Afternoon Tea Royal Recipes


Afternoon Tea

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The Royal Family are steeped in tradition and, throughout history,

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the Royal tables have showcased culinary excellence.

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In celebration of royal food...

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We know it's the Queen's recipe,

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because we've got it in her own hand.

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..from the present and the past...

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That is proper regal.

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..we recreate old family favourites.

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Now, the Queen Mother had this really wicked trick with these.

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What a mess!

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We sample Royal eating alfresco...

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-Oh, wow!

-That is what you want.

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..and revisit the most extravagant times.

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Pheasant, stag, turkey, salmon,

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oysters and turbot dressed in a lobster champagne sauce.

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Unbelievable!

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This is Royal Recipes.

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Hello, I'm Michael Buerk, and welcome to Royal Recipes.

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This is Audley End, one of Britain's finest stately homes.

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Built in the style of a royal palace and once owned by a king.

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In the splendour of the gardens,

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halls and kitchen of this grandest of country houses,

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we'll be recreating the food served at the highest royal tables.

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And it all starts here, with this gem -

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a royal kitchen maid's cookbook.

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The only surviving recipe book of its kind in the Royal Archive.

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This is an exact copy of the original,

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which is kept at Windsor Castle.

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Inside, the recipes of Mildred Nicholls,

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who worked at Buckingham Palace in the early 1900s.

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And, for the first time in over 100 years,

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we'll be bringing these recipes back to life.

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This time, we're cooking food served for afternoon tea,

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a favourite in the Royal Family for generations.

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A great British mid-afternoon feast of sandwiches and cakes.

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Today, in the Royal Recipes kitchen,

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Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth puts the Queen's favourite twist

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on a classic bake.

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The Queen, I think, likes a particular kind of scone, doesn't she?

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She does. Go for it.

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Mmm!

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Historian Dr Annie Gray discovers how Queen Alexandra

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treated thousands of poor maids in London to a tea party.

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It was like society was turned topsy-turvy,

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because ladies waited on them.

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And Mich Turner recreates a miniature masterpiece

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she made for the Queen.

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And that is my afternoon tea crown cake.

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What a perfect cool Britannia!

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Here in this beautiful stately home,

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we start with a quintessential afternoon tea treat -

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a firm favourite of the Royals.

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And we're here in the wonderful old kitchen.

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It's all coppers, and ranges, and history,

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and Michelin-starred chefs, like Paul here.

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-How are you doing, Paul?

-Very good.

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-What are you doing? It's afternoon tea today, isn't it?

-It's afternoon tea.

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Now, widely reported, this is the Queen's favourite meal.

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-So, what are you going to do?

-I'm going to do Battenberg cake.

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-Oh!

-Yeah, a real old favourite.

-Yes, I used to have that when I was a kid.

-Me, too.

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-That's the one with the squares?

-That's it, the ones with the squares built up.

-OK.

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So what we've got here is two sponge mixtures, OK?

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This one's vanilla, and this one has no vanilla in it

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because this is going to become chocolate.

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-So we're going to go straight in with our vanilla sponge.

-Mm-hm.

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And the important thing with this is making sure that we spread it

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right to the edge of our baking tray,

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but also as well that we've got no air trapped in there.

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And I'll show you a way of how we can kind of get rid of that.

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If we just get rid of our bowl for that one.

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We're just going to spread that mix right to the edges.

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So, we've got our vanilla mixture in there.

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You know I told you earlier about that scientific way of getting rid of the air?

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-Yeah, very technical, you said.

-Very technical, I said, didn't I? Like this!

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Very technical!

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Talking about technical,

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presumably it's important to get the two bits of cake looking the same?

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Absolutely, Michael.

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-Do you know why they're called Battenberg cakes?

-No.

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-No, neither do I, actually. But one theory...

-Oh!

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One theory is there was a Prince Louis of Battenberg

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who married Queen Victoria's granddaughter, also called Victoria,

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-and that this cake was created for the wedding.

-OK.

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Gosh, that looks good.

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-Go on.

-No, no, I'm not going to.

-Go on!

-No, no, no.

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-It looks too tempting.

-So, what I've got here

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is the same sponge mixture, no vanilla, and we've got chocolate.

