English Afternoon Tea Sandwiches Video

Recipe Video presented by Tara de la Motte

The Origins of Afternoon Tea: One Lump or Two?

Afternoon tea is a civilised affair, with all the sophistication of smart entertaining in a relaxed setting: a meal of informal elegance, equally at home in the sitting room or the garden. Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is often credited with inventing the tradition in the early 1840s. Dinner was not served until 8.30 or 9pm, later still in summer, and the Duchess would become hungry in the long afternoon. She ordered a small meal of bread, butter and other niceties, such as cakes, tarts and biscuits, to be brought secretly to her boudoir. When she was discovered she was not ridiculed; instead the habit caught on, and a small meal of niceties, perhaps with tea, became popular and eventually known as "afternoon tea". Of course, a tradition as well known as this cannot be credited to one woman alone; like many customs, it evolved over time.

How to Serve an Afternoon Tea

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple not only knits and solves crimes; she also serves an exemplary traditional afternoon tea. Here is how to do the same. Choose the prettiest, most delicate china tea service you own, and make sure the cutlery is gleaming. Lay the table with a snowy white lace or linen tablecloth and matching napkins. Use tea leaves rather than teabags if possible, and provide a tea strainer. Set out the essentials: as well as milk and sugar, offer a small dish of thinly sliced lemon. Provide two teapots, one containing the tea and the other filled with hot water. Serve dainty finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and homemade jam, delicate golden biscuits, slices of buttery, freshly baked cake and other fancies such as meringues and fruit-filled tartlets. Use a three-tiered cake stand: sandwiches on the bottom tier, freshly baked scones in the middle and a selection of fruitcake and fairy or cream cakes on top. Put the jam, honey, clotted cream and butter into small individual pots or dishes. Together, these create the quintessential English teatime.

A Classic Selection of Afternoon Tea Sandwiches

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English Afternoon Tea Sandwich Recipes

Ingredients

Tara's Egg Mayonnaise & Cress Sandwich Ingredients:

• White Bread
• Butter
• Egg
• Mayonnaise
• Mustard
• Cress
• White Pepper

Directions

• Mash the hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, a little mustard, salt and white pepper.
• Butter the white bread, spread the egg mayonnaise evenly and sprinkle over the cress.
• Top with a second slice, remove the crusts and cut into finger sandwiches.

Ingredients

Tara's Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Sandwich Ingredients:

• Brown Bread
• Butter
• Smoked Salmon
• Cream Cheese
• Chives
• Lemon
• Black Pepper

Method

• Mix the cream cheese with finely chopped chives and black pepper.
• Butter the brown bread, spread with the cream cheese mixture and lay smoked salmon slices on top with a squeeze of lemon.
• Top with a second slice, remove the crusts and cut into finger sandwiches.

Ingredients

Tara's Cucumber Sandwich Ingredients:

• White Bread
• Butter
• Cucumber
• White Vinegar
• Black Pepper
• Salt

Directions

• Peel and thinly slice the cucumber, sprinkle with white vinegar, salt and pepper, leave for half an hour, then drain.
• Butter the white bread and lay two layers of cucumber on top.
• Top with a second slice, remove the crusts and cut into finger sandwiches.