DIY Afternoon Tea

There’s no doubt that many of us have taken up new creative hobbies while in lockdown. For me, this came in the form of channeling my inner Mary Berry and setting the challenge of creating a homemade afternoon tea… entirely from scratch.

So I sat down, made a list and got baking. 5 hours of hard work in the kitchen and I was impressed with the results. My family and I enjoyed it for VE Day (a very British way to celebrate) and I can happily say it was a success.

I had so much fun doing this and thought I would share a few of the things I did because it definitely isn't an activity just for lockdown.

---

Mini Vanilla Cheesecakes

I have to admit that I had a vision of mini cheesecakes and it definitely had a part to play in the inspiration behind the afternoon tea. Cheesecake is one of my absolute favourite desserts and after I found some glass ramekins in our kitchen cupboards, I knew exactly what had to be done.

I was a little nervous for the results because I had never made cheesecake before, but it turned out to be super easy and I couldn’t be happier about it!

This recipe makes 4 cheesecakes with 30 minutes preparation, plus chilling time.

Begin by making the base, using 100g of digestive biscuits and 40g of unsalted butter. Crush the biscuits into crumbs before mixing in the melted butter until combined. Then spoon the mixture into each of the ramekins, pressing firmly to create a base that isn’t too thick. Place them in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

While the bases chill, begin making the cheesecake mixture. Using an electric whisk, mix together 250g of cream cheese, 40g of icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in a dollop of double cream at a time until the mixture is creamy but not thin and runny.

After 1 hour of the base chilling, spoon the cream mixture into the ramekins. Make sure that each cheesecake has an even top before placing in the fridge to set overnight.

Once set, you can choose to add any toppings to the cheesecakes. I decided to decorate mine with strawberries - voila!

---

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

This zesty cake was a personal favourite among my family and I will definitely be baking it again!

This recipe makes roughly 10 slices with a total preparation and baking time of 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Begin by beating together 225g of unsalted butter and 225g of caster sugar until creamy, before adding 4 eggs and mixing through.

Sift in 225g of self-raising flour and then add a finely grated zest of 1 lemon. Mix to combine all the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and then bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Once the cake is baked, let it cool and make the drizzle. Mix together the juice of 1.5 lemons and 85g of caster sugar - as simple as that!

Once the cake is cooler but still warm, prick holes in it using a fork before pouring the drizzle over the cake. Leave in the tin to cool completely to form a crisp, zesty top.

Cut into slices for the perfect addition to your afternoon tea.

---

Scones

No afternoon tea is complete without scones. They are notoriously known as an easy recipe and were the quickest element of my DIY to make.

All you need is a handful of ingredients, a clear work space and you’re good to go.

This recipe makes 8-10 scones and takes only 15 minutes to prepare and bake.

Preheat the oven to 220°C and prepare a baking tray.

Mix together 350g of self-raising flour, ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add 85g of cubed unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons of caster sugar, rubbing the mixture together to make crumbs.

Then warm 175ml of milk in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, not allowing it to become too hot, and add a squeeze of lemon juice and one teaspoon of vanilla extract to it. Make a hole in the centre of the dry mixture and pour the milk into it, before quickly combining it with a fork. The mixture should be dough-like.

Using a clear worktop, spread some flour and fold the dough over 2-3 times until smooth. Roll out the dough until it is roughly 3cm thick. Cover the brim of a glass with flour and use it to cut out circles. Repeat until all the mixture has been used.

To make the scones golden brown, brush a beaten egg over them. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.

To serve, add jam and clotted cream - a classic British treat!

---

An Array of Sandwiches

To top off all the baking, I made a variety of sandwiches. I feel this is a highly underrated aspect of afternoon tea because the beauty of it is that you can put whatever you want in them!

I decided to make egg and cress, salmon and cream cheese, ham and cheddar, and cucumber.

I also made chocolate brownies, added some cups of tea, and Mum even brought out a bottle of prosecco. The sun came out and we had a delicious afternoon treat.

---

There you have it, a DIY afternoon tea. Of course going out to a nice venue for afternoon tea is always lovely, but knowing that I made it from scratch made it taste even better!