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So we've done cocoa powder,

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just mixed in with milk to make that lovely paste

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and we've folded it in here, to our cake mixture.

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Now we're going to do exactly the same,

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this one being just ever so slightly...

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It's smoother, isn't it? It's really gooey, isn't it?

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And it's important, Michael, to make sure it's completely folded in.

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-Quite a bit easier to work with, is the chocolate one.

-Yeah, yeah.

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Right to the corners, like that.

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Same procedure.

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A little tap.

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PAUL LAUGHS

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-And if I could give those to you to go put in the oven?

-You can.

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-I'll be very careful.

-Absolutely.

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About 30 minutes at 160, please.

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-Done!

-Thank you.

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-How are they looking, Michael?

-Oh!

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-Fantastic.

-Looking terrific. So far!

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They'll take about 30 minutes and they'll rise beautifully.

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-Now we've got some marzipan.

-I love marzipan.

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I think every kid loves marzipan, don't they? It's fantastic stuff.

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We've just rolled that out in icing sugar.

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So, what I've got here...

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I'll use our vanilla sponge and our chocolate sponge that's been cooked.

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Now, just, so it's nice and neat,

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I'm just going to whip off those ends, like that,

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-for you to have a little sneaky taste.

-Oh, can I? Yep, yep, yep!

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I can just feel, by running my knife through it,

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-just how moist and beautiful it is.

-Mm!

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These are the ones I made earlier.

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Oh, great.

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So we're just cutting our sponges into these lovely strips.

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So just straight down like that.

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The ones I remember were pink.

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Yeah, they were. And the ones I had were pink as well.

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-So, maybe a bit more natural, this one.

-Yeah.

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-So now I'm laying them out.

-Yeah.

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Can you see how they start to come together?

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And, at this point, you want to be quite neat,

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but remember, you're going to fold up, you're going to cut those edges off.

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-So...

-You're lucky they're not breaking.

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Isn't that a bit of a danger when you pick them up like that?

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Just be very careful. Just hold them just like that, in the middle.

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I see what you mean about them having to be the same height.

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-It would look a bit...

-Absolutely.

-It would look untidy otherwise.

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Now, over here I've got some apricot jam on the stove.

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It's great, isn't it? These royal recipes are fantastic.

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I know, I've got my elastic belt on.

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Right, now I'm just going to brush that over like so,

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and then we're going to carry the same procedure

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all the way to the top.

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-We want to put a little bit on the marzipan as well.

-Yeah.

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OK? And a bit that side. Right.

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Next, we're going to swap it over.

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We're going to go vanilla first this time.

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OK.

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Here we go, like that.

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More of that lovely, delicious apricot jam.

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And this is to make it stick together?

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That's it. That's your binder, OK?

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Up the sides, like that.

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Next one.

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And then we go back and we repeat the process the same as the bottom.

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You're an artist, really, aren't you?

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Well, yes, I'd like to think so, Michael. Yes.

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BOTH LAUGH

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OK, now balance them up like that.

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More of that lovely, delicious apricot jam.

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I mean, look at this.

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It's just lovely, isn't it?

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It's great fun to make as well. Great fun.

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Right. We've got that all up there.

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-Now we're going to roll, OK?

-Yeah.

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So we're just going to pick that up like that.

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-Keep it nice and tight.

-Yeah.

-All right?

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Get your hands over, under like that. OK?

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-Keep it nice and tight.

-Yeah.

-All right?

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Don't worry about this stage.

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It may look a bit messy, but it's about keeping it tight, OK?

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And looking at it from this end...

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Wipe your hands!

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-Looking at it from this end, as you do it...

-Yeah.

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..it just shows you how...

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I mean, a lot of people say it's nothing to do with German royal families or anything like that.

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It's an old English recipe that used to be called church window cake,

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because of those squares.

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Oh, OK. Yeah, I see.

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-Pays your money, takes your choice.

-Yeah, absolutely.

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-Now, you see I've brushed a bit more jam?

-Yeah.

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Now I'm going to go right over and I'm just going to push that down,

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like that, and that's our seal.

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-OK?

-Yeah.

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Cover our ends.

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-Like that, and we do that to not let any air in.

