An English Afternoon Tea

Because I am hosting DK's AWED : Britain this month, you already know I love British cuisine. But really, what I like a lot more than the food are the traditions that accompany the cuisine. Take the afternoon tea. There's lunch, and there's dinner. And then, for no reason whatsoever, the Englishmen concocted an elaborate ceremony at 4 pm to not just drink tea. But drink tea alongwith sandwiches and cakes and scones.

For my entry to AWED, I decided to host a traditional Devon cream tea. I borrowed my mother's tea set (for who owns these things any longer) and set about making the cucumber sandwiches and apricot scones, topped with strawberry jam and clotted cream. The scones, just by the way, are from eatmedelicious, my taste and create partner this month. And if you must know, that is a lace tablecloth.

And here are all the recipes:

Cucumber Sandwiches : If you are using homemade white bread, slice it as thinly as possible and cut the crusts off. Spread a layer of softened butter on a slice, then add a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers and sprinkle salt and black pepper. Top with another slice of bread and cut into long "fingers" or triangles.

Scones : Eatmedelicious says these scones made her feel like a scone master. I felt like one too, even though it was my first time making scones. The only change I made in the recipe was to omit the orange zest as I just can't zest an orange. Have never been able to. But the strawberry jam and clotted cream made up for it.

Clotted Cream : To get the real deal, you have to go to Cornwall. But wikipedia offers an easy alternative. There are other recipes you can google, but what's good for Wiki's good for me. So combine a cup of milk with 1/2 cup cream and heat at the very lowest possible heat for half an hour until a skin forms, leave it undisturbed overnight, and then harvest the skin and its underclots. If you've never had the real deal, it's a cross between rabdi and malai.

Tea : That's the easiest bit. Boil 4 cups of water, add 2 tsp Assam tea leaves and turn off the heat. Let steep for 2 minutes, then strain into the teapot. Tea drinkers could either choose to add milk and sugar, or a dash of lemon.

Now the table's set. Will you come over to tea?