As 2025 comes to and end, marking the twelfth anniversary of our website myteaplanner.com and the tenth anniversary of our blogs, “Tea and Travels” and “Cakes and Tea,” Kathleen and I have decided to conclude our careers as bloggers and continue with our related artistic vocations. Kathleen will continue drawing and painting as well as baking and catering when interesting projects present themselves. Her current project is managing the upcoming art show of her late grandfather, Dr. Patrick Murdock. This event, approved by the City of Milpitas, California Arts Commission, will take place from June 25, 2026, to August 20, 2026, in the Milpitas Community Center Library Art Gallery, with a Grand Opening Reception on Saturday, June 27. Since Patrick Murdock is my father, I will travel to California to assist Kathleen and my brother, John Murdock in setting up the exhibition. And of course, I will be Kathleen’s eager assistant as we plan, prepare and host the Grand Opening Reception. Our website will be our resource, as myteaplanner.com is filled with menus and recipes for a variety of seasonal gatherings and events.
My current project is the launch of my third volume of poetry, Searching in Circles, soon to be published by Kelsay Books. My new poetry collection will be available on the Kelsay Books website as well as Amazon.com. Here is a little sample of one of the poems that will appear in my new book, which has a unifying theme of family, growth and change:
The River
I remember back in Idaho
Decades ago, my daddy
Would sit on the front porch in the evening,
Smoking a cigarette,
And listening to the Snake River.
We couldn’t see it from our house,
But we knew it was there.
Now, as I sit on the back steps,
Thinking of him,
I watch the tide grow higher,
See the stacks of clouds on the horizon
Turn pink layer by layer,
And listen to the endless call of the sea.
I can’t hear him,
But I know he’s here.
Kathleen and I are committed to maintaining and continuing to improve our website and to stay in touch with our readers. We will send you recipes and notices from time to time about additions to myteaplanner.com and our activities in the world of Afternoon Tea as well as our artistic pursuits. We are proud to be the authors of the only tea book that also includes art and poetry along with recipes and menus, as we believe that Afternoon Tea is itself an art form in the wider realm of Art. We encourage our readers to click on the Contact Us page and stay in touch with us, as we intend to respond to our readers’ questions and comments. We are so grateful to all of you who have read the Tea Book and our Blogs over the years and hosted tea parties of your own based on the information we have shared with you.
December’s half moon
Appears above the Christmas
Lights and the calm sea.
As this December will be my final blog, of course I am thinking of my favorite holiday, Christmas! Over the years it has been a joy for me to share some of my favorite international Christmas dessert recipes with our readers, as our website emphasizes the fact that Afternoon Tea is an ancient and world-wide custom celebrated in a wide variety of ways throughout the planet to bring people together in friendship. I encourage you to re-read my very first blog, written in June 2016. It contains the essay “Eating with Immigrants,” which I wrote for the college English Composition textbook, Visions Across the Americas. This essay, read by thousands of college students, emphasizes the importance of learning to appreciate the gifts and cuisine of people from other countries and cultures through shared food and conversation.
Birdsong fills the chill,
Breezy twilight. One by one,
Christmas lights turn on.
Let’s begin our journey through the magic world of international Christmas desserts with one of the oldest pastries to evolve from Western civilization:
Panforte
This ancient dessert probably originated in Greece, as its ingredients include nuts, dried figs, dried prunes, raisins, spices and honey, all food items that were available in the Eastern Mediterranean region before the Current Era. Spices such as cinnamon and cloves arrived from India and the Far East on the Silk Road and spread widely throughout the Middle East. However, New World products such as sugar, chocolate, baking powder and baking soda did not enter European cuisine for many centuries. Panforte became very popular throughout the Roman Empire, spread far and wide by Roman soldiers on their many conquests. Over time, ingredients such as marzipan, barley, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and liquor were added to Panforte, making this simple and satisfying sweet the parent of today’s Fruitcake. I love Panforte and make it every Christmas season to share with my sister’s family, the Pedullas. You will find the recipe for Panforte, updated slightly with the addition of a small amount of dark cocoa powder, in my December 2020 blog, “Homemade Gifts” and in the Italian Tea menu in the World of Tea Parties section of our Tea Book on this website.
