Raise your tea cups...

Anne here.

How on earth do you follow on after a fabulous act like Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley? I sat down with a coffee to ponder the problem, and thought if that if they'd just done a library talk, of the sort many of our local authors do in Australia, we'd probably follow the talk with afternoon tea. And since both Mary and Jo originally hail from the UK, they would no doubt enjoy it, too.

 Afternoon tea is still something of an institution here, especially in the country, where any gathering is an excuse for a party. And as it's daylight, and the party is mostly  by and for women, it's all about cakes. And scones. And cream. And sandwiches, small and dainty with the crusts cut off. And sausage rolls. Every woman has her speciality, and the rivalry is quietly intense. 

When I was a child, I loved these events. While my mother and grandmother and other female relatives were in a frenzy of baking, my job was to take out all the cups and sauces and plates, wash them and match them all up, polish the tiny silver teaspoons and set them all out on the side table. Every cup set was different and I had my favorites. Here are some of the cups of my childhood; my grandmother's and mother's.

Not a lot has changed, I'm told. A romance writer friend who lives in the country is hugely in demand for library talks. People tell her she should at least charge petrol money, as she often drives an hour or more each way, but no, she confessed to me once, she does it for the cakes. LOL. Country women come to her talks in the spirit of a party get-together, so they bring sponges, cream cakes, scones, sandwiches and sausage rolls, all home made and delicious. 

It's not quite the afternoon tea that the grand hotels put on these days, but the origins are the same, stemming from the custom that flowered particularly in the Victorian era. 

 

It's claimed that the custom originated with The Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria's Ladies in Waiting. According to this site,"the Duchess suffered from "a sinking feeling" at about four o'clock in the afternoon. At first the Duchess had her servants sneak her a pot of tea and a few breadstuffs. Adopting the European tea service format, she invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o'clock in her rooms at Belvoir Castle. The menu centered around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea. This summer practice proved so popular, the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking the fields." The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other social hostesses."

Perhaps the Duchess made the timing of afternoon tea fashionable, but the custom was obviously already established. In a letter to her brother in 1801, Catherine Wilmot, an Irish lady traveling on the continent, wrote of a French "thé" she attended. "The table was spread with Tea, Cakes, Bon-bons, pâtisserie of all kinds, confitures (jams and fruit pastes) etc. and afterward an enormous bowl of Ponch (punch) and Liqueurs, all of which they thought perfectly à la l'Angloise."  (English)

And before that, tea gardens were very popular in the 18th century, where ladies and gentlemen gathered in the open to drink tea, nibble on dainty food and be entertained by musicians or to simply stroll about.

But however it started, let us take afternoon tea together. Since I am the hostess, I'll provide the basics. Scones are a must; plain scones for eating with jam and cream, and date scones for eating with butter. 

Scones are a wonderful source of debate on Regency loops -- I don't know how many discussions I've seen where people have hotly argued the difference between scones and American biscuits.  But since this is a tea party, let us not debate, but simply eat, scones and biscuits both welcome. Here is a recipe for scones from the always reliable Delia Smith. 

The secret to good scones is to keep everything cool and not to handle the dough very much. Use a knife to mix and knead very lightly - as much as it takes to put it together. And here is a cheat's recipe for scones made with what we call lemonade but what is really plain sweet soda -- something like 7-Up, I imagine -- there's no lemon taste. 

Then there's jelly cakes. My friend Red makes jelly cakes (jello cakes) that are a blast from the past and are so delicious she's not allowed to go anywhere without bringing them. Small light "fairy cakes" dipped in half-set red jelly (jello) then rolled in coconut, and a few hours before serving, sliced open and filled with cream so that by the time you come to eat them they are squishy and delicious. Childhood delight. I've seen grown men line up for them, practically weeping at the sight! In searching for the pic on the right, I found out that some people actually buy plain cake from the supermarket, cut it into cubes and roll it in jelly and coconut for a quick cheats jelly cake! Works for me. ;)

A method for cucumber sandwiches is here, but really I think I'll ask my friend Meredith to bring sandwiches -- she's famed for them, especially her chicken and avocado ones. 

