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...