Winter Tea and Treats

I’ve been enjoying hunkering down indoors where it is warm and cozy during these last few days. We’ve had some of the coldest weather yet, and it looks like there is more rain on the way. The Paphiopedilum orchids I potted in old tea tins have fully opened. It’s been fun watching the buds unfurl into eye catching blooms in the last few days.


Last Tuesday was a cold and dreary day and so I organized a little afternoon tea. It was to celebrate June’s birthday. I was also in a celebratory mood still from Chinese New Year, the 2nd anniversary of this blog and also Raleigh and I’s 16th anniversary. I did not have much time to prepare so I stuck to a simple menu. I decided 2 savory items and 2 sweets would be good. For the first sweet item, I tried a recipe out of the Fortnum and Mason tea book I got for Christmas from Jane.

I had everything on hand for the Honey Sultana Bread so it was a good recipe choice. I was intrigued at a recipe calling for raisins to be plumped in Earl Grey tea. The recipe called for “spice mix” which I guess is something common over in the United Kingdom. I did my best using a mixture of my favorite baking spices.


The recipe itself was quite easy. It was easily mixed up with a hand mixer. It produced the most wonderful aroma as it baked, the scent of Earl Grey, spices and pecans filling the house while I prepared the rest of the afternoon tea menu.


I made a simple turkey and cucumber tea sandwich for one of the savory items. White bread, mayonnaise and turkey sandwiched and then the crusts trimmed, tops spread with butter and covered with thinly shaved cucumber. I normally favor crusty whole grain breads with all the crust but make an exception when it comes to tea sandwiches. The crust trimmings I grind up for homemade breadcrumbs for later.

I sliced the cucumber with a mandolin and arranged them in overlapping strips. Simple yet artistic. I was inspired by similar sandwiches I had seen on Martha Stewart.

The more dreary the weather, the more festive I try to make Afternoon Tea. I set the table with my favorite Derby Panel Green tea cups, vintage Spode leaf plates and flea market silver.

For my second dessert, I started with some choux pastry shells I had tucked away in the freezer leftover from last year’s festivities. I crisp the shells with a little toasting in the oven and filled them with a chestnut and whipped cream mixture before dipping the filled puffs in 60% dark chocolate ganache.

To make the meal more balanced, I made a shaved fennel and orange salad. The salad included a few homemade pickled beets, violas from the backyard and toasted pecans. The salad was dressed simply with a sprinkling of white balsamic vinegar, Georgia olive oil, salt and pepper. The navel oranges also yielded some nice peels I put aside for candied peels.


I brewed two varieties of tea for our feast, a pot of Mariage Frères Marco Polo, a favorite of all attending and a pot of Fortnum and Mason Earl Grey. I was flat out of rough-cut sugar cubes but June happen to bring a box as a hosts gift, afternoon tea serendipity!

The chestnut chocolate puffs turned out really well. I will definitely make them again. The sultanas and nuts sunk to the bottom half of the cake but it was still quite delicious.

We enjoyed a lovely time indoors sipping tea and enjoying treats while it was cold and wet outside. It’s been a while since I’ve had friends over for afternoon tea so it was nice to get back in the groove.

For a Chinese New Year treat, Joyce brought over a couple loaves of fragrant homemade bread. A loaf of fresh from the oven oatmeal bread and a rich and buttery round of egg bread. We’ve been enjoying the delicious bread over the last few days with various toppings and accompaniments. The buttery bread is wonderful toasted.

After saving orange peels for a couple of days, I finally got around to making another batch of candied orange peels. I had a good bit of syrup in the fridge leftover from making fig preserves this summer and decided to try using it to candy the peels. I used the same procedure as before but used the fig syrup in place of the simple syrup to candy the peel. As a result, the peels took on a slightly gel like texture and are simply wonderful. The fig syrup also had a good bit of lemon and orange in it so the peels have really good flavor. They are some of the best candied orange peels I’ve ever made. I’m making a note to make sure I have leftover syrup next time I make fig preserves. I had some ganache leftover from dipping the chestnut puffs. The ganache solidified after a couple of days sitting in the cool pantry and I rolled them in cocoa powder to make simple truffles.

In the backyard, some of the daffodils are in full bloom. Despite the freezes we’ve had, the miniature ‘Tete a tete’ daffodils seem to be holding up nicely. The bright yellow blooms sure lift the spirits during this dreary time of the year. I am certainly looking forward to Spring.