This neat 100ml coffee cup bears Susie Cooper's navy blue asterisk design. I found a set of six cups and saucers in a hoard of old china when clearing an elderly relative's flat. I think they were designed in the early 1940's.
Susie Cooper was a ceramics designer in the Stoke on Trent potteries from the 1920's through to the 1980's - seven decades. She was known as an icon of design and her work has endured over the years to become some of the most sought after ware in the modern era. She died at her home on the Isle of Man in 1995.
Cooper, along with Clarice Cliff and Rachel Rhead were noted for the Art Deco designs they used to decorate everyday tableware. The strong geometric shapes and vivid colours made their work distinctive through the 1920's and 30's.
During and after the second world war Cooper deployed resourcefulness in her designs due to the shortage of materials available for ceramics.
Much of her work also showed her talent for fine drawing.
When a recipe for a chocolate and almond mousse arrived in my inbox from the fabulous Green Kitchen duo. I thought long and hard about whether I dared cook this lovely pudding in my precious coffee cups.
Then I reasoned "if the cups are made to hold steaming hot coffee they will withstand half an hour of gentle poaching."
The cups survived the oven and the puddings looked and tasted beautiful. Creamy almond milk, crushed almond butter, a dash of sea salt, vanilla - some maple syrup and dark, dark chocolate set with organic egg yolks made this a tantalizing pudding.
I scurried around the garden to see if I could find jewels to crown my puddings. To my delight I spotted a droop of deep red, alpine strawberries - the last of the year but just the right size for this Lilliputian treat.
PS...almond milk can be bought in cartons in most supermarkets. Almond butter can be bought in health food shops or just roast almonds and grind in a food processor.
Almond & Chocolate Pots
Makes 6 small cups
Ingredients
- 240ml unsweetened almond milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 2 tbsp almond butter (Meridian is lovely!)
- 2 organic egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 100g organic fair-trade dark chocolate (minimum 60%), coarsely chopped
Method
Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C. In a small saucepan, gently heat almond milk, vanilla bean (or vanilla essence) and almond butter. Stir a few times to make sure the almond butter dissolves. Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, maple syrup and sea salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Remove the milk from the heat and remove the vanilla bean, if using, and store in a canister to flavour icing sugar. Add dark chocolate pieces and stir to make sure it melts into the milk. Slowly pour the molten chocolate mixture over the eggs while constantly whisking. This is important to prevent the eggs from coagulating. Place 6 six vintage cups inside a deep baking pan and fill the pan up with hot water. Pour the chocolate and almond custard into the cups and carefully place the baking pan on a rack inside the oven. Bake until the center is almost set, about 30 minutes (custards will firm as they cool). Let cool completely and then refrigerate for about an hour before serving. I found the last of this year’s alpine strawberries to crown my pots. A spoonful of Greek yogurt would be lovely too.