And no good country cook would offer afternoon tea without a featherlight sponge. My friend Linda makes great sponges. I was looking for pictures of the perfect sponge, and came across a site where a former president of the Countrywomen's Association was talking about the perfect sponge. 

She remembers the Sundays of her youth just after World War II. "We'd light the oven, put in the roast and go to church," she says. "When we got back we'd put the vegies in and cook the Yorkshire pudding. Then we'd wash up and start baking proper for high tea."

High tea was a lighter meal enjoyed in the early evening and the sponge cake was pivotal, the "must have" cake that proved the ability of the cook. It was always a talking point.

"Our friends stayed dancing and eating cake until 10 o'clock when dad kicked them out. But when a boyfriend got his feet under Mum's table it was very hard to get rid of them. I'm still married to the last one," MacLeod laughs.

As for the question of whether men can make a sponge, she smiles. "There is need for lightness to make a sponge. It is almost as if you are caressing the flour into the mixture. Men know how to caress if they know how to caress their woman."

Isn't that charming? Such a delightful variation on "Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?"  changing the words to "Can you bake a lovely sponge, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?" Much more my cup of tea.;)

So let us all sit down to afternoon tea, no matter what the time is where you are.  Choose a cup, a beverage of your choice, and perhaps you might like to order some beloved special food from the gatherings of your childhood. You can sit with anyone— real person, living or dead or a fictional character. So, what would you like to eat, and who would you like to sit next to? Tell us about your afternoon tea...

Comments

[Patricia Rice]

Ah, Anne, I envy you your memories of afternoon tea, if only for the lovely china! I have a collection of beautiful china teacups I used to display until my shelves got cluttered with books. I still refuse to drink my tea in anything but cups. Mugs just don't do.

But I've never been able to make a scone to compare with those I've had in the UK. So I guess I'll just nibble cookies. Or do you call them biscuits? "G"

[Mary Balogh]

Heavenly days, Anne! I have only dared skim this article (read, look at the pictures). I'm coming back to read properly when my stomach isn't feeling quite so empty. Scones...Jam and cream sponge... Sausage rolls,,,I averted my eyes and didn't even SEE that fruit tart.

[Susan/DC]

I recently accompanied my husband on a business trip to Istanbul. They don't have the custom of the English high tea, but they do love their tea and we drank gallons of it. It's served in lovely little tulip-shaped glasses, and you refill the glass as often as you like. I haven't dared weigh myself since we got home, as I probably consumed more baklava (need something sweet with that afternoon tea) in a week than in my entire previous life.

[Anne McAllister]

Seriously tempting, Anne. And reading this right before lunch didn't help matters any!

I was thinking of making something with all the lovely rhubarb I've just been given. A cake? A pie? Ac crumble? Maybe just a bit in the scones?

I think I could be persuaded to enjoy any of them with a nice cup of tea. My mouth is already watering.

[Linda Banche]

Oh, I love tea! And all the pastry and sandwiches and sausage rolls and CREAM! I'll eat cream on anything.

And your pictures are so great, I could be happy eating the pictures.

Well, not the dress. Beautiful dress. I'd love to have a dress like that. But if I ate all this stuff I would never be able to fit into it. **grins**

[Gretchen F]

I'd like to have afternoon tea with Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Ngaio Marsh, Beatrix Potter, and all the wenches. What a fun group to listen to- I would not say a word....(better to keep my mouth busy with hot buttered scones and eclairs.)

[Andrea Pickens]

It was a big mistake to sit down at around 4 pm my time to read this. By the end I was gnawing on the edge of my plastic computer screen (not nearly as tasty as jelly cakes, I imagine.)