-Yeah.

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Now, what you do is transfer that onto some grease-proof paper,

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then onto clingfilm.

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Roll it up to keep it nice and tight

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and just let it set in the fridge for an hour.

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-That makes it solid?

-Solid. Nice and tight.

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-So then... Are you ready?

-I am.

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-There we go.

-Oh, it's perfect, isn't it?

-Look at that!

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Absolutely perfect.

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I'm going to cut you a slice. Would you like to pour the tea?

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-I'm going to pour you a cup of tea.

-Yes!

-Here we go.

-Fantastic!

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-Do you take it with milk?

-I do.

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No sugar.

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-There we are.

-There we go.

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-Fork?

-Fork.

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-For you.

-Yeah.

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-There's that lovely apricot jam running through.

-Yeah, look at it.

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I'm trying to do this with my little finger raised.

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-I'll join you.

-There we go.

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Oh, wow!

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Oh, man!

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-That is absolutely delicious.

-Takes me back to my childhood.

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But the ones I had in my childhood were nothing like as good as this.

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-Do you know what? That flavour of childhood is the marzipan.

-Yeah!

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-Isn't it? Just straightaway.

-You're right.

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A delicious chocolate version of this classic cake.

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Perfect for a modern royal afternoon tea.

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Do you know, the British habit of taking tea in the afternoon,

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-afternoon tea...

-Yeah.

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..started in the 17th century, and a lot to do with Audley End here.

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-Right, OK.

-Because this was owned by Charles II,

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and tea drinking was actually brought to this country,

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at least in part, by his wife, Catherine of Braganza.

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-She was Portuguese.

-Yeah.

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She came here from Portugal, had a really rough journey,

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got off the boat and said,

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"I want a cup of tea."

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And all they had was beer, ale.

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-Right, OK.

-She soon changed that.

-And that's where tea came from?

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Yeah, she soon changed that.

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And I suppose the natural step then was cake.

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Yeah, because they used to have sugar in their tea.

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Everyone had sugar in their tea then.

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And then later, Queen Alexandra, she loved afternoon tea,

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-but she thought the poor should have it as well.

-Right.

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And she reckoned that was the ideal thing for the poor maids of London.

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Historian Annie Gray is finding out more about this pioneering Royal.

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Princess Alexandra was the beautiful and extremely fashionable wife

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of Edward, Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria's eldest son.

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However, married to a prince though she may have been,

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her husband was known as Edward the Caresser.

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So, I think it's fair to say she hadn't exactly drawn a long straw

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when it came to her marriage.

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Alexandra turned a blind eye to her husband's many mistresses,

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and threw herself into charitable works.

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Her other great passion in life was afternoon tea,

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as described in a book written by a member of the Royal household at the time.

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"The teas", the author said, "were held in a charming sitting room.

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"Places were set all around the long table, and there is a seemingly

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"inexhaustible supply of cakes,

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"both hot and cold, sandwiches of all kinds, rolls and jams."

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In 1902, in order to celebrate her husband's coronation,

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Alexandra hit upon the bright idea of combining these two important

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elements in her life - tea taking and charitable work.

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She sponsored a whole series of teas for 10,000 maids of all work.

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1,000 of them came here to Fulham Palace,

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to have their tea in the Bishop of London's garden.

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At this time, domestic service was the biggest source of employment for women.

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These skivvies and grafters at the bottom of the food chain

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were about to be given a taste of the high life.

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-Hello, I'm Miranda.

-Hello.

-Welcome to Fulham Palace.

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Miranda Poliakoff is curator at Fulham Palace.

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So, here we have my goodies that I've got out for you to see.

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So, this invitation is very special to us.

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It was for a Miss Ada Smith,

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to tea at four o'clock on Tuesday July the 29th

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to celebrate the coronation in 1902.

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All the 10,000 maids who attended these teas were each given a brooch.

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Ada was obviously a very careful lady,

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and she left her brooch on her invitation.

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It's such a remarkable thing to have.

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And so what would the maids have been eating?

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Well, we haven't got an exact description of what was served here,

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but this cutting we have from the Daily Graphic says

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that the tea was a substantial one, and much appreciated.

