Cakes – Cynthia Reyes

This is what the thing was supposed to look like:

Blog Photo - Cake Picture in Recipe Book

And this is what it looked like when I made it, (just after I cut off a few slices, mind you):

Blog Photo - Cake Picture

Something wasn’t quite right…..

Blog Photo - Cake Comparative picture

As you can see, the upside down pear cake didn’t hold together, and didn’t look very appetizing either.

But when I collected my wits, I concluded that since these pears were extra-large, I should have added more batter.

As to why it looks so unappetizing – darned if I know. And though it didn’t taste awful, it also didn’t taste great.

Arghhhh. The Undomestic Diva strikes again….

“Simply Splendid”

As Christmas approaches, Marilyn Mirabelli is a very busy woman.

Marilyn, the person behind one of my favorite websites, has a tea catering company called Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, you’ll find her filling clients’ orders and preparing to cater afternoon teas for tree-trimming or other Christmas parties. Marilyn Mirabelli knows her tea. And, since 2004, she’s been living her dream of having a thriving tea business.

Tea Table by Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas

As you’ll see on Marilyn’s website, she’s revived the afternoon tea in classic style:

“A Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Tea unfolds with the well-appointed tea table: Crisp white tablecloth and tea napkins; china teapot and cups and saucers; freshly-made tea sandwiches that are trimmed and quartered, small cakes, biscuits, and of course, classic English scones with imported Devon double clotted cream. This is accompanied by the choicest loose leaf teas.”

Sandwich Tier - Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas — Sandwich Tier – Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas

Marilyn is also a talented writer who produces a series of high-quality, interesting stories on her website. It’s like having some tidbits of history with your afternoon tea, and enjoying it too! Here’s something I learned from Simply Splendid:

“Queen Victoria made afternoon tea popular, very ‘it’. But she did not invent the tradition. That honour goes to Anna, Duchess of Bedford, a Lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria and prone to fainting spells in the afternoons. The royal doctor was called; he diagnosed Anna’s fainting spells as hunger from the long stretch between lunch and supper and prescribed a cup of hot tea and buttered bread whenever a fainting spell was coming on.

Anna found this so agreeable, she invited other Ladies-in-waiting to join her. Pretty soon Queen Victoria cottoned on to a good idea and she asked for afternoon tea too. The rest as they say, is history!”

Cup of Tea by Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas

As well as bits of history, you’ll find interviews with interesting personalities on the website. It makes you realize that the person behind the site and the company is both extremely knowledgeable and passionate about afternoon tea.

But you won’t find a great deal about Marilyn herself on the website, so here’s a tidbit about her:

The former journalist and communications consultant says she read a book called Dreams Don’t Have An Expiry Date by Deanna Rosenswig in the early 2000’s and decided to start her tea business. She was determined that her cakes, sandwiches and other offerings would all be made to order from fresh ingredients and she’s kept that commitment. Her tea selections come from estates monitored by the Ethical Tea Partnership.

As the company’s fame spreads, a wide variety of clients – individuals, families and corporate workplaces — have asked Marilyn to cater afternoon teas for special occasions. Former broadcaster/politician Isabel Bassett described the tea Simply Splendid prepared for her daughter’s baby shower as “exquisite… the guests are still talking about it.”

Tea and Cookies by Simply Splendid Victorian Afternoon Teas

I was raised in the tea-drinking capital of Jamaica – Manchester. Afternoon tea wasn’t just a hot drink: it was an occasion, and for some, an almost-sacred ritual. (See “Afternoon Tea”, Ch. 10 in A Good Home.) So I was thrilled when the Simply Splendid website chose A Good Home as its favorite book for the month of July. It was a great boost – the book had only been released weeks before.

Then, this autumn, Simply Splendid gave me a delightful surprise when they created a special apple cake which they named “Lady Cynthia Cake”.

Within days, friends, acquaintances and strangers alike were trying out the recipe, to oohs and aahs of delight. The cake was served at an afternoon tea in Whitby, Ontario, where it was declared “delicious”. Then, a friend invited me for tea in her home, and surprised me by serving the Lady Cynthia Cake she’d just made. Again, delicious.