Little family food traditions are a big part of childhood. My Swiss grandmother used to make sugar breads for us when we were very little. And they were exactly what you think . . .bread slathered in butter, then sprinkled with lots of white ugar.) Today's nutritionists would keel over in shock, but oh were they good!

I like reading and learning about food, so sitting down to tea with Julia Childs and Alice Waters would be great fun

[Mary Jo Putney]

Anne, you're responsible for gnawed keyboards around the world, I'm sure.

The best teas I ever had were in England, preferably in a thatched cottage and most certainly with clotted cream. The crumble of the scone, the sweet tang of preserves, the smooth, luxurious richness of the cream. Heaven! And set off, of course, with strong, hot tea.

A good thing I live three thousand miles away from the clotted cream!

Mary Jo

[Helen]

I do love afternoon teas and I have a beautiful set of fine china tea cups saucers and plates that I have collected over the years one of them was brouhgt out to comemerate the birth of Princess Margaret it has budgies on it very nice and when my children were young a group of friends and I would often have afternoon teas together and everyone would make something and bring with them and we would have a special tea party for the children with milk arrowroot biscuits with coloured icing and lollie faces on them and they would have juice in little cups on a rug on the floor while us Mums would have our tea party around the dining room table they were fun days.

Now I will have a cup of tea in a lovely cup (it does make a difference) and some scones with jam and cream and some date scones and to be talking to some wonderful romance authors.

Have Fun
Helen

[JudiDW]

In 2001, I moved my family to England. My then 9-year-old was none too happy about it, and our overnight transatlantic flight to
Amsterdam was miserable with her--I thought the whole expedition was doomed. Then we got on a plane to Leeds, and the flight attendant offered Leah her first-ever cup of Yorkshire tea. She perked up, LOVED living in England for 5 years--and still drinks Yorkshire tea every day.

[Marion]

Oooh Anne... Remembering the Sunday farm arvo teas of my childhood. My favourites are butterfly cakes, tiny sponge cakes, their tops scooped out and chopped in half to form wings. The scooped out bit is filled with cream and chopped quivery raspberry jelly. The two wings are set back in place and the whole is dusted with confectioners sugar. Fantastic, especially as they're competing with Swiss roll, ginger fluff sponge and lamingtons... Mmmmmmm. Thinking back I can't imagine how we did it, especially after roast for midday meal with something like apple pie after. But we managed :-)

[carol marinelli]

Memories! My Gran Peacock lived in Glasgow and we would stay with her in the school holidays. Every afternoon she would bring out a 3 tiered cake stand, full of lovely cakes, scones and chocolate biscuits and put out gorgeous china and we would all stop to sit down to talk and eat. Lovely!
Carol

[Bronwyn Jameson]

Oh, Anne, now I have a serious yen for jelly cakes. Plural, note. One is never enough. Jelly cakes aside, I love everything about the afternoon tea. The fine china. The tinkle of silver, the talk and the laughter. One of my favourite things to do when in the city is high tea as a ritzy hotel. A different experience because they do everything far more daintily than the farm afternoon tea, but there's so much pretty in the petit fours and teeny sandwich quarters and mini pastries.

I might just go make a cuppa.

[anne gracie]

Pat, yes, it's very confusing. What you call biscuits, we call scones, and what you call cookies, we call biscuits. And our cookies are half way between a biscuit and a cake.
When I went to my first US conference I took Tim-Tams for US friends who wanted to try them. You should have seen the face of the customs officer when I told him I'd brought chocolate-covered biscuits! I hastily corrected myself. "I mean chocolate covered cookies -- they're Australia's favorite bis-cookies." LOL

[anne gracie]

Mary, it's all right -- it's a cyber afternoon tea -- no calories...
Though I must say, ever since I posted the blog I've been thinking I should try out those lemonade scones -- for research purposes, and that cheats version of jelly cakes -- again for the sake of research. I am *such* a slave to research. ;)

Susan I have some Turkish tea glasses a friend brought me, and they're beautiful. I think one of the lovely things about tea is the ritual of it, the making of tea in a pot, letting it steep for just the right time, the nice cups or glasses -- a little everyday treat.

