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Tips and Tricks for the perfect Afternoon Tea

An Afternoon Tea, not to be confused with a High Tea, is an elegant snack taken in the afternoon. Originally consisting of something savoury like sandwiches and something sweet like a cake. In modern times it has become a full blown meal.

The month of May brings with it spring and two bank holidays. A bank holiday weekend in the UK gives us plenty of time to celebrate the classic British way with an Afternoon Tea!

If you are wondering how to create this layered meal at home in a decadent style then look no further! We have compiled a list of all of favourite treats we have included in teas from our years running a tearoom!

The layers of an Afternoon Tea

An Afternoon Tea is all served at once but often on a tiered cake plate.

Typically it includes

• A savoury layer
• A sweet layer
• And a cream tea (scones with jam and cream)

First Layer-Savoury

Whether you are using a cake stand or not the first layer to think about is the savoury layer. If you are sharing the afternoon tea then this gives you scope to create several different sandwich flavours which is one of the best things about Afternoon Tea-all the different tastes!

Sandwich Ideas

Between 2-4 sandwich flavours is a good idea

Classics

• Egg Mayo and Cress
• Cheese-with or without chutney
• Brie and Cranberry or redcurrant or apple jelly
• Coronation (faux) chicken
• (Faux) Chicken and Mayo
• (Faux) Ham and mustard
• (Faux) Beef and horseradish
• Cucumber or Cucumber and cream cheese

Something different

• Roasted red pepper and pesto
• Artichokes and hummus
• Caramelized onion hummus
• Bean or Mushroom pate
• Tempinade
• (Faux) salmon and cucumber
• (Faux) pastrami and cream cheese

Savoury Ideas

Why not include another savoury here? Some ideas we have served and enjoyed include…

• Mini scotch eggs
• Mini sausage rolls
• Cheese and onion rolls
• Bruschetta with goats cheese and red onion or with tomatoes
• Mini Cornish pasties
• Small quiches or slices of quiche
• Savoury tarts
• Arancini

Second Afternoon Tea Layer-Scones

Now is the classic treat-scones. These can be eaten sweet with jam and clotted cream or savoury with cheese and pickle. Cornish Clotted cream is often seen as superior to Devon (and more widely available across the country) and should be served on top of jam.

We recently enjoyed some cherry scones at Barnsdale Gardens which made a delicious alternative.

Third Layer-Cake

Now is the layer that many people look forward to. The cakes and sweets!

Again around 4 small options work well here!

Cake Ideas

• Victoria Sponge
• Earl Grey Sponge
• Coffee or Coffee and Walnut
• Battenburg
• Lemon Drizzle
• Brown sugar caramel cake
• Biscoff cake
• Cupcakes or butterfly cakes
• Fondant Fancies

Other Sweets

• Whoopie pies
• Jam tarts
• Bakewell tarts
• Short Bread
• Fridge Cake or Tiffin (a royal favourite)
• Meringues
• Macarons
• Macaroons
• Madeleines
• Iced biscuits
• Strawberries and cream
• Profiteroles
• Mini Cheesecakes
• Mini Cookies or Doughnuts

Fourth Layer of Afternoon Tea-Whimsical treats

If you are lucky enough to have a 4 tier cake this is often a very small space perfect for a mini sweet treat like a flaked chocolate truffle or other homemade (or Marks and Spencer bought) chocolate, after dinner mint or even a macaron!

What to drink with Afternoon Tea

Finally don’t forget the tea! Or coffee, water, or bubbles! Pick a drink that takes time to make and enjoy and use this time to really slow down, drink, eat and celebrate soaking in every moment!

Drink options

A teapot of

• Earl Grey
• Breakfast Tea
• Green Tea
• Camomile
• Or other herbal teas

Or if tea isn’t your thing…

• Elderflower Presse
• Rose Lemonade
• Sicilian Lemonade
• Champagne
• Processco
• Coffee (hot or iced)

The possibilities are limitless!

Key things not to forget for an Afternoon Tea

To make the event, after all your hard work, extra special don’t forget to consider these factors too.

The tea theme.

Are you celebrating something in particular? Or just spring? Afternoon Tea lends itself to a range of events like Mothers Day, Easter and so much more.

You can even do a themed Afternoon Tea to an era (1920 maybe) a film (Downton Abbey has a 3rd film coming soonish) or even another cuisine (such as Indian with mini bhajis, dips etc).

Your location.

Where will you eat the tea? At a table? Set prettily. Or a picnic outside?

The finishing touches.

The little plates needed for guests. How will you serve it? On tiered plates or separate plates? Tablescaping touches like napkins, china cups, teacups, cake forks and more are all important and also can be easily adapted to your teas theme.

And don’t forget to share what you make below!