taking a clean pair of panty hose (tied a knot at one end and trimmed) and putting a handful of blackberries inside.  Then squeeze berries until you get all the juice out. You may want to use gloves when doing this as it can be quite messy and stain your hands.