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Sadly, the soon-to-be-crowned queen was unable to attend on the day

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as the king was taken ill.

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So the job of hosting 1,000 maids was left to the newly-appointed bishop.

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He was very disappointed that the Queen actually didn't come on the day,

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but he had his ladies.

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THEY LAUGH

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He had a military band and he had a choir from the Chapel Royal.

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So it really was all singing, all dancing, quite literally,

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for all these sort of belaboured maids.

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He wrote in his memoirs that everything went well,

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except that the 1,000 maids insisted in all kissing the band,

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but the band didn't seem to mind, so that was fine.

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And he actually, also, in addition to the normal tea they were given,

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he also provided grapes from the hothouse here.

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It must have been very special.

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I mean, even his own butler, by the look of it, standing here with teapots and tea urns.

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Yes, and also, ladies...

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It was like society was turned topsy-turvy,

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because the ladies waited on them.

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Here they were at this very special place that they would never think they would be invited,

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and being waited on by people who would normally be their employers.

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10,000 girls having a really special day.

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That's just something really quite nice.

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Two of the classics in the afternoon tea world,

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and indeed favourites in the Royal household,

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are scones and chocolate eclairs.

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Now, for a really grand, Royal afternoon tea,

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there are certain essential ingredients, aren't there, Paul?

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-Absolutely. Yes.

-Scones. Scoh-nes? Scones.

-Yes.

-Scones.

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And the Queen, I think, likes a particular kind of scone.

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She does, orange, and it's absolutely delicious.

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It really works. Bit different as well.

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So in these, your typical scone recipe,

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and we've got orange blossom water in there, and orange zest.

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So it's quite fragrant.

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Really delicious.

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-Would you like to try?

-Yeah, come on.

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And what's also nice,

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-to carry on that theme with the orange, is the marmalade.

-Mm-hmm.

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-So...

-Now, do you put the marmalade on first, or the cream on first?

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Of course, I'm from Cornwall.

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-Oh, I see. Is that different?

-Absolutely, yeah. Very different.

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-They do it the other way round, do they?

-Oh, yeah!

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-In their benighted way.

-Yes, absolutely.

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-So, we're going to go on with our lovely jam first, OK?

-Yeah.

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-And then... Just a beautiful...

-Oh, just a small amount.

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Just a small amount, Michael. Like that.

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-Oh, this is going to be hell, isn't it?

-There you are.

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-Look at that.

-OK.

-Go for it.

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Mmm!

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You've got a bad hand.

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-It's lovely in orange.

-Nice, aren't they? Delicious.

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I can see what the Queen means now.

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-And the other thing you need to do...

-Yes.

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BOTH: Eclairs!

0:15:250:15:26

-Absolutely.

-That's what you're going to do now, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:15:260:15:29

So, very simple, eclairs.

0:15:290:15:31

They are choux pastry, and we are going to fill them with a lovely...

0:15:310:15:35

What the French call "Creme Chantilly".

0:15:350:15:36

So, basically, a vanilla cream with fresh vanilla and icing sugar.

0:15:360:15:40

So, just get your nozzle right in the end

0:15:400:15:43

and just literally keep filling it with cream

0:15:430:15:46

until it's, like, just bursting out the ends.

0:15:460:15:49

It's extraordinary how many of these dishes that are so familiar

0:15:490:15:54

actually come from the Royal Family, or Royal Family chefs.

0:15:540:15:58

-One of the Royal Family's early chefs, a man called Careme in the 1800s.

-Yes.

0:15:580:16:02

-He was famous, wasn't he?

-Yes, almost the first...

0:16:020:16:04

-One of your mob.

-My mob!

-THEY LAUGH

0:16:040:16:07

Anyway, Monsieur Careme is supposed to be the man who invented the eclair.

0:16:070:16:11

Right, so we've just filled these right up with cream.

0:16:110:16:14

Just getting it all in so it's literally spurting out the edges.

0:16:140:16:16

-Yeah.

-OK.

0:16:160:16:18

Now, next, which I'm going to get you to help me with, is the fun bit.

0:16:180:16:21

So here we have chocolate glacage. Shiny, dark chocolate sauce.