Traditional Fruitcake
She wraps the fruitcake,
Tied with a red ribbon, off
To California.
Thanks to the Romans, Fruitcake became wildly popular throughout Europe, especially Germany and the British Empire, after sugar and molasses became available for cooking, baking and distilling rum. Sugar and alcoholic beverages such as brandy and rum made it possible to preserve summer fruits such as oranges and cherries, and soaking Fruitcakes in rum extended the lifetime of each Fruitcake by up to several years! Fruitcake is now a beloved traditional Christmas dessert throughout the United States and Canada. Fruitcakes are especially popular in the American South where pecans are abundant. In fact, the city of Claxton, Georgia claims to be the fruitcake capital of America. And the recipe for Old English Fruitcake with Hard Sauce can be found in the menu for “An American Southern Tea” on our website. This is the fruitcake I bake every year for my own family. Our website is also filled with additional Fruitcake recipes for every preference. Click on “A Christmas Tea” in the December calendar section of the Tea Book. We have added a “Special Fruitcake Recipes” section that includes Country Christmas Cake with Marzipan and Royal Icing, Kathleen’s Fruitcake without Candied Fruit and Aged Raisin Gingerbread with Hard Sauce among other festive holiday cakes. There is also a section on making your own candied fruits, including cherries, ginger and citrus peels.
Buche de Noel (Christmas Log)
On Christmas Eve, the
Family feasts on fondue and
French Caramel Yule Log.
The recipe for my favorite Caramel Toffee Yule Log appears in my December 2018 Blog, entitled “Christmas Symbols: Circles and Lights.” There you will learn that this lovely pastry of French origin is designed to resemble a log, burning in the fireplace, symbolic of the warmth and coziness of Christmas Eve as we await the birth of the Christ Child. This tradition is based on the pre-Christian custom of burning a large log on the winter solstice to celebrate the coming of the New Year, with the log’s light symbolizing luck and prosperity for the family in the new year. To keep this ancient tradition alive, French bakers in the 1800s created edible Yule Logs with woodland motifs to be enjoyed at Christmas. Yule Logs can be made in any flavor, from vanilla to chocolate, ginger, coffee, chestnut, caramel or any combination of cakes and fillings. A Yule Log resembles a jelly roll, a flat sponge cake, filled with jelly, custard, whipped cream, or chocolate ganache and rolled up to look like a log. The French versions are often elaborately decorated with the icing textured with a fork to resemble bark, and holly created from sugared cranberries and green-tinted marzipan, meringue mushrooms, and powdered sugar “snowflakes” on top.The delicious Caramel Toffee Yule Log recipe included in my blog is also listed on our December Christmas Tea menu. Feel free to decorate your Christmas Yule Log any way you want.
Stollen
Stollen is also included in our December Christmas Tea menu. Stollen is a cake-like yeasted fruit bread that contains dried fruits, nuts, candied citrus peel, spices, especially cinnamon and cardamom and sometimes marzipan. This luscious Christmas bread originated in Germany with the first example created for the Saxon Royal Court in 1427 as a rather hard bread. When yeast baking became more prevalent in Northern Europe, Stollen increased in popularity, and the texture of this bread became lighter and more pleasing, topped with powdered sugar to resemble winter snow. Today, Stollen is associated with the Dresden Christmas Market or Stollenfest, a Christmas tradition since the 1400s. I have baked Stollen at home, but I believe the Stollen from a good German bakery is better than my homemade version. Excellent quality Stollen is readily available online, or in your own neighborhood bakery, and especially when filled with moist marzipan and fruits, Stollen stays fresh and delicious for a long time. Stollen is also great as a Christmas gift or a stocking stuffer. My advice is to have one or two Stollens on hand to serve on Christmas Eve along with all the other treats and to share with any friends or neighbors who happen to stop by during the holiday season.
