– Cecil Porter of Gemini News Service A British tea party can be organized in any season. In the summertime, the tea party is done mostly outdoors. Due to cold weather, the party is done indoors in the winter. There are a wide variety of different tea to choose from, such as white tea, green tea, black tea, oolong tea, or if you are feeling really adventurous, you can even make kombucha tea. There are many recipes you can try for a vintage British tea party. Here are some of the most delightful ones:
1. Apple Tart
It is an enticing combination of a shortbread crust, a cream-cheese filling, a scattering of sliced almonds, and a few slices of cinnamon-sugared apples. It is deliciously warm from the oven, where the shortbread is nice and crisp, where the slices of apple are warm and fragrant, and the filling is soft and creamy. The most important ingredient here is apple. Therefore, you must take care in deciding the brand of apple. You can also try mixing two or three varieties of apples for a more complex flavor. (Click here for the recipe)
2. Vanilla Cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes are baked in a 12 cup muffin tray and are lined with paper liners. To make this type of cupcake, you need to mix the white cake batter using the “creaming” method. This method includes the mixing of butter, eggs, and milk at room temperature. Cupcakes are one of the most popular bakery items. They are found almost everywhere, from birthday parties, to weddings. Their decorations range from the very simple, to stunning works of art. (Click here for the recipe)
3. Chocolate Sponge Cake
Chocolate sponge cake is different from other sponge cakes, as it doesn’t contain flour. It also contains beaten egg yolks, sugar, and melted chocolate. It has a lovely spiral design. The light and airy texture makes it look like it will just melt in your mouth. I love the rich chocolate flavor of this sponge roll. The good part is that it can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days, although I have never had one last that long. It’s a perfect recipe for an afternoon tea party. (Click here for the recipe)
4. Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin bread is one of my favorite quick breads, as it is easy to make. This moist quick bread is full of pumpkin and its spices. However, what makes it different from other quick bread is the vein of cream-cheese filling through its center. This cream-cheese pairing enhances the sweetness of the pumpkin bread. This is a perfect treat for you and your guests to enjoy whilst drinking a cup of tea. (Click here for the recipe)
5. Cream Scones
Cream scones are a warm and lovely dish, served with clotted cream and jam. They have a light interior and crisp exterior with some flavor of butter. It is best if all the ingredients are cold, to add the liquid to dry all of the ingredients at once, and then to mix all of them together in a quick and light manner. They can also be used to make strawberry shortcake. Just split the scones in half and fill it with lightly sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. (Click here for the recipe)
6. Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate & Raspberries
One of the easiest cookies to make, shortbread cookies are actually two sweet shortbreads, buttery in taste, that are filled with raspberry jam and white chocolate. They look very festive and make a perfect cookie during the Christmas holidays or for Valentine’s Day. Their white coating of powdered sugar and the red raspberry jam pokes through the cut out. When making sandwich cookies, you want all the cookies to be of the same size because if the cookies are of different sizes, they don’t fit together particularly well. (Click here for the recipe)
7. White Sandwich Bread
The ingredients of white sandwich bread include bread flour, a small amount of plain flour, SAF Gold instant yeast, dried milk powder, some kosher salt, and a little water. When the bread first comes out of the oven the crust is slightly crisp. As it cools, the crust becomes softer and the texture becomes flaky. The texture of this bread is soft. It’s so fluffy that you will surely find it more delicious than you think. (Click here for the recipe)
8. Meringue Cookies
They are so light, sweet and crisp that they seem to just melt in your mouth. The outside of the meringue cookies seem nice and crisp, but the inside remains soft and puffy. They are used as a normal dish, but they can also be used as a dessert item by topping with ice cream, whipped cream, or fresh fruit. These cookies include just two ingredients: stiffly beaten egg whites and superfine sugar. (Click here for the recipe) Featured photo credit: English Cream Tea via upload.wikimedia.org
