Which Type Of Afternoon Tea Are You?

Afternoon tea is a Great British institution, and there’s actually a whole week celebrating this quaint delight in the form of National Afternoon Tea Week, which runs from Tuesday August 14th until Monday August 20th!

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But afternoon tea doesn’t have to be all delicate china cups and saucers, twee doilies and waitresses in white aprons and frilly caps. Afternoon tea has had a modern makeover, and there are now plenty of vegan-friendly, gluten-free and quirky themed options to choose from – both in tea rooms and when it comes to making your own.

So, which type of afternoon tea should you go for? And what should it feature? Here are a few ideas…

The vegan lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular, and so are vegan afternoon tea options. Traditional afternoon tea might be all about the clotted cream and buttercream, but that doesn’t mean it always has to be.

Start off by preparing these mini vegan sausage rolls from Eating Vibrantly, which replace the usual sausagemeat with a seriously tasty blend of onions and walnuts. They’re topped with sesame seeds for added crunch.

You’ll also want to make some vegan fairy cakes, like these ones from We Don’t Eat Anything With a Face, which are topped with a scrumptious vegan butter icing.

And for a petit fours with a bit of a difference to add a little something extra to your afternoon tea, these vegan coffee macarons from The Little Blog of Vegan would be an excellent choice.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the traditional if that’s your cup of tea (see what we did there with that afternoon tea reference?), and everyone needs a classic scone recipe under their belt, like this one for lovely cheese scones from Jane’s Patisserie.

Butterfly cakes with sweet raspberry jam and indulgent buttercream are also a traditional afternoon tea staple, and Claire Huston has a gorgeous recipe for these that’d be perfect to make with the kids while they’re off school. Making butterfly cakes is most people’s first baking memory, so who knows? They could be winning GBBO in 20 years’ time.

Fondant fancies are another incredibly tempting afternoon tea feature, and they’re totally worth spending the time on. Baking Fanatic has a recipe for an orange and passionfruit-flavoured version that would make the perfect addition to your afternoon tea cake stand. Alternatively, stick with the classic lemon, strawberry and chocolate flavours, if you prefer.

Millennials are more about avocados than cucumbers, right? So, instead of the traditional cucumber finger sandwich, we think an avocado, feta and roasted red pepper sarnie, like this one from Hungry Healthy Happy, would be a fitting alternative for this generation.

Millennials are also mad for gin, so they’ll be needing a drop of the tipple in their scones, naturally. Try these G&T-flavoured ones from Sharky Oven Gloves, which include a serving recommendation for a tempting lime curd.

They can’t get enough of prosecco either, so prosecco-flavoured cupcakes with a matching buttercream like these ones from Krazy Kitchen Mom are a millennial afternoon tea must. Extra Instagram points for serving prosecco in a teapot to go alongside.

You can now enjoy everything from Harry Potter to Beauty and the Beast-themed afternoon teas at various tea rooms around the UK, so why not try recreating some quirky themed baked items for your own afternoon tea at home? Why not, indeed.

Let’s start with Harry Potter, and some butterbeer-inspired cupcakes, courtesy of What Charlotte Baked. A super-sweet sponge filled with a butterscotch sauce and topped with a butterscotch buttercream, these are gloriously buttery and a perfect starting point for a magical Potter-themed tea party.

Meanwhile, Cookie Monster cupcakes are an Instagram favourite, and Bethany Bakes has an easy-to-follow recipe for making your own. If you don’t want to go all out with a Sesame Street-themed tea, say it’s a TV mash-up afternoon tea instead, with sweets and savouries inspired by your favourite shows. Get your pun-thinking hat on and be creative!

Beatrix Potter’s beautiful Peter Rabbit tales are another great source of baking inspiration, and bakes influenced by her much-loved stories would be perfect for a baby shower afternoon tea. Think rabbit favourite carrot cake (in miniature for a delicate afternoon tea twist), raw carrot sticks, and this Mr McGregor-inspired tart from The Little Library Cafe.

It’s also really easy to adapt classic afternoon tea recipes to make them suitable for anyone who’s gluten-free. Take these gluten-free scones from Free-From Fairy, for example – so good, she’s named them ‘perfect’.

Or there’s these gluten-free mini quiche bites from Gluten-Free Palate, which are packed with cheese and ham for a super-tasty savoury treat.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter which type of afternoon tea you go for, what’s in your teapot or what’s on your cake stand, so long as you enjoy it. So get experimenting, be creative, and enjoy!