Traditional Afternoon Tea Recipe

Prepare cucumber

Grate the peeled, seeded cucumber into a fine bowl. Place grated cucumber in a sieve, press or squeeze gently to remove excess moisture (discard liquid).

Mix cream cheese filling

In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Fold in drained grated cucumber, dill, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper until evenly combined and spreadable.

Assemble sandwiches: Spread about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the cucumber cream cheese onto each bread slice. Top with another slice to make sandwiches, or cut into fingers/triangles. Chill briefly (10–15 minutes) before serving to set.

Make chicken salad

Combine shredded chicken, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, diced celery, minced shallot, chopped sultanas, parsley, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Prepare crostini

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Brush baguette slices lightly with olive oil on both sides, place on a baking sheet and toast 6–8 minutes until golden and crisp, turning once. Cool slightly.

Top each crostini with a heaping teaspoon of chicken salad. Garnish with a few tiny parsley leaves. Serve immediately so crostini remain crisp.

Make caper gremolata

In a small bowl, combine chopped capers, parsley, minced garlic, olive oil and lemon zest. Mix well; set aside.

Assemble pinwheels

Lay out tortillas or lavash. Spread about 1 tablespoon of softened cream cheese over each piece leaving a 1/2-inch border. Evenly arrange smoked salmon slices over the cheese, leaving a small strip at the far edge. Drizzle a scant 1/4 tsp of caper gremolata across the salmon. Roll tightly into a log and wrap in plastic. Chill for 20–30 minutes to firm.

Unwrap and slice each log into 8 pinwheels. Top each pinwheel with a small dot of flying fish roe (about 1/4 tsp). Arrange on a platter and refrigerate until serving.

Make Yorkshire batter

Whisk together flour, milk, eggs and salt until smooth. Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (can rest up to 2 hours).

Bake puddings

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Put 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil into each well of a 12-cup muffin tin and place tin in the oven until oil is smoking hot, about 5 minutes. Pour batter evenly into hot wells, filling each about halfway. Bake 18–22 minutes without opening oven until puffed and deep golden brown. Remove to a rack.

Slice or fold warm Yorkshire puddings and fill each with a thin slice of prime rib and about 1 teaspoon of prepared horseradish. Season with a grind of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Cook eggs

Place eggs in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a gentle boil, then simmer 9 minutes for fully set yolks. Transfer to an ice bath for 5 minutes. Peel and chop.

Mix egg salad

In a bowl, combine chopped eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, chives, capers (if using), salt and pepper. Stir gently to desired creaminess.

Assemble sandwiches: Spread egg salad onto bread slices (about 2–3 tablespoons per slice), top with another slice and cut into small tea sandwich shapes. Chill briefly before serving.

Make basic scone dough

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in cold cubed butter with a pastry cutter or fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces.

Divide for variations

Whisk cream and egg together. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the mixture to brush scones. For plain/cream-of-Earl: stir 1.25 cups of the cream-egg mixture into half the flour mixture, fold just until combined. For white chocolate & lavender: fold white chocolate chips and crushed lavender into the other half and add remaining cream mixture. Do not overmix; dough should be shaggy and slightly sticky.

Shape and bake

Turn each dough portion onto a lightly floured surface, gently pat to 1-inch thickness. Cut into rounds (about 8–10 scones total depending on size). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush tops with reserved cream-egg wash. Bake 12–16 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a rack.

Prepare Westholme Cream of Earl variation

For the Earl Grey scones, gently fold 2 tsp of finely ground Earl Grey leaves into 1 portion of dough before shaping so tea flavor is evenly distributed.

Serve scones warm or at room temperature with house-made seasonal berry jam and devon-style clotted cream (about 2 tablespoons jam and 2 tablespoons cream per scone). Offer butter if desired.

If using store-bought pastries, warm Belgian chocolate fondants briefly in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 6–8 minutes until the exterior is set and the centers are molten. Keep macarons and cheesecakes chilled until just before serving.

For vanilla custard tarts: top each mini tart with a single sliced strawberry and a small dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. For blueberry cheesecakes and macarons, plate attractively on a tiered tray or individual dessert plates.

Arrange savouries (sandwiches, crostini, pinwheels, Yorkshire puddings) on a tiered stand or platters with microgreens and lemon wedges as accents. Place scones with jam and cream on the middle tier and pastries on the top tier.

Offer a selection of organic teas/tisanes. For black teas, steep 3–5 minutes; for green teas 2–3 minutes; for tisanes 5–7 minutes depending on variety. Serve tea in warmed teapots with milk, lemon slices and sugar available.

Keep refrigerated items chilled until the last moment and serve on chilled plates if possible for delicate items like smoked salmon pinwheels and egg salad sandwiches.