Rainbow Tea Party with Ellery Adams

It’s always a good day for tea and a chat when Ellery Adams stops by! Today I’m sharing my review of her latest Book Retreat Mystery, MURDER IN THE STORYBOOK COTTAGE, and Ellery’s sharing her ideas for a Rainbow Tea Party.

I’ve read all the books in the series, and I always think the last one was my favorite until I read the next one! This is book 6 in the series, and probably my favorite so far. I always love visiting Storyton Hall and catching up with these wonderful characters. Jane Steward, the owner of Storyton Hall, is hosting a children’s book writers conference at her book-themed retreat.

When she takes her friends to see the fairy tale village they find Little Red Riding Hood dead. They don’t know who she is, where she came from, and most importantly, why someone would want to kill her.

This story is entertaining and will pull you in. A must-read for cozy mystery lovers.

Thanks for sharing this story with me Ellery, and for sharing your Rainbow Tea Party ideas with my readers!

A Rainbow Tea Service at Storyton Hall

Ellery Adams

At Storyton Hall, the fictional setting of the Book Retreat mysteries, tea is served every afternoon in the Agatha Christie Tearoom. Hotel guests line up in the elegant lobby, eager to sample the sumptuous display of mouthwatering treats.

In Murder in the Storybook Cottage, a group of children’s book author and illustrators has convened at Storyton Hall, and Mrs. Hubbard, the resident head cook, is determined to impress the celebrity guests. Knowing that children’s picture books are colorful, whimsical, and charming, Mrs. Hubbard lays a spread that delights the eye as well as the palate.

This tea menu is perfect for even the youngest readers and food lovers. While the adults enjoy cups of hot tea, the kids can sip chilled drinks made of equal parts iced tea and lemonade. The youngest guests should still have their own tea sets, though. After all, it’s more fun to be served from a teapot and drink out of pretty teacups.

Rainbow Tea Service Menu

Rainbow Deviled Eggs

Cheese Sandwiches on Rainbow Toast

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

Rainbow Jell-O Squares

Rainbow Layer Cake

Iced Lemonade Tea

Earl Grey (Hot)

White Tea (Hot)

Mrs. Hubbard has some tips on how to pull off this menu even if you haven’t been preparing over-the-top tea spreads for guests at a luxury resort catering to book lovers.

For the rainbow devilled eggs, you can use an Easter egg dye kit to color your hard-boiled eggs. If you prefer to use food coloring, add ½ cup boiling water, one teaspoon vinegar, and about 15 drops of food coloring to a glass cup or bowl. Submerge each egg for 5-10 minutes. When desired shade has been achieved, remove with a slotted spoon.

Ellery Adams - Rainbow Tea

The rainbow toast is so easy that the kids can help too. Simply fill five small bowls with milk and add food coloring to each bowl. Using a clean paintbrush, paint pieces of white bread the following colors: purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Next, pop the bread in the toaster. You can add whatever fillings you want, or even add the cheese before you toast the bread to make a yummy rainbow grilled cheese sandwich. Note: the paint works best with white bread.

There are several variations of the rainbow Jell-O squares, and no matter how you make them, they will take time. Each color layer must set before you can add the next cream layer, so there’s really no way of avoiding this. However, depending on which type of cream layer you choose, you can shorten your total prep time. Your options for the cream layer include sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, and sour cream methods. Mrs. Hubbard opts for the sweetened condensed milk method. If you’d like to follow an online recipe, click here.

Ellery Adams - Rainbow Tea

Let’s talk about that rainbow layer cake next. You don’t have to be Mrs. Hubbard to look like a cake baking pro. The Wilton Easy Layers Cake Pan Set produces picture-perfect rainbow cakes, even from a boxed mix. For more info, click here.

Too add rainbow sprinkles to the outside of your cake, here’s a great tip. When your cake has been baked and frosted, let it chill for an hour. In the meantime, line a baking tray with parchment paper. Pour rainbow sprinkles onto the parchment paper. When the cake is sufficiently chilled, turn it on its side and roll it in the sprinkles. When the sides are completely covered, hold it in one hand over the tray and drizzle sprinkles over the top. Viola! Every inch is sprinkle-covered.

Ellery Adams - Rainbow Tea

Finally, Mrs. Hubbard would want to remind you to savor the moments when you and your loved ones have gathered around a table to share food and stories. Like you, the characters in the Book Retreat Mysteries believe in the power of stories, family, friendship, and food. These fine folks would like to cordially invite you to spend a few days in a fairy-tale setting. Pick up a copy of Murder in a Storybook Cottage and get lost in the wonder and beauty of Storyton Hall.

But remember. There’s a villain in every story. And in this storybook world, a killer is out to ruin everyone’s happily ever after.

Ellery Adams

Bio

New York Times bestseller author, Ellery Adams, has written over thirty novels and can’t imagine spending a day away from the keyboard. Ms. Adams, a Native New Yorker, has had a lifelong love affair with stories, food, rescue animals, and large bodies of water. When not working on her next novel, she bakes, gardens, spoils her three cats, and wastes far too much time on Pinterest. She lives with her husband and two children (aka the Trolls) in central North Carolina