Day 23... Welcome to My Tea Party!!!

OK it's here! I am so so so so excited!!!!!  I waited all month for this!!!   We are having a Tea Party under the Halloween Moon!!!  Me and about 100 other bloggers are having one huge party!  This was all thought up by Anna at Frosted Petunias and her craft studio witch Lucinda!  They have wanted to have a Candle light tea party for a loooooonnnnnnggggg time!!!  Well with the help of a hundred or so others Anna is getting her wish! 

I had this great Tea Party planned and then 2 of my partiers had to go to New Jersey for an Ultimate tournament but that's OK there was still one left besides me and we did party!!!  Now all you 31 dayers may be wondering what the heck a tea party has to do with a stamped project for the 31 days of Halloween.  Well let me tell you.  I stamped the cups we drank out of, the napkins we dabbed the corners of our mouths with and the plates our yummy goodies sat on!!!!!  Yep I did!  Wanna see the cups?  OK here!

Aren't they the cutest!  These are both images from a stamp set called Fae's from Smeared Ink. I totally love this set and thought the whimsicality of it was perfect for a tea party!  I even stamped the goodie boxes and treats that we packed and gave to the neighbor!

So now your probably saying OK what about these goodies and where is the moon!!!  I'm getting there!!

OK our Menu included: Lady Grey Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Black Pearl Tea, Spearmint tea, and Mandarin orange tea, Baked Brie with Garlic Toasts, and Caramel Apple Cupcakes.  Yep I'm drinking tea as we speak,err while I type, you know what I mean!  I always have tea,no  matter what, I think I get a new flavor every time I go to the store!  I guess you could say I love me some tea!!!  OK, so on with the goodies!!!  I had been talking to my friend Terra about these cupcakes all month, cause you know today was not the first day I had them, anyway she kept saying she wanted the recipe so I decided to give it to everyone!!!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients needed:  1 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 eggs, at room temperature, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup veggie oil, 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract, 1 lb apples( that's usually 2 nice size apples.  You can use any kind you want, I like to use 1/2 granny smith and 1/2 Macintosh or gala)(peeled and shredded), 1 1/2 cups chewy caramel candies(about 25), and 1 tbsp heavy cream.

What to do:  Preheat oven to 350*, line a cupcake pan with baking liners.  In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.  Whisk in the oil and vanilla.  Stir into the flour mixture until just combined.  This will be kind of thick.  Stir in the apples.  Spoon batter into the prepared pan until almost full.(usually a little over 1/3 of a cup each for me).  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.(it takes 28 min in my gas oven).Let cool slightly in pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely.  It is very important that they be cooled completely!  In a small bowl, microwavable bowl, combine the caramels and cream. Microwave for 1 minute on medium power, then stir; repeat in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. 

The first time I made these I let the caramel cool then spread it like a frosting on the cupcakes.  This time I poured it onto the cupcakes while it was still hot.... you decide what you want to do!

Baked Brie:  You need one puff pastry sheet, thawed, and one wheel of brie.  Put the thawed puff pastry sheet on a non stick baking sheet.  Place brie in the middle, fold the pastry up over the cheese so it is covered.  Sprinkle with salt and bake at 350* for 25 minutes.  Cool for 10 before serving.  Garlic toasts: baguette bread sliced thin, garlic oil.  I don't know if you can buy garlic oil but I make my own and that's easy too.  Just take a whole head of garlic and chop it really fine( you can use a food processor) put in a air tight container with enough olive oil to cover and let sit on counter.  Depending on how much garlic you use depends on how long it lasts.  I use garlic in everything so it doesn't last long for me but it will stay fresh out on the counter, if sealed properly for 2 months.  Maybe longer.   Anyway, brush the bread with the oil and bake until crispy.  I put it in the oven for the 10 minutes that the brie is cooling. 

So now that you are starving and ready for a snack let me show you some more pictures from the tea party and then you can be off to see the other  wicked bloggers for the 31 days of Halloween and also head on over to Frosted Petunias for the rest of the blog roll!!!

Sorry the pictures of the moon aren't so great!  I don't have a very good camera yet, but there it is out in the open and playing peek-a-boo with my tree in the front yard!!!

I hope you have enjoyed and I will...

C-YA tomorrow!