Afternoon Tea!

A cup of tea is quintessentially British... and nothing goes better with a cup of tea than Afternoon Tea! But to go out to a quirky little cafe or a posh restaurant for afternoon tea can be pricey especially if there is a large group. Afternoon tea is perfect for a group of friends to have a catch up in a most lady-like fashion. Homemade afternoon tea is the perfect alternative, you can tailor make your own afternoon tea to suit the size, tastes or occasion of the party.

Sandwiches

First of all start simple with the savoury. No afternoon tea is complete without a selection of dainty finger sandwiches. The sandwiches are easy to make but look lovely once all the crusts are trimmed off. For each person attending use 2 -3 slices of bread. Cut the crusts off the bread and each slice into three for lovely bitesize sandwiches.
Next whip up a selection of delightful fillings a few of my personal favourites include:

• Egg & Cress
• Ham Salad (with salad cream of course).
• Tuna & Sweetcorn/Cucumber
• Coronation Chicken
• Smoked Salmon (with cream cheese)
• Pork, stuffing & apple sauce
• Gammon & apple sauce
• Chicken & Bacon 

Savoury Dips

As women tend to so often be 'on a diet' Vegetable sticks and dips are a great addition to the traditional afternoon tea. Carrot sticks & peppers are tasty dipped into sour cream & chives & homemade salsa. See recipe:

Jammie Dodgers

To make your own jammie dodgers, first start off with a basic shortbread biscuit recipe.

For 16 biscuits combine 

• 4oz unsalted softened butter
• 7oz caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 8oz plain flour

Cream the butter and sugar together and then add the egg and vanilla and flour. Roll the dough to about 5mm thick and then leave to chill on a baking tray for 10-15mins.

Use a cutter to cut 32 rounds and take a heart out of the centre of half of them.

Cook at 180 degrees for 6 minutes, sprinkle the tops with sugar and then return them to the oven for a further 5-7 minutes. You do not want them to catch colour.

Pinwheels 

Pinwheels can also be made with the same basic dough. Flavour half the dough with cocoa powder. Once rolled chill both doughs and layer upon each other. Roll them up into sausage and cut into pinwheels. Ensure you get a tight roll for a better looking biscuit with no cracks. Chill again before cooking for 12 mins.

Other items make great additions to afternoon tea such as fruity flapjack, homemade jaffa cakes & chocolate eclairs.

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