[anne gracie]

Linda, I guess in the days when these afternoon teas were an everyday affair, people just burned off the calories in hard work. My grandmother was a superb cook and *always* had scones, cake and some kind of slice (her apple slice was to die for) available for any chance visitor, and my grandfather expected a selection of at least two things for his morning and afternoon tea. He died in his 80's and was hale and hearty to the end.

Gretchen, what a great collection of company. Though I must say, my first thought was that if I were taking afternoon tea with Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh, I would be *verrrrry* careful of what I ate or drank. ;)

[anne gracie]

Andrea, I've never had sugar bread, but at children's parties here we have "fairy bread" which is bread buttered and sprinkles with hundreds and thousands (tiny coloured icing balls)

Mary Jo, I've never actually had clotted cream -- some friends have been trying to tempt me to Cornwall, but they've been dangling genealogical and writing temptations. Now if they'd mentioned clotted cream...
Here in small cafes we often have what's called a "Devonshire tea" which is fresh (hopefully hot) scones, raspberry or strawberry jam, whipped cream and a pot of tea or coffee.

[anne gracie]

Anne, rhubarb would be great in my Nana's apple cake (which was a slice) - it was just sweet pastry filled with apples and iced with lemon icing. That lemon tang made it extra special, and rhubarb would add a similar tang. Love it.

Helen, it's lovely to have special cups, I agree - it turns something everyday into a special event. And I remember those biscuits (cookies) with the home-made icing faces. Such fun.

JudiDW, what a lovely story -- it's wonderful how small things like a cup of tea at the right time can make all the difference. As someone who moved a lot throughout childhood, I felt for your daughter, and loved the happy ending for her and you. I'm not sure what Yorkshire tea is, but I'll find out. The whole history of tea and the varieties developed is fascinating.

[anne gracie]

Marion, butterfly cakes -- yum. And you're right about the making room for it. I remember helping cater for a friend's parents 50th anniversary,. i'd been handing around food all afternoon and everyone was saying "No, thanks dear, I couldn't possibly." "I'm so full." "I couldn't eat another bite."
We had about 16 sponge cakes in the back room and I was worried that the people who'd made them would be so disappointed when nobody ate them.
'So the time came and we put out the sixteen cream and jam filled sponge cakes.. .and there as practically a stampede as completely stuffed couldn't-fit-another-bite-in elderly folks raced to get a slice of sponge! in minutes there was nothing but crumbs. LOL

Carol, your Gran knows the value of that afternoon ritual -- her quiet time, when the grandkids were wholly occupied. LOL

Hey Bron, if you're ever in Melbourne, we should go to the Windsor Hotel, one of the grand old hotels, where they've got a 130 year unbroken tradition of fine afternoon teas.

[LadyDoc]

It is well past midnight here, but I am off to put on the tea pot, although it will have to be for the heresy of decaf tea.

We have a few British-style tea shops within about an hour's drive here, and going to one of them is always a special delight.

Time to go make the tea and biscuits!

[liz m]

I've tried dozens and dozens of teas - just don't care for them at all. Same with coffee. I always feel for the heroines sitting in front of pot after pot of the stuff and figure there must have seen someone like me, someone who looked at the pot with a fair amount of dread and suffered through politely raising and barely sipping.

Cakes and biscuits, those are welcome anytime!

[carol marinelli]

Had to laugh - after reading your post i went shopping and bought some strong Irish tea - then my daughter asked (as usual) if she could get some cake mix. She chose tiny pink cakes and spent the afternoon baking and frosting and decorating BUT I pulled out my best plate, painted with little strawberries and we had a lovely afternoon tea - just lovely!
Thank you, Anne!
Carolx

[anne gracie]

LadyDoc, decaf tea isn't heresy as far as I'm concerned. Sleep is pretty important, and I find I don't sleep well on caffeine, myself.

