The Other Bennet Sister
Watch Party Guide
The Cake!
I am by no means a cake decorator, but I wanted to try and attempt a smaller, simpler version of this beautiful cake at the start of the show. The flavors I chose were a sweet almond and orange sponge cake with a chocolate custard filling. The recipe I used for the cake has a raspberry jam filling, but I already had the chocolate custard made from my Devil Wears Prada movie night, so I used what I had to save time.
I’ll include both below so you can choose. The chocolate and orange paired very nicely in my opinion. Also, please note that the cake recipe I used was not flavored, so I added orange zest from a whole orange and two teaspoons of almond extract to make it the flavor I wanted.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
To decorate, you’ll need to separate a small portion of your white frosting for piping details on the cake, and then dye the majority of the frosting a light green using food coloring gel.
This is the cake decorating kit I use.
This is the silicon mold I used for the roses and leaves
Raspberry Ices
To make these red ices that are enjoyed at the assemblies, I added the following ingredients into my blender:
- 1 cup of frozen raspberries
- 1 cup of ice
- 1/2 a cup of water
- Honey to sweeten (add to taste)
Blend well. If the mixture is not thick enough, freeze it until it hardens into a scoopable texture.
Excellent Boiled Potatoes
I love this little nod they made to Pride & Prejudice!
To make these boiled potatoes, I cut one russet potato into big pieces, about 2-inch pieces. I boiled them in a half water, half milk mixture to make them extra creamy.
While they are boiling, I made the melted butter mixture, that I poured on top. The butter mixture had 4 tablespoons of melted butter, salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, onion flakes, and parsley. Measure these seasonings with your heart. LOL!
When the potatoes are tender, remove them from the pot and toss them with the melted butter mixture.
Shortbread Cookies
These cookies came out sooooo good! They taste just like those cookies that come in the tin.
This is the recipe I used for the Shortbread Cookies. I didn’t have the cookie cutter they used for the round scalloped shape, so I just made rectangular ones instead.
Minced Beef Pie
I personally love a more Latin American minced meat recipe, so this is the recipe I used for the filling of the pie. I added some frozen peas to make it a bit more “English”.
For the pie dough, I used a premade dough. You can find it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store next to the butter. Premade is just so much easier and tastes great. Let the dough come to room temperature so you can easily unroll it.
Spray or butter the dish so it’s non-stick and fit the pie crust to the circular dish. If the dough breaks, just pinch the crack to put it together again. Fill the pie with the empanada meat you made. Then, fold the dough on top of the meat. It probably won’t close all the way, but that’s okay.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is hard and slightly golden. When your pie is done baking, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Once cooled, use a knife to gently separate the edges of the pie from the pan. It should be easy since you greased the pan. Flip the pan so the pie comes out, and the bottom of the pie now becomes the top of the pie.
I was rushing and cared more about taste than look, but if you want the top of your pie to be a pretty golden brown, brush an egg wash on the top and bake for another 5-7 minutes. The eggwash will make the pastry look golden and shiny.
Roasted Seasoned Nuts
For this dish, the main nut should be almonds, but feel free to add any other nuts to the mix. I chose a sesame stick for the simple reason that I was craving them, and it’s been a while. LOL!
To make the seasoning glaze, add the following ingredients to a small sauce pot:
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt (I always use Lawry’s)
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
Heat the mixture on low heat until the butter is melted. Add your almonds to a baking sheet. I used about 2 cups of almonds. Drizzle half of the butter mixture on the almonds and mix well to make sure all the almonds are evenly coated. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes on low heat of 275 degrees F.
Take the baking sheet out of the oven and add the sesame sticks. I used about 2 cups. Drizzle the rest of the butter mixture and mix the nuts well to make sure they are evenly coated. Bake for another 20-30 minutes.
Regency Punch
This is the Regency Punch Recipe I used. It’s STRONG, so sip responsibly!
Face Polish
For this dish, I decided to save some time and use a store-bought chive and onion cream cheese dip. I served it with cucumber sticks to tie in the facial aspect of the scene.
Gerald the Horse!
I couldn’t forget about Gerald. This is my absolutely favorite scene from the show, so I had to fit it into this watch party some how.
I used Lit’l Smokies Sausages and cooked them in a pan until they crisped up. Then I added about a tablespoon of BBQ sauce and cooked them a few more minutes until the sauce caramelized and coated the sausages.
To make Gerald, like in the show, I used 4 toothpicks for his legs.