0:16:210:16:25

So in there you've got golden syrup with cocoa powder, dark chocolate,

0:16:250:16:30

a little bit of glucose syrup, water, and you just bring those...

0:16:300:16:33

And some butter. And you just bring those ingredients to a simmer and then just whisk it.

0:16:330:16:37

-That gives it that lovely shine.

-And that's the point, isn't it?

0:16:370:16:40

Because "eclair" means "lightning" in French.

0:16:400:16:42

-It's got to shine. It's got to sparkle.

-Yeah, absolutely.

0:16:420:16:46

So just dipping it into that sauce.

0:16:460:16:49

Like so.

0:16:500:16:52

Now that's very clever. So you don't pour it over the top, as I would.

0:16:520:16:55

No, you don't pour it over the top.

0:16:550:16:57

And then just literally...

0:16:570:16:59

Like that, one by one.

0:16:590:17:01

You're being very precious about it, aren't you?

0:17:010:17:03

Just... It's down, and then just come up like that.

0:17:030:17:07

And then just pull it back, just gently over the surface...

0:17:070:17:10

-so you've got them like that.

-That's really good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:17:100:17:14

-Like a go?

-Yeah, I would.

-Go for it.

0:17:150:17:17

Turn it upside down like that and away you go.

0:17:170:17:20

You know I was saying that so many of our familiar dishes seem to come

0:17:200:17:23

from the Royal family? Well, arguably,

0:17:230:17:25

the Royal family were involved in inventing afternoon tea itself

0:17:250:17:29

because it's supposed to be the Duchess of Bedford who was one of

0:17:290:17:33

Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, or ladies of the bedchamber,

0:17:330:17:37

who invented it in the 1840s, I think, 1850s,

0:17:370:17:41

because dinner was getting later and later and they were getting hungry

0:17:410:17:46

in the afternoons. So she invented afternoon tea.

0:17:460:17:49

Or that's what all the dictionaries say, anyway.

0:17:490:17:51

I don't know how true it is.

0:17:510:17:53

I made a bit of a horlicks of that, didn't I?

0:17:530:17:56

Hopefully you didn't see but you obviously have -

0:17:560:17:58

I've moved it over to there so it's not near mine!

0:17:580:18:00

-Can I have another go?

-Go for it!

0:18:000:18:02

I've made a complete shambles of that.

0:18:020:18:04

-What do you do...?

-Just push it down a bit more.

0:18:040:18:07

-That's it, push it down a bit more.

-Yeah.

-That's it.

0:18:070:18:09

Now take it and then just drag the excess off.

0:18:090:18:12

-Yeah, like that.

-That's it, lovely!

0:18:120:18:14

Lovely. Ooh, I like the line you've got going down the middle.

0:18:140:18:17

It's called feathering, that is.

0:18:170:18:18

-Is it?

-Yes.

-It's better than yours!

-It is, much better.

0:18:180:18:21

Naturally!

0:18:210:18:22

-Mmm.

-Let's get stuck in.

0:18:220:18:24

-Oh, now?!

-Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it.

0:18:240:18:26

-Here we go.

-Mmm!

0:18:260:18:29

-Warm chocolate, cold cream...

-Mmm.

0:18:310:18:34

-..and that lovely choux pastry exterior.

-Yeah.

0:18:340:18:37

-Yeah!

-Oh, hang on.

0:18:370:18:38

Let's have another go.

0:18:380:18:40

-Oh!

-How good are they?

0:18:430:18:44

-They're not bad, actually.

-They're all right, aren't they?

0:18:440:18:47

They're not bad. PAUL CHUCKLES

0:18:470:18:49

Mich Turner has created cakes for many A-list celebrations.

0:18:520:18:56

Often described as the queen of couture cakes,

0:18:560:18:59

she's also baked for numerous members of the Royal family.

0:18:590:19:03

The recipe I'm going to show you this afternoon is exactly the same

0:19:030:19:05

as the cake that I made for a larger celebration cake

0:19:050:19:08

for Her Majesty the Queen.

0:19:080:19:09

But today, we're going to make it as an afternoon tea cake.

0:19:090:19:12

For me, afternoon tea wouldn't be afternoon tea without a traditional, rich fruitcake.

