One of the NYC restaurants I love is Alice's Tea Cup. They have three locations, and each one is a cute little space decorated with fairy wings and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-inspired art and knickknacks. Even better than the magical environment is the delectable menu. The tea selection is huge. Breakfast/brunch entrees, sandwiches, and salads are all delicious. And desserts and pastries are scrumptious.
Imagine my joy when I discovered they have a cookbook! I tend not to buy many cookbooks because they usually have just one or two recipes I want and the rest are filler, but I want to make almost everything in the Alice's Tea Cup cookbook. One of my favorite recipes in the book is for chocolate cake. It always comes out moist and not overly sweet. Here's a summary of the recipe:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup hot brewed coffee
Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix in the rest (except the coffee) with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Decrease the mixer to low speed and drizzle in the coffee until everything is blended. The batter will be very liquidy. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350° F.
The book also has a recipe for vanilla buttercream frosting that you can put on the cake! But this book isn't just full of desserts. It also contains recipes for brunch, soups, salads, sandwiches, scones, tea concoctions, and party planning suggestions. You can even learn how to tea-dye fabrics.
So if you're not in NYC, or you don't want to wait to get a table during their busy weekend brunch hours, get the Alice's Tea Cup cookbook and enjoy making and eating your own meal. Who says tea parties are only for children?