Liz m, for years I didn't understand the appeal of tea — and I come from a family of dedicated tea-drinkers. I only drank it to be polite when it was served. I always saw it as a watery and inferior form of coffee(which I love). LOL. It wasn't until I realized that the only time I ever enjoyed tea was in Chinese restaurants that it occurred to me to drink it weak and black and unsweetened. That's how I came to enjoy it. You might be like a friend of mine who doesn't like tea or coffee — but she does love hot chocolate.

[anne gracie]

Carol, fabulous that you and your daughter made a little special ritual out of it. It's the small special things that kids remember years later -- at least that's what I do.

I have been battling with the impulse to make scones or jelly cakes all day.

[Virginia DeMarce]

This is wonderful.

In a world without central heating, where people used up the calories just keeping themselves warm, the tea-food didn't necessarily make people plump. My husband's father was French-Canadian and his mother Swedish, both from farm families. Both cultures traditionally consumed five meals a day -- one at mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, somewhat earlier than the English tea ritual. Some of the woman put on weight as they aged, but the men, who worked outdoors, remained thin and wiry to the end.

[anne gracie]

Virginia, I'm not sure what you mean by earlier than the English tea ritual. For us (in the antipodes) afternoon tea is around 3.30 pm.
A lot of people get afternoon tea mixed up with high tea. High tea is more of a meal, and happens around 5.30 - 6pm, I think.

And in an afterthought, I should have mentioned this delightful site where people obsess happily about tea and cake and biscuits in a tongue-in-cheek yet deadly serious way. It's intensely English and very funny, even if you have no idea of the taste of the various biscuits mentioned.
http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/

[Keira Soleore]

I've read about these wonderful foods in the "teas" kids in Enid Blyton books had. Never realized that real people I might know had these kinds of tea OR that I could avail myself of such an experience. Clearly, I need to fly across one or the other large body of water soon.

Or perhaps, just head north to Victoria? Jo?

PS: Those jelly cakes remind me of the Jewish sufganiyot.

[anne gracie]

Keira, I remember those Enid Blyton teas. I suspect they were a powerful fantasy for British kids who'd grown up with food rationing.

But it's not necessary to travel to have a wonderful afternoon tea. All you need to do is to arrange one and invite some friends. If you don't have the time or resources to do all the cooking yourself, ask them each to "bring a plate" -- a plate with something on it, naturally. ;)
I'm sure that's what made the afternoon teas of my childhood (and those of the country library talks) so abundant -- everyone bringing a plate of something delicious to share.

There's something lovely about setting a table with a nice cloth and pretty cups and plates set out, and having friends around to partake of a mini feast of tiny, delicious, pretty things. I'm sure that's why generations of little girls gave their dolls tea parties.

As for sufganiyot, it's my understanding that they're filled with jam/jelly. These cakes are dipped in almost set jellO. Another terminology thing ;) But both equally delicious, I suspect.

[Barbara Hannay]

Anne, you've brought back my childhood - thank you! We had high teas on Sunday evenings, after a Sunday roast lunch and church. I've never been able to make scones and sponges the way my mother did.
Now for a bit of one-upmanship - perhaps my most exciting afternoon tea was in London, when Sophie Weston took me to the Ritz. The tea cups were sky blue and rimmed with gold. Just gorgeous. I don't think we ate - just enjoyed the delicious tea and the atmosphere.

[anne gracie]

Tea at the Ritz, Barbara, how lovely! And with another superb writer. But I'd be shocked if you didn't eat — shocked! ;)

As for making scones and sponges, I think you need to make them regularly to get it all down pat. Scones used to be my standby thing whenever someone dropped in. I mix them with a food processor, so they were in the oven in 10 minutes and 10 minutes later they were hot and on the table.

My sister claims sponges are equally easy to make — they're her instant standby. I suspect they were harder to make before ovens became reliable, and those who made perfect sponges got a lot of kudos for it.

