I love Afternoon Tea and decided to recreate a breakfast themed one for my mum on Mother’s Day. (My sister and I were too busy trying to get it all prepared on time and eaten before it got cold, hence the reason for less close up shots of the food and the preparation).
What did the Afternoon Tea consist of?
Scones:
Even the simplest of afternoon teas need some scones right?
I used the BBC Mary Berry recipe, however split the dough in half so I could make some raisin and cherry scones. I did attempt to make flower and heart-shaped scones (you can just about make out the shape in the photo below). They were amazing and I would recommend the recipe. Soft, warm, fluffy and beautifully textured, just how a scone should be. Served with clotted cream and strawberry jam (yes the debate was there on the table – which goes first).
Sweet Tier:
Apple Roses: I have made these in the past and loved them. This time around, instead of puff pastry I used filo pastry (only cause I bought the wrong one). You have to be quick with the filo pastry because it dries out quickly. I used milk as the binding agent. They apple roses turned out beautiful and crisp.
Carrot Cake: A family recipe that works all the time and is so delicious. I have yet to find a carrot cake that is as good as this one.
Ingredients: 2 cups grated carrot, 1.5 cups plain flour, 1 cup oil (sunflower or vegetable), 0.5 cup chopped dried fruit, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoon cinnamon powder, 0.5 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate powder.
Method: Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a prepared loaf tin. Cook for at least 60 minutes on 160 degrees.
Chocolate fudge cake: A moist cake layered with a dreamy chocolate sauce and topped with some flakes pistachio and tiny edible roses. I made a whole cake and cut out a round piece for the afternoon tea display.
Ingredients: 5oz self-raising flour, 1oz Bournville cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 6oz Stork margarine, 6oz caster sugar, 1 tablespoon milk & 3 eggs
Method: Beat sugar and eggs first, then sift in dry ingredients to this mixture. Add in the milk and eggs and beat. Bake at 180 degrees for 35 minutes at least, or until cooked.
Icing: In a heavy based pan heat melt 50g of dark chocolate and 25g of butter. Stir all the time then add in 125g sieved icing sugar and 45ml milk until the icing is smooth and shiny. Layer the cake with the same icing. Decorate the cake with chopped pistachios and rose petals.
Granola: I had some home-made granola topped with yogurt and berries on display. Home made granola is a favourite of mine.
Savoury Tier:
Avocado and Scrambed Egg on the part baked sundried tomato ciabatta from Waitrose. For the meat eaters I added some crispy bacon on top. Smashed avocado is a favourite for many households. I use the chipotle Tabasco sauce with a bit of salt and pepper in my avocado for that perfect taste.
Smoked Salmon Rolls: Marks and Spencer’s do amazing soft tiny rolls. Just spread some of their light garlic cream cheese spread and add some sliced salmon in them.
Spinach, Mushroom & Pine nut in beetroot wraps (Warburtons ). Cook the mushrooms in a bit of oil and season with some salt and pepper. Let them cool down. Spread a thin layer of light garlic cream cheese on the wrap and then add the spinach, mushroom and pine nuts before rolling the wrap and cutting it. So delicious
Sausage rolls: For the vegetarian option I used Heck Foods Beetroot sausages on buttered M&S soft tiny rolls. The Heck sausages have a lovely flavour and don’t really need anything to go with them. The meat eaters had normal fried chipolates with some HP sauce.
All this was served with some karak masala chai.
Garnished with a couple of flowers and some heart shaped chocolates, this was quite a nice fancy home made afternoon tea. It was a nice little treat for my parents especially my Mum on lovely mothering Sunday.
The stand was from Primark at £7. It is supposed to be a shelf but I thought works perfectly to display food.
bejalgosai says
What a lovely idea and gesture for Mother’s Day! Loving the look of everything in the cake stand and love how you served it with The Indian twist of Karak Chai! x
Melanie varey says
What a fantastic display of foods and colours! Great ideas here – I could happily tuck in to all of them.
thetravelsofmrsb says
This is such a beautiful afternoon! Cant believe you made all the elements, it all looks delicious!
dear bear and beany says
What a lovely idea and that stand is a great idea!
typicalmummy says
Such a yummy post! I’ll defin be trying some of these out! And that stand (shelf!) looks fabulous, especially for only £7!
mymodelmummy says
Such a lovely idea and a good treat for breakfast. I love the apple rose roses so thank you for sharing the recipe on your post.
Have a lovely Easter
MELANIE EDJOURIAN says
That’s so sweet of you. I’m sure your mum loved it. I do love afternoon tea with the range of foods 🙂
Newcastle FamilyLife says
What a lovely idea as a treat for you Mum, It all looks and sounds yummy x
Kira says
What a lovely idea! And how delicious does it all look! 🙂
forkwardthinkingfoodinista says
Oh wow how fab does this look. What a lovely idea and a nice gesture for sure xx
ChelseaMamma says
Oh my, that looks amazing, what a treat
Rowena says
This sounds and looks incredible. What an amazing spread!
What Mum Loves says
Neha, it all looks amazing. I admire the hard work you put into preparing the food. It must be one of the most colourful and beautifully presented Afternoon Tea setups I have seen x