Danish Pastry Wreath
The recipe for this delicate, flaky and heavenly Danish pastry can be found in my April 2020 blog, “Easter in April,” as this spectacular buttery, marzipan-filled yeast wreath is equally appropriate for both Easter and Christmas. Traditional yeasted pastries, which take hours to assemble, rise, roll out, braid, shape and bake symbolize the rising of new life and birth, appropriate for the two most important holidays in the Christian tradition. I have baked this large circular braided pastry many times and love it, especially when it is still warm from the oven, more than any other holiday dessert. However, it takes a minimum of five hours to create, and on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning, time can be a difficult factor. If you are up for the challenge, your family will love you forever.
Christmas Trifle
Our website and our blogs are full of trifles. This quirky yet gorgeous dessert was “invented” in England, perhaps by British nannies who looked for ways to recycle leftover cake for the children’s dessert in the nursery. My previous blog, November 2025, features a Dulce de Leche Toffee Trifle in a glass trifle bowl, revealing all the ingredients assembled in layers of cake, cream filling, cookies, banana slices, and toffee bits, a delightful visual treat for both children and adults. Our Christmas Trifle with Vanilla Custard appears in our December Christmas Tea menu on this website. This holiday version features bottled Bing cherries, pound cake, homemade custard, amaretti cookies and toasted almonds topped with whipped cream for a lovely winter palette of flavor and color. The beauty of every trifle is that it can be made and refrigerated the day before it is served, and it can contain anything and everything the imaginative chef, who doesn’t have to bake anything, wishes to add.
Cranberry Ginger Pound Cake
I found the recipe for this fabulous holiday pound cake in an old issue of Gourmet Magazine and included it in my December 2022 blog, “Sugar and Spice, Ginger for Christmas.” The recipe calls for an entire tablespoon of ground ginger, but don’t be afraid to go for it, as the end result is spectacular. I always serve it piled high with candied cranberries for an extra dose of Christmas visual delight.
Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce
As those of us who loved every episode of “Downton Abbey” are well aware, the term “pudding” in post-Victorian England is a generic reference to any kind of dessert. And Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce is in fact a large, luscious one-layer cake covered entirely in warm caramel glaze, dripping onto the cake plate, with more caramel sauce available to pour onto each slice when it is served. This splendid dessert of English origin is also popular in Australia, where this version of the recipe was developed. My September 2016 blog, “Eating in Australia,” recommends this recipe, which actually appears in the menu of our “Afternoon Tea for Our Elders” on this website. The measurements for the ingredients for this cake are a little odd, but follow them exactly, and you will create a Christmas dessert that everyone will love.
Triple Espresso Cake
This easiest of all cakes was my signature contribution to every potluck or faculty picnic for decades. I have never received so many compliments for one dessert, even though this gem is made from a yellow cake mix and a box of instant vanilla pudding with espresso added and an easy to assemble dark chocolate icing. This cake can be turned into a Christmas masterpiece with a few red, green, white or gold sprinkles added for a festive effect. You will find the recipe on this website on the menu for our August “North American Family Reunion Tea.”
The old couple eat
Christmas chocolates on Boxing
Day and take a nap.
Cherry-Orange Chocolate Christmas Cake
In reviewing my “top nine” favorite Christmas Desserts, I noticed that none of these classics is chocolate, except for the icing on my “famous” Triple Espresso Cake. Christmas without a chocolate dessert is unacceptable, so we will complete the “top ten” with this beautiful chocolate cake from Patricia Gentry’s timeless book on Afternoon Tea, Teatime Celebrations. Kathleen gave me this book, filled with reliable and creative menus and recipes, as she has a copy herself, and she agrees with me that every special occasion should include more than one dessert. She has baked Patricia’s Chocolate Marmalade Cake numerous times, and has found it not only elegantly delicious, but also easy to transport and popular at every event where she has served it. I love the idea of orange marmalade in both the semi-sweet chocolate batter and in the glaze on top of the cake. Patricia’s version is served with the glaze topped with powdered sugar snowflakes created by placing a lacy paper doily over the cake and lightly sifting powdered sugar over the doily.
