Alice’s Tea Cup: Delectable Recipes for Scones, Cakes, Sandwiches, and More from New York’s Most Whimsical Tea Spot by Haley Fox and Lauren Fox- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks (October 26, 2010)
- ISBN-13: 978-0061964923
Back-of-the-Book Blurb: The delightful sisters and owners of Alice’s Tea Cup share nearly one hundred recipes from their charming and wildly popular Manhattan restaurants
For almost ten years, Alice’s Tea Cup has been a destination in New York City for locals and tourists alike who crave a scrumptious afternoon tea without airs or pretension. Haley and Lauren Fox learned at an early age that tea was more than just a beverage—it was an event to be shared and protected—and they divulge their tea-making philosophy and dozens of delectable recipes in this beautiful cookbook.
Embodying the mantra “tea turned on its ear,” Alice’s Tea Cup serves up unique twists to traditional Victorian tea fare, including savories, baked goods, sweet treats, tea selections, specialty drinks, and of course Alice’s world-famous tender, moist scones—including nineteen versions, from pumpkin to peanut butter and jelly to ham and cheese
Haley and Lauren also show you how to throw a personalized “Curiouser and Curiouser” tea party with household props and offer lots of other ways to
celebrate with tea and festive food. From salads to scones, pancakes to cupcakes, afternoon tea to evening mar-tea-nis, this fabulous cookbook lets you enjoy Alice’s mouthwatering recipes without leaving home.
She Is Too Fond of Books’ review: You can’t help but smile when you look through Alice’s Tea Cup. Especially if you’ve been fortunate enough to visit one of the three Alice’s Tea Cup restaurants in Manhattan, just looking at the cover – buttery mixed berry scones, cream and jam, served on delicate china and accompanied by a cup of tea – brings back happy memories. My visit there, visiting with several fun book bloggers, folks from HarperCollins and Adriana Trigiani (yes, that Adriana Trigiani), was a highlight of BEA 2010. If you didn’t read about it the first time around, you can re-visit the Alice’s Tea Cup adventure here.
Getting past the cover, the inside pages are full of smiles, too! The book is more than a cookbook, it shares the experience of the Alice’s tea party; in words and photos we see what it’s like to be a child (or a child at heart) at one of these special occasions. There’s no arguing with the authors’ statement that “No one is ever too old to sparkle!”
The recipe sections are divided as follows:
- Afternoon Tea, Before and After Noon: Scones (and a Cream ..)
- Breakfast and Brunch
- Soups and Salads
- Sandwiches
- Cookies
- Cakes and Cupcakes
- Other Sweets and Treats for the Alice in All of Us
- Mar-tea-nis
Supplemental sections include:
- The Basics of Brewing Tea
- The Art of the Tea Party
- Menu Pairings
- Tea-Dyeing Linens (and Clothes)
A full appendix of resources defines the many teas they serve (and sell), gives name-brand suggestions for the home cook, and tells us where to purchase various supplies from linens to china to … glitter!
But, back to those recipes …
That gorgeous cover may be a little misleading, because there’s so much more in here than traditional tea fare. You’ll find hearty full-size sandwiches (Alice’s King Reuben is calling to me), decadent brunch items (Alice’s Curious French Toast Bread Pudding … I think my pants shrank as I read the recipe), and just-because cookies (one even uses tea leaves as an ingredient, Rooibos Phoenix Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies).
Most recipes are shown with full-page color photos, practically jumping off the page (when possible, like the cookies, they’re life-size. I truly wanted to reach into the pages and pull out that stack of Double Chocolate Cookies). Their food stylist and photographer are artists.
Of course, the food stylist and photographer have great “raw materials” to work with. The food I sampled at Alice’s Tea Cup was superb, and many of those recipes are included in the cookbook.
I haven’t yet had a chance to bake/make anything from the book, so I’m pointing you to Julie at BookingMama who made both the Banana Cupcakes (“moist and rich”) and the Pumpkin Scones (“not anywhere near as delicious as the ones I had at Alice’s Tea Cup”). Julie wondered if the recipe for Pumpkin Scones was off (it called for 1/4 each of ground ginger and ground cinnamon); that got me thinking about cookbook corrections, and how they’re communicated after the book is printed and distributed. I couldn’t find any corrections listed on the website … perhaps the recipe is correct … curiouser and curiouser …
In any case, Alice’s Tea Cup is a delightful cookbook that covers the bases from breakfast and brunch fare, through lunch to afternoon tea. It’s a lovely gift, and will take visitors back to the restaurants.
For more Weekend Cooking posts, head over to Beth Fish Reads’ weekly round-up of food-related writing from around the blogosphere.
Ha! This is an institution in NYC. It’s about 5 blocks away and I still haven’t been! But since you say the food is good, I might have to haul up there.
