afternoon tea recipe

Chetna Makan&#8217;s combines the flavours of pistachio, cardamom and white chocolate to make the lightest of cakes that&#8217;s perfect served for afternoon tea.

Chetna Makan&#8217;s pistachio, cardamom and white chocolate cake

unsalted butter, softened,

caster sugar

eggs

self-raising flour

tsp baking powder

tsp cardamom seeds, crushed to a powder in a pestle and mortar

milk

shelled, unsalted pistachios,

white chocolate chips

For the icing

white chocolate,

unsalted butter, softened

vanilla extract

You’ll also need…

x 20cm round cake tins

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease the tins, then line with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each one is incorporated before adding the next. Add the flour, baking powder, cardamom and milk, then whisk for 1 minute. Fold in the 50g pistachios and white chocolate chips, then fill the tins with the batter. Bake for 30 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins.

For the icing, put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of just steaming water until melted, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Set aside to cool slightly. Cream the butter with an electric mixer, then beat in the melted chocolate and vanilla until light and creamy.

Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spread half the icing on 1 sponge, top with the second, then spread the rest of the icing on top. Sprinkle with the remaining pistachios, then leave for 20 minutes before slicing.

Take afternoon tea to the next level with Rebecca Sullivan&#8217;s lemon scones – they&#8217;re topped with lemon-soaked sugar cubes, which melt to form a zingy, chewy crust. A fab choice for afternoon tea or Mother&#8217;s Day. Or, for lemon scones topped with a boozy lemon cream, make these limoncello and blueberry scones.

Lemon sugar cube scones

self-raising flour,

salt

unsalted butter

buttermilk

lemon

sugar cubes

Milk

Heat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan/gas 8 and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingers until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.

Pour in most of the buttermilk and mix with a butter knife. Add the lemon zest and remaining buttermilk, then form the dough into a ball using your hands.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it a few times. Pat or roll out the dough to a 2cm thickness, then stamp out 3-4cm rounds with a scone/cookie cutter (or use the top of a round drinking glass). Bring the scraps together, then re-pat/roll and stamp again. You should have about 20 small scones.

Place the scones close together on the prepared baking sheet. Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl, then drop in the sugar cubes. Turn them in the juice, then remove to a plate (discard the juice). Push one lemon sugar cube into the centre of each scone. Brush the tops with a little milk, then bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and golden. The scones are best served on the day they’re made, with lashings of butter or jam and cream.

Refresh the fruit and biscuits afternoon tea situation with this delicious treat of almond biscuits with sweetened orange.

Caramel oranges with almond biscuits

oranges

(110 grams) caster sugar

(250 milliliters) orange juice

cinnamon quills

(60 milliliters) brandy

(320 grams) blanched almonds

plain flour

eggwhites

(330 grams) caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle

tsp vanilla extract

Flaked almonds, to decorate

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Adding the savoury flavour of pumpkin and tangy zest of orange to this dessert makes for a winning combination.

Pumpkin, orange and apricot cake

butternut pumpkin,

(150 grams) plain flour, sifted

(150 grams) self-raising flour, sifted

(275 grams) caster sugar

Turkish dried apricots, finely chopped

Flaked almonds, to scatter

Icing sugar, warm honey and Greek-style yoghurt, to serve

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Whisk up a batch of classic meringues, then get creative with citrus swirl, Turkish delight and chocolate varieties

Lightest ever meringues

Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff – the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres, just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar.

Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high – like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.

Remove from the oven – they should peel easily away from the parchment – and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.

To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. While the chocolate sets, whip 300ml double cream. Assemble the meringues in pairs and sandwich their chocolate bases together with a good spoonful of cream. Delicious served with ice cream, raspberry coulis or fresh berries.

This age-old recipe from Cornwall uses the delicate spice saffron to flavour the fruit bread. Serve for dessert or along with a cup of tea.

Cornish saffron loaf

butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

saffron strands

tbsp Cornish clotted cream

strong white bread

¼ tsp salt

sachet fast-action dried yeast

golden caster sugar

mixed spice

sultanas

raisins

tbsp clear honey

Grease a long, thin 500g loaf tin with butter and set aside. Heat the milk in a small pan over a low heat until just below simmering point. Stir in the saffron strands and leave to infuse for about 15 minutes off the heat.

Add the cream to the milk and saffron in the pan and return to a low heat. Warm (but don’t boil) for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, sugar and mixed spice. Make a well in the centre and add the warm milk mixture. Mix well to make a soft dough, adding extra milk if needed.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 15 minutes, gradually adding the butter and dried fruit as you go, until the dough is soft and elastic. Pop into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in a warm place for about 1 hour or until at least doubled in size.

Punch the dough in the bowl to ‘knock back’, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Split the dough into 3 even pieces and roll out into long ’sausages’, just a little longer than the tin. Plait the dough together and tuck the ends under as you lift it into the tin. Cover with some lightly greased cling film and leave in a warm place for at least 1½ hours or until doubled in size again.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Bake the loaf for 25 minutes, until risen and golden. Remove from the oven and brush with the honey. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into thick slices and spread with more clotted cream or butter to serve, if you like.

Hot toffee sauce makes sticky, warm banana cake even more of a treat

Upside-down banana cake with maple-caramel sauce

softened butter

maple syrup

bananas and 1 very overripe banana

dark brown soft sugar

vanilla paste

pecan

tsp bicarbonate of soda

cinnamon

pot full-fat Greek yogurt

whole pecan

salted butter

milliliters double cream

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. For the cake, pour in half the syrup, swirling to coat the bottom. Peel and halve the 3 ripe bananas lengthways and lay, cut-side down, in the tin.

Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and overripe banana with an electric whisk. Tip the flour and pecans into a food processor and pulse until finely ground together. Stir into the butter mixture with the bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon, then stir in the yogurt. Carefully spoon into the tin without dislodging the bananas. Bake the cake for 45 mins-1 hr until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with only moist crumbs.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Toast the pecans for 1-2 mins in a pan, add the remaining ingredients and cook until the butter has melted. Then bubble for 5 mins until it has thickened a little.

When the cake is cooked, poke it all over with the skewer – inserting it about halfway into the cake each time. Pour over the remaining maple syrup and allow it to soak in for a few mins, then turn the cake out of the tin, upside-down, onto a serving plate. Reheat the sauce, and serve with Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

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Top 7 afternoon tea recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed afternoon tea recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Chetna Makan&#8217;s pistachio, car...

Lemon sugar cube scones

Caramel oranges with almond biscuit...

Pumpkin, orange and apricot cake

Lightest ever meringues

Cornish saffron loaf

Upside-down banana cake with maple-...

The most viewed afternoon tea recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Chetna Makan’s pistachio, car...