I am remarkably fond of tea. No, I'm not just talking about the tasty drink made from dried leaves...I'm referring to the practice of serving it with a meal mid afternoon.
I first experienced afternoon tea while traveling with my family. I don't remember the details, but my father is fond of telling the story of how quickly I took to the concept. A practical meal in the middle of the day?! what a wonderful idea to my stomach-oriented mind.
When my family visited some very dear friends outside of Bath, England while I was a teenager, I got to experience tea from a different point of view. Tea was a snack after school because dinner would not be until 8PM or perhaps later. It could be sandwiches, leftovers from the night before...but I've always loved high tea. High tea is different from afternoon tea in the hours in which it is served, though in America high tea is used to describe any tea meal served between 3 and 6PM. In Britain the two are very different and refer to both the time of day the meal is served and the components used in the meal itself. For more information, read about
tea on wikipedia.
Recently I started trying to make high tea once a week. I started with a very basic menu - scones with jam and devon cream; egg and olive tea sandwiches; and chocolate truffles. I was lazy, and purchased the truffles from the Whole Foods Market - they are, however, completely organic and incredibly tasty.
The meal turned out perfectly. Here are all the recipes you'll need to make your own high tea.
Cream SconesIngredients- 2 c unbleached organic flour
- 1/4 c turbinado sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 c cold unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 c cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Blend sugar in food processor until finely ground. Add flour, baking powder and salt, pulse to combine.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
- In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Blend until just combined, dough will be slightly crumbly. Do not over mix.
- Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Then, using a round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds.
- Place the rounds on a cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.
- Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favorite jam.
Ghetto-style Devon CreamI've named this recipe thus because it's not authentic in any way, but it sure does taste dead on to it's namesake. This is like a cross between cream cheese and sweet butter. It's ultra thick and rich, and super tasty with jam.
Ingredients- 1 c heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz neufchatel cheese (my favorite personally, but marscapone is also a good substitute)
- 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar)
Directions- Put all ingredients in a bowl and whip until thick. I use a hand blender for this, though a kitchenaid mixer with a whisk attachment would work as well.
No one ever said that was the hard part...
Egg and Olive Tea SandwichesWith these you can really do anything you want as filling. I chose egg and olive because it's a personal favorite of my roommates, as well as an old family recipe passed down to me from my late paternal grandmother. The filling can be made a day in advance, though I tend to prefer making it the day of and simply prepping my eggs and olives in advance.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sandwich bread (your choice, I like to use sourdough or another white bread)
- 1 hardboiled egg per person (if you're not sure, you can always make extra and just have them as a snack)
- 1/4 - 1/2 c mayonnaise
- 1 - 1 1/2 c green olives
- 1/4 tsp fresh dill (optional)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
- Dice hardboiled eggs into small cubes. (can be done in advance)
- Slice olives thin and combine with diced egg.
- Add mayonnaise, dill, salt and pepper and fold carefully, eggs are fragile.
- Slice crusts from sandwich bread then slice diagonally across the bread (making small triangles). Fill with egg and olive mixture and serve!
It may seem like a lot of work...and it is...but much of it can be done in advance, including cutting the bread, eggs and olives. I use a pre-made mayonnaise called Lemonnaise that I get from the Whole Foods Market. It's incredibly tasty and is nothing like the disgusting stuff you find in some grocery stores. If you don't like eggs and olives, you can do simple ham and cheese with a dollop of mustard between the meat and cheese to keep your bread from going soggy...or any variation therein that you want to try.