[Janice]

Wonderful reading about all these teas - Anne, one of the best I've ever had was that one at the Peninsula the time some of us fans met you en route to a convention.

Nowadays I would avoid them, except for the tea. All that sugar and bread would put me in a coma, I'm sure.

[anne gracie]

Janice, I've been thinking about that lovely tea, too, when I was a new baby author, on my way to my first US conference because my first book was a RITA finalist. The LA branch of the Regency list were so kind and hospitable -- and we exchanged the lurex glove of friendship... LOL
I think I owe you guys a tea, next time I'm in your neck of the woods. And fruit tarts are full of fruit, so they, at least would be healthy ;)

[Trish Morey]

Gosh, these comments are every bit as delicious as your blog Anne! Jelly cakes, butterfly cakes and clotted cream - mmmmmouthwatering!

You take me back to my childhood and school holiday visits to my aunt and uncle's farm, so far out of town (all of about 70miles) that they had kerosene lamps and a woodstove. What aunty Joyce could do with that wood stove! Whenever we arrived, there'd be boxes and boxes of fairy cakes, all iced and decorated and just waiting for us. No clotted cream as such, but she used to milk the cow by hand into a bucket and then separate it with a device that seemed to be made of a million bits of metal that sat one on top of another and then she'd make butter and pat it into oblong shapes with the butter pats. Those were the days. Thank you for bringing them back!

[Caffey]

Mmm, I love tea, but too love a coffee with vanilla creamer on Saturday morning on the porch, those early hours before most get up, sitting with Helen Keller who's really an inspiration to me. I love homemade rice pudding! We'd teach each other our home made signs we used with our families. We'd talk books too!

My hubby and I love to go out on a Sunday morning when its not hot yet and just get some of that fresh air and have our morning coffee together. Its been a while so I'll be doing that tomorrow! Thanks for bring up the memories again!

[anne gracie]

Trish, the women of the pre-electricity generation did amazing things with their wood-fired ovens, didn't they? And so many people yearn for the cream and butter and milk of their childhood, unavailable now because of health regulations and pasteurization.

Caffey! You knew Helen Keller? Wow! One of the Great Women of last century.
And yes, I like rice pudding, too -- unlike Mary Jane of the AA Milne poem. Those old-fashioned homey puddings... I guess that's a subject for a blog some other day.

[anne gracie]

Caffey, I'm blushing. I just recalled I'd said you could sit with anyone, living, dead or fictional. My only excuse is that it's just after dawn here and I haven't had my morning coffee yet. LOL

[Virginia DeMarce]

Anne Gracie wrote:
Virginia, I'm not sure what you mean by earlier than the English tea ritual. For us (in the antipodes) afternoon tea is around 3.30 pm.
A lot of people get afternoon tea mixed up with high tea. High tea is more of a meal, and happens around 5.30 - 6pm, I think.

= = =
I have to plead to utter ignorance. I had no idea that tea and high tea were two different things.

The mid-afternoon meal in the Swedish settlements in the mid-west was more the 3:00 to 4:00 time.

[liz m]

Anne, I do indeed love hot cocoa. Any time of day.

But even more I love your link, for how else could I tell that a .....

"Twin layer affair with some sort of cream up the middle"

Is a midrange biscuit, and they are quite right - pink wafer cookies are vile.

[anne gracie]

Virginia, in my view it doesn't really matter what you call it -- but I mentioned the "high tea" thing because a lot of people think that high tea is the aristocratic version. In reality high tea is the ordinary people's tea, that is an evening meal that happens around 6 in the evening. Afternoon tea is the 3 o'clock-ish version, and that's taken by aristos and plebs alike :) And it looks like the swedish settlements and the Australian colonials had a lot in common.

Lix M beware that nice cup of tea and a sit down site -- there are strange and ghastly things lurking in it... like underpant toast... LOL