0:19:130:19:17

I'm starting with melted butter and sugar and I'm going to add a big

0:19:190:19:22

tablespoon of treacle.

0:19:220:19:24

People often ask me - do I feel under pressure,

0:19:240:19:26

having baked for members of the Royal family?

0:19:260:19:29

Having the opportunity to celebrate cakes with

0:19:290:19:31

members of the Royal family has been wonderful.

0:19:310:19:34

You know, I've made a cake for Prince Charles for his birthday.

0:19:340:19:37

We painted his coat of arms on the side of the cake and we wrote in

0:19:370:19:40

English and in Welsh, "Happy birthday, Prince of Wales".

0:19:400:19:43

And for Her Majesty the Queen I've made a number of cakes,

0:19:430:19:46

but particularly and most memorable for me was

0:19:460:19:49

the diamond wedding anniversary cake that I made for a private Royal

0:19:490:19:52

family Christmas lunch.

0:19:520:19:54

And then Queen took the top tier with her to Sandringham to enjoy

0:19:540:19:57

over Christmas. So this fruitcake really has stood the test of time.

0:19:570:20:01

Mich now stirs in eggs and vanilla extract, then sieves flour,

0:20:010:20:07

adds a raising agent and a combination of spices.

0:20:070:20:10

Mich combines the batter with sultanas, currants,

0:20:100:20:12

raisins, glace cherries and ginger,

0:20:120:20:15

which have all been soaked in brandy for 48 hours.

0:20:150:20:19

Quite often you can have a fruitcake that has a lot of cake with very

0:20:190:20:22

little fruit in it, whereas mine's the alternative.

0:20:220:20:24

It's a lot of fruit that's wrapped up in a little bit of cake.

0:20:240:20:28

Mich transfers the batter to a lined tin and pops it in the oven.

0:20:280:20:32

And then, after two and three quarter hours,

0:20:320:20:34

the cake is ready to mould into afternoon-tea-sized portions.

0:20:340:20:37

The cake is baked and it's cooled.

0:20:370:20:40

So, starting right at the edge of the cake,

0:20:400:20:42

I'm going to take that cutter

0:20:420:20:44

and press really evenly all the way down.

0:20:440:20:47

Once divided, Mich brushes her cake with apricot jam

0:20:470:20:50

and is ready to apply a base layer of marzipan.

0:20:500:20:53

Lay that over the surface.

0:20:530:20:55

The marzipan itself will help to lock in

0:20:550:20:57

all the moisture inside the cake.

0:20:570:20:59

Cup it all the way around,

0:20:590:21:01

down to the base.

0:21:010:21:02

Cut that out, pop it through...

0:21:020:21:06

and that is the fruitcake ready to have its top coat of icing.

0:21:060:21:10

Brushing the cake with brandy before icing will not only add flavour,

0:21:110:21:14

it'll also create an antiseptic

0:21:140:21:16

barrier that will help preserve the cake.

0:21:160:21:19

So, that's brushed, lift the icing up

0:21:190:21:23

over the surface

0:21:230:21:25

and once I get right the way down to the base,

0:21:250:21:28

take the larger-sized cutter, press down...

0:21:280:21:32

..and that's the cake.

0:21:340:21:35

You use smoothers around the edge and on the top to ensure that you've

0:21:370:21:40

got the perfect finish.

0:21:400:21:43

And then, at this stage,

0:21:430:21:44

I'm going to put it straight on to a little disc before decoration.

0:21:440:21:47

Now for the intricate process of decorating the teacakes.

0:21:500:21:54

I've made these little afternoon tea cool Britannias

0:21:540:21:58

for Her Majesty the Queen.

0:21:580:21:59

As you can see, a labour of love,

0:21:590:22:02

but certainly worth the effort

0:22:020:22:04

to show that you've really thought about making that person feel

0:22:040:22:09

super special.

0:22:090:22:10

Making these individual crown cakes is so labour-intensive

0:22:100:22:13

that it can take Mich up to three days to produce 100.

0:22:130:22:17

I'm going to use this to pipe three leaves.

0:22:170:22:20

As I start piping the leaf,

0:22:200:22:22

I can give it a little wiggle to bring in the texture.