Always eager to overdo the Christmas dessert, I’ve decided to skip the snowflakes and top the orange marmalade glaze with my go-to Dark Chocolate Icing that I add to the Triple Espresso Cake and many other desserts that need more chocolate. Gilding the lily even further, I’ve decided to top my Christmas Chocolate Marmalade Cake with cherries and add cherry juice to the marmalade glaze, hence the new name, Cherry-Orange Chocolate Christmas Cake. I have always thought that cherries, oranges and dark chocolate were a match made in heaven! This only slightly adapted recipe will create a large nine-inch single-layer cake baked in your springform pan. As Patricia herself says in the introduction to this recipe, “The glaze—infused with orange, helps this dense, moist cake keep well. An orange flavor also permeates the chocolate cake because of the orange marmalade in the batter.”
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (1bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 5 large eggs separated, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup orange marmalade, (I used Bonne Maman)
- ¼ cup toasted almonds, ground
- Cooking spray for the pan
For the Glaze:
- ¼ cup orange marmalade, melted
- 2 tablespoons cherry juice (I used Tillen Farms by Stonewall Kitchen Bada Bing Cherries, Pitted and Stem-On)
For the Dark Chocolate Icing and Decoration:
- 5 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 3 tablespoons cherry juice
- ¼ cup butter (half a stick)
- 1 cup packed powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Dark sweet pitted cherries with stems in juice
- Sugar sprinkles in Christmas colors (optional)
Special Equipment:
- 9-inch springform pan
- food grinder or processor
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- sieve or flour sifter
- large glass measuring cup, at least 1-quart size
- hand-held electric mixer
- rubber spatula
- parchment
- bamboo skewer
- wire cooling rack
- decorative cake stand or cake platter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Makes: 10-12 servings
- Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Cut 2 rounds of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan and strips of parchment to line the inner sides of the pan. Spray both rounds of parchment as you layer them into the pan, and spray the parchment strips as you place them around the inner sides of the pan. The cooking spray should help the parchment strips adhere.
- If the almonds are not yet toasted and ground, toast them in a 350-degree oven for approximately 10 minutes, let them cool and grind them to a sand-like texture in a food processor or grinder and set them aside. Place six ounces of chocolate chips in a glass measuring cup and microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring at each pause until the chocolate is evenly melted and smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, cream ¾ cup butter until light. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Crack the eggs, adding each yolk, one at a time to the butter mixture, and beating until each yolk is thoroughly mixed into the batter. During this process, place the egg whites into another large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and marmalade to the cooled chocolate and mix well with a rubber spatula. Add the chocolate mixture to the butter and egg batter and beat on low speed until the batter is uniform in appearance.
- Gradually add the flour mixture until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the ground almonds and beat briefly until well incorporated. The batter will be stiff.
- Clean the beaters and the rubber spatula and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using the rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. In two stages, carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks are visible.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake in the pre-heated 350-degree oven until a bamboo skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Place the cake pan on a wire cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.
- Make the Glaze: Clean the glass measuring cup and add ¼ cup marmalade and 2 tablespoons of cherry juice. Stir to combine and microwave for about 30 seconds until the mixture liquifies. Poke holes in the top of the warm cake with a bamboo skewer and pour the cherry-marmalade glaze over the top evenly. Remove the outside rim of the springform pan and carefully transfer the glazed cake to a cake stand or decorative cake platter.
- Make the Icing: Wash and dry the large glass measuring cup and the beaters for the electric mixer. In the measuring cup, combine the 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, ¼ cup butter and 3 tablespoons of cherry juice. Place in the microwave at 30-second intervals until the chocolate and butter are melted and stir until the mixture is combined and smooth. Add the almond extract and gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed with and electric mixer until no powdered sugar is visible and the icing is thick and smooth.
- Immediately pour the chocolate icing over the cake in ribbons from the center of the cake, moving the platter in circles as you do so. The icing should set up quickly. Do not try to spread the icing so that it covers the cake perfectly. Parts of the cake should be visible between the ribbons of icing. Decorate the top of the cake with dark sweet, pitted cherries by pressing the cherries gently in any pattern you choose, into the warm chocolate icing. Alternatively, sprinkle the top of the cake with sugar sprinkles in Christmas colors and surround the bottom of the cake with cherries.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH,
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