I am OBSESSED with tea, particularly the loose kind that you brew in a pot. I spend money at Teavana. And those scones look so good. I tried to make some with the cookbook I reviewed today (Clinton St. Baking Company) and it was an epic fail! Which makes me want one even more. I’m going to have to see if my library has this one.
I want to try a recipe from this cookbook, but have hardly been home long enough to cook anything these last few months. Visiting Alice’s Tea Cup was a highlight of BEA 10 for me as well, but not because of the food, even though it was fantastic!
You were so lucky to have won that great tea with Adriana and a great group of bloggers. The cookbook sounds wonderful. Corrections usually appear on the author’s website or the publisher’s website. Or you can do a search. 1/4 would be 1/4 teaspoon….
As far as the pumpkin scones go, I think scones are difficult to get right. Having said that, I did have someone leave a comment that the recipe was wrong. She read that a reviewer on Amazon called the baker and the recipe should read 1 teaspoon of each. I have checked a few times for corrections and never found any.
Just the cover alone has me salivating. There’s nothing as welcome as a nice hot cuppa and a scone.
Double Chocolate Cookies and Banana Cupcakes huh? Yum!!
You can find my WC HERE
I love tea, and am from NY, but have never heard of this place! This looks like a fun book, and hopefully it has some good ideas/recipes in it.
Oh I would just LOVE to go there, but I will settle for the book for now — this is so so so me! xoxoxo
This sounds and looks very yummy. I love the cover image.
This is so timely. I’ve been thinking on establishing a “tea time” every day in our schedule. It just seems like a lovely way to pause, and sit back and just think or chat. I’m going to find this book as I want to know more about making tea beyond a tea bag. The scones and sandwiches will be welcome too.
a nice hot cup of tea is a nightly ritual for me…when I have to travel, even just overnight, I take my tea with me…keeps me calm. This looks like a really interesting place to visit and cookbook to explore further
Well, Alice’s Tea Cup is one of my favorite places ANYWHERE for tea and scones, so I pretty much have to get this book. I’m disappointed to hear that the pumpkin scone recipe was not exactly like the restaurant scones but not 100% surprised. those recipes are probably trade secrets! I’d like to see their basic scone recipe and then try some of the different flavor combinations they do in the store. Yum!
I’m in for a proper tea time every day. Went to the tea shop today and bought “Sangria” and “Strawberry and Kiwi” fruit teas.
Even I have heard of this place, and I live in The Netherlands! A book full of baking is great! I love baking cookies and cakes. If it ever comes anywhere near me, I’ll probably buy it!
Nicole – this would be a fun place to go for brunch … or, whatever! What are you waiting for?!
Sandy – Your scones may have failed, but it looked like you had success with other recipes from Clinton Street (yes, look for this cookbook)
Kathy – of course it was the company, not the food! But, I had to highlight the food in this review
Looking forward to breaking bread with you again, somewhere!
Beth F – yes, no corrections at HarperCollins or Tea Cup site
You may be onto something with the idea that it should 1/4 teaspoon!
Julie – do I dare try it with one teaspoon?
Kaye – I like my scones really buttery and flaky; the taste I had at the restaurant was perfect. This cookbook isn’t all baked goods; it has a nice variety (sandwiches and some salads, too)
Ellie – yum is right … will head over and check out your WE post
Suko – there are 3 Alice’s Tea Cup restaurants. You can find the Manhattan addresses on the website (I think we were at Chapter 1)
Rebecca – you can have a little tea party with your daughter … does she like to help in the kitchen?
Rikki – I know, mixed berry scones are hard to pass up
Margot – I love the idea of sitting down and catching up w/my husband over a cup of tea in the afternoon. We’ll have to wait until we, too, are Joyfully Retired
Patti – I never think to bring tea from home when we travel, and tend to get stuck with the standard bags in the hotel room
Marie – I remember you talking about Alice’s Tea Cup before I visited there; now I understand the attraction – the food, the atmosphere … fun and yummy
Heather – those both sound like delicious teas
Judith – wow, good news travels far and wide
Regarding the baked beans and hard water. I don’t know if it affects any of my other cooking. I suppose it would have an impact on soup when I use water. Lentils cook very easy and have not had trouble with using tap water with them. I wonder if it has an effect in baking? Not that many baking recipes use all that much water anyway.
I love tea and tea time, and would love to have an actual tea party one day. I have this huge storage shelf in my kitchen filled with all kinds of exotic teas, and I try to drink at least one cup a day. I like mine with a lot of milk. It’s gotten to the point that my husband and kids shout “no more tea” at the store when I grab another box! I would love a chance to peruse this book. It sounds like it’s excellent, and pumpkin scones? Yes, please!