It's time for our weekly Thursday Tea.
Whether you're joining during the morning hours, middle of the day, afternoon or late evening, rest assured that any time is a good time for a cup of tea.
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| Afternoon Tea Party by Mary Cassatt |
Tea Wisdom
Tulips for the tea table
A beautiful sterling silver tea service
Tea of the Day
On the menu
Victoria Sandwich Cake, or Victoria Sponge Cake, is said to have been named after Queen Victoria who favored this cake with her afternoon tea. The first known recipe was printed in an 1874 edition of Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery and Household Management.
The cake is made up of two layers of sponge cake with any seedless jam or marmalade and whipped cream in the middle.
Crumpets. Not a mainstay of the American kitchen; eaten mainly in the United Kingdom and other nations of the Commonwealth. It is a griddle cake made from flour and yeast. Here is a recipe if you'd like to make your own, because if you live in the U.S. you're not likely to find them in your grocery store (the exception may be in large, metropolitan areas where there's a wider choice of grocery items).
I have made crumpets in the past and they very much suite my taste. Slathered with butter and jam they are quite wonderful.
Do people place clotted cream on crumpets as they do on scones? I don't know, but I found this recipe for clotted cream. Click here if you'd like to see how to make it at home.
Depending on what time of the day you're joining me, perhaps you would prefer to choose something to eat from the crudite tray.
A cute tea time accessory
Some famous people having tea
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| Vivian Leigh as Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With The Wind |
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| President John F. Kennedy and Caroline in the White House |
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| John Lennon and Paul McCartney |
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| Who are these ladies? Us, perhaps, in the future! |
My goodness, what a treat! I love afternoon teas...I love the preparations. We used to be able to buy crumpets but not sure anymore. Thank you for the tea Sanda...I feel all refreshed now : )
ReplyDeleteMe too!! Love the foods that go with afternoon tea. Hope you find crumpets; I'll have to make my own.
Deletei love the tulip centerpiece :) i've never had crumpets. i'll check around here and see if anybody carries them.
ReplyDeletewe were drinking earl grey tea long before captain picard arrived on the scene; but the last several times i've had it, it tasted stronger than i remember.
those old ladies have the right idea with their hats.
I think they can be ordered from Amazon, but homemade would be best. I've never had Captain Picard. I haven't been drinking Earl Grey long enough to compare to what it used to taste like.
DeleteHats and tea go together!
i'll have to look at amazon just to try them. thx :) the captain picard comment was just my star trek nerd personality peeking through. he was known for drinking earl grey tea. i think a lot of people learned about earl grey tea from watching star trek: the next generation. science fiction educated a whole new generation about tea ;)
DeleteTea time is wonderful - love tea parties! I just enjoyed a tuna salad sandwich....should have served it "tea style". Anything we can think of to slow us down from this hectic, fast-paced life is a good thing. Stop and smell the....tea.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right; tea does help us slow down for a bit. Love tuna salad sandwiches. Speaking of tea style/foods, I just got a start of watercress which I'm trying to grow. Watercress sandwiches go beautifully with tea.
DeleteOh what treats you have chosen, I´ll think I´ll be fed till next week in a local inn waiting and return.
ReplyDeleteMy hb likes the classic tea you´ve chosen, me too.
A very beautiful silver tea service and a l o v e l y tea accessory!
So funny seeing Paul M. and John Lennon drinking tea!
Heh-heh. Crumpets, clotted cream and sponge cake will fill us all up!
DeleteLennon and McCartney look so YOUNG, which they were, in that picture.
I'm drinking more tea this winter than ever before. Tea seems best in cold weather.
That is the most beautiful Crudités tray ever!
ReplyDeleteLove Crumpets - being so near Canada, we could get them all the time in Seattle. (Haven't seen them in Oklahoma.) My Australian friend told me that the perfect Crumpet was suppose to be just like a sponge that would soak up and hold all the butter melting on it. Never considered baking them myself, but suppose now I will have to try, since I can't find them to buy. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Drivers & Sundry is right about the intensity of the Oil of Bergamot flavoring in the Earl Grey Tea. It is so much more intense these days. I make a pot with half plain black tea to get the same old flavor, or just have Lady Grey Tea.
If you bake them, please share your results. I want to dry them too. All that butter would make anything good!
DeleteI like Earl Grey a lot. Love the bergamont flavor; it isn't too strong for my taste.
Crumpets,yum as a girl use to toast them by the fire then watch the butter(as Beryl said) ozze out of the holes,can be topped with jam/marmalade,have never known anyone make them as even the supermarkets sell them here.
ReplyDeleteThe Victoria sponge is my favourite cake with the jam only,treating myself to one for Easter.
Delightful silver tea service the Earl Grey will be delicious serviced from that teapot.Ida
I've read novels in which children toasted crumpets on the open fire; sounds so neat! Lucky you, to have them so readily available. Sponge cake is the best cake ever. Maybe it's time I made one again. Easter is the perfect time for one.
DeleteOh dear, I was unable to get here for tea yesterday. I don't suppose you have a spare crumpet left do you? I'm sure day old crumpets taste just dandy once it is toasted and buttered. I like Twining's Earl Grey but as was mentioned sometimes prefer Lady Grey as it is a bit tamer.
ReplyDeleteDarla
All the crumpets were eaten but hope you can make it this week for Thursday tea.
Deleteyou forgot to include capt. Jean Luc Picard ;-P as a teenager obsessed with Star Trek this was my first introduction to Earl Grey tea. To this day it remains my favourite blend of black tea. I so enjoy the sour bergamot taste!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, afraid I was never a Star Trek fan so I don't know the characters' tea drinking habits. I vote with you on the Earl Grey.
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