0:22:220:22:25

Release and lift up, and that creates the first leaf.

0:22:250:22:29

Turn to pipe the second and then the third one here...

0:22:290:22:34

And what this will do is create three beautiful leaves

0:22:340:22:37

that cover where the candy stripes started,

0:22:370:22:40

but, most importantly,

0:22:400:22:42

give me the anchor so that I can bring my red rose into position

0:22:420:22:46

on to the top of the cake. And that is my afternoon tea crown cake.

0:22:460:22:51

The rich fruitcake I made for Her Majesty the Queen

0:22:510:22:54

on a perfect cool Britannia.

0:22:540:22:56

100 years and more ago, our kitchen maid,

0:23:020:23:05

our Buckingham Palace kitchen maid, Mildred Nicholls,

0:23:050:23:07

seemed to spend most of her time doing puddings and desserts

0:23:070:23:10

if her recipe book is anything to go by.

0:23:100:23:13

And look at this, Paul. This is really fascinating because

0:23:130:23:15

a loose leaf in the recipe book is a recipe actually sent down

0:23:150:23:19

by the Queen to the kitchens -

0:23:190:23:21

-a recipe for Bath buns.

-So, the Queen sent this recipe down?

0:23:210:23:24

-Yep, to her.

-Wow!

-She's got it in here.

0:23:240:23:26

-Yeah.

-There's a recipe, though, for Bath buns.

0:23:260:23:28

It's a very simple recipe and actually, no disrespect,

0:23:280:23:32

quite a plain thing, a Bath bun.

0:23:320:23:33

It is a very simple recipe, as you've pointed out,

0:23:330:23:35

but what makes its special is this here.

0:23:350:23:38

And this is what we now know as a ferment, a starter,

0:23:380:23:40

when you're making bread. They would call it a sponge and in there,

0:23:400:23:43

Michael, is fresh yeast, milk, warmed - not to kill the yeast,

0:23:430:23:47

just warmed - sugar and flour, and that there's like a really sour,

0:23:470:23:52

yoghurty kind of like... It's just fermenting.

0:23:520:23:54

It's really delicious.

0:23:540:23:56

And this is Mildred's recipe on the instructions from the Queen.

0:23:560:23:59

Absolutely. Absolutely, which is brilliant.

0:23:590:24:01

-It's quite a thought.

-So we've got our sugar, our eggs and some butter.

0:24:010:24:07

This is simply known as creaming.

0:24:070:24:09

So we're just going to pop that down there and start it off nice and

0:24:110:24:14

slowly. Once it starts coming together, we can just take

0:24:140:24:17

that speed up slightly.

0:24:170:24:18

It's taking off.

0:24:180:24:20

-OK. Next bit...

-Yeah.

0:24:240:24:26

We are now just going to change our paddle for a dough hook...

0:24:260:24:32

cos now we don't want to beat air into it, Michael,

0:24:320:24:34

-we just want to form a dough.

-Mm-hmm.

0:24:340:24:37

So I'm just going to pop that in there like that...

0:24:370:24:39

-In with our flour.

-Yeah.

0:24:390:24:40

OK? So just plain flour.

0:24:410:24:43

-Yeah.

-Now we're going to very gently...

0:24:430:24:46

You see it's just rising and rising in the basin?

0:24:460:24:49

-I'm just going to pop that in there and it's important to get all of this in.

-Mmm.

0:24:490:24:52

-Get all of that in.

-Yeah.

0:24:520:24:54

I don't know if you can smell it, it smells like beer.

0:24:540:24:56

Yeah, it does actually. Quite exciting.

0:24:560:24:59

OK, down... And this bit, just gently...

0:24:590:25:02

-What this is going to do now is knead.

-Yeah.

0:25:020:25:05

That'll take a couple of minutes,

0:25:060:25:08

but what it will also do is work the gluten in the flour, cos we don't

0:25:080:25:12

want to just bind it together, we now need to kind of slowly

0:25:120:25:15

knock it, what we call knocking it. We work that gluten.

0:25:150:25:19

And that, Michael, is our dough.

0:25:210:25:24

As Mildred would've made it.

0:25:240:25:26

Right, here we go. So we've got this.

