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Afternoon tea recipes

Afternoon tea

Madeleines with strawberry fizz

20 minutes

Afternoon tea

Basic macarons

20 minutes

Afternoon tea

Earl Grey tea and passion fruit floats with vegetable glass rolls and lime and green chilli dip

Afternoon tea

Peach bellinis

Afternoon tea

Peach tarte tatin

20 minutes

Afternoon tea

Earl Grey tea bread with French blue chocolate ganache

Afternoon tea

Soft meringue roulade with perfumed Turkish rose yoghurt and dates

20 minutes

Afternoon tea

Masala chai tea

5 minutes

Afternoon tea

Rolled salmon Gravlax sandwich with pickled ginger and cucumber

Afternoon tea

Coconut chai tea

5 minutes

Afternoon tea

Anchovy and cucumber rainbow sandwiches with lavender creme fraiche and sugar-and-salt roasted sage

Afternoon tea

Home-baked scones

10 to 15 minutes

Home-baked scones

By Abigail Donnelly

Serves 12

Difficulty Easy

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cooking Time 10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

560 g cake flour
30 ml baking powder
5 ml salt
250 g butter, softened
3 free-range eggs
200 ml buttermilk

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

Rub in the butter using your fingertips (do not let the butter become warm or you will end up with hard, flat scones), until the mixture resembles the texture of coarse crumbs.

Beat together the eggs and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture.

Using a butter knife, gently cut in the liquid to form a soft dough.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently pat to a thickness of 2cm.

Cut out rounds using a cookie-cutter. Place the scones on a greased baking tray. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until puffed up and golden.

Cook’s note: Home-baked scones are best eaten split open while still warm, with butter, raspberry jam and cream.

Abi's top tips for making the ultimate scones:

Brush the tops of the scones with milk before baking them for an extra golden colour.
Pop the tray of uncooked scones into the fridge for 15 minutes before baking – this will help them rise once the heat hits them.
Use yoghurt or sour cream instead of buttermilk. To make your own buttermilk, add 2t lemon juice or vinegar to 200 ml (4/5cup) milk.
For a sweeter scone, add 4 T caster sugar to the flour.
Grate the butter if it’s hard.
Make sure your cookie-cutter is sharp as this will help the scones rise. To keep your cookie-cutter sharp, run a steel over the base.
If you prefer scones with a softer crust, pack them close together.

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Scones with a twist

For variation to your scones, try adding the following:

a cup or two of grated mature Cheddar
a handful of chopped dates, dried cranberries or raisins
a cup of chopped almonds
a little orange or lemon zest
a cup of chopped, dark chocolate
chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives
substitute the cake flour with half wholewheat flour and bran

Or, browse more scone recipes here.

Chicken-and-radish stew

Coconut and ginger sweet potato soup

Tuna-and-fennel pasta

Madeleines with strawberry fizz

Basic macarons

Earl Grey tea and passion fruit floats with vegetable glass rolls and lime and green chilli dip

Peach bellinis

Peach tarte tatin

Earl Grey tea bread with French blue chocolate ganache

Soft meringue roulade with perfumed Turkish rose yoghurt and dates

Masala chai tea

Rolled salmon Gravlax sandwich with pickled ginger and cucumber

Coconut chai tea

Anchovy and cucumber rainbow sandwiches with lavender creme fraiche and sugar-and-salt roasted sage

Home-baked scones

Home-baked scones

Ingredients

Method

Abi's top tips for making the ultimate scones:

Scones with a twist