0:25:260:25:28

So, we're just going to knead it now, just gently knead it,

0:25:280:25:30

like that, like so.

0:25:300:25:32

-Do that for about a couple of minutes.

-Yeah.

0:25:320:25:34

Into a nice circle.

0:25:350:25:36

-Straight into our bowl.

-Yeah.

0:25:380:25:39

And, over here...

0:25:390:25:40

-Tea towel or clingfilm over the top.

-Yeah.

0:25:410:25:44

And over here...

0:25:440:25:45

it's now doubled in size.

0:25:450:25:47

-It's risen.

-Absolutely.

-And how long does it take you to do that?

0:25:470:25:49

That will take about half an hour.

0:25:490:25:51

So you've just got this kind of

0:25:510:25:54

beautiful dough that's increased in size.

0:25:540:25:56

What we do is pull it out gently onto the board like that, OK?

0:25:560:26:00

And again, we knock it, what we call knocking it back, again.

0:26:010:26:03

What's that for? What are you biffing it around for?

0:26:030:26:06

You're taking the air out so it's basically rising

0:26:060:26:09

again, rising again.

0:26:090:26:10

OK? Now, if you just grab about that much...

0:26:100:26:14

-Yeah.

-..and then roll that into a little...

0:26:140:26:16

-Like this?

-Absolutely.

0:26:160:26:17

Just perfectly like that, just nice and round.

0:26:170:26:20

Keep it nice and tight in your palm.

0:26:200:26:22

-Right.

-You put them on here?

-Pop them onto the tray.

0:26:220:26:24

-There we go.

-OK.

0:26:240:26:26

No, a bit more space apart because they're going to prove again.

0:26:260:26:29

-Oh, they're going to expand.

-And the reason we do that, Michael,

0:26:290:26:32

is so that the dough isn't chewy.

0:26:320:26:35

OK. So this will go into the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

0:26:350:26:39

-Quite hot.

-Quite a hot heat so they bake quickly.

-Yep.

0:26:390:26:42

-Oh, wow!

-Then...you have these.

0:26:440:26:47

-Look at those!

-Look how they've puffed up.

0:26:470:26:49

Light, sweet, delicious.

0:26:490:26:51

-They're ready to serve now?

-No, we just need to glaze them now.

0:26:510:26:54

So over here we have some golden syrup that we've just let down

0:26:540:26:58

with a little bit of water.

0:26:580:27:00

It's a Mildred recipe! THEY CHUCKLE

0:27:000:27:02

-So, literally, Michael, just dab it over...

-Just dab it on the top.

0:27:020:27:06

Absolutely, yeah. All over our buns, like so.

0:27:060:27:09

-Bit of shine on the top of the thing.

-Absolutely.

0:27:090:27:12

Really good for a lighter afternoon tea.

0:27:120:27:15

-So we've got our last one here.

-There we go.

0:27:150:27:17

-Right.

-So what's next?

-Pearl sugar.

0:27:170:27:19

-Basically like little crunchy icing sugar.

-Mm-hmm.

0:27:190:27:22

And then straight on like that.

0:27:220:27:23

-Don't they look fabulous?

-They do.

0:27:230:27:26

Also gives a nice texture.

0:27:260:27:28

-Right, can we now...

-There we are.

0:27:280:27:29

-Look at those!

-..have an afternoon-tea nibble?

0:27:290:27:31

-Yeah!

-Yes. Go for it. Get stuck in.

0:27:310:27:33

-No, after you this time.

-Go on, then.

0:27:330:27:35

All right. Which one? This one here?

0:27:350:27:37

-Yeah, OK, I'll take this one to keep it neat.

-Look at that.

0:27:370:27:39

-There we go.

-Oh, yes!

0:27:390:27:41

I'm going to...

0:27:430:27:45

Mmm!

0:27:450:27:46

-MICHAEL CHUCKLES

-How good are those?

0:27:480:27:52

Hang on, you've got a moustache!

0:27:530:27:55

Thank you, Paul. Another fine mess you've got me into.

0:27:580:28:01

That's all from our celebration of afternoon tea.

0:28:040:28:08

See you next time.

0:28:080:28:09

I'm going to have another go.

0:28:100:28:12

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