Celebrating Afternoon Tea Week 2024 with Arthur Price

It’s August, the kids have broken up from school and you want to make the most of the (hopefully) beautiful, sunny weather. And what better way to do that than by celebrating Afternoon Tea Week?

From 12 to 18 August, bake your favourite summer treats, find your most stunning teapot and arrange the most perfect sandwiches. And to give your afternoon tea that extra sparkle and flourish, why not serve and display them all with our beautiful range of cake knives, forks, cake servers and pastry sets?

Here are a few of our recipe picks to whet your appetite for the occasion!

1. Scones

No classic afternoon tea is complete without this British staple! Here’s how to make the ultimate accompaniment to a comforting brew.

• Step one is preheating your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas mark 7. Lightly grease two baking trays and put them aside.
• Grab a large bowl and put in 450g of self-raising flour, 2 tsp of baking powder, 50g of caster sugar and 100g of butter cut into pieces. Combine all the ingredients together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Crack two eggs into a measuring jug and then add some milk to bring it up to the 300ml line. Use a fork or round-tipped knife to mix the egg and milk into the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter and mix it into a soft, sticky dough – you may not need all the milk and egg for this.
• Lightly flour your work surface and lightly knead the dough, gradually working in a handful of sultanas (if preferred). Once kneaded, roll the dough out into a rectangle with a thickness of about 2cm.
• Using a fluted 5cm/2-inch cutter, cut out your scones and place them on your baking trays that you prepared earlier. Brush the tops of each scone with a bit of the milk and egg mixture if there’s any left over, or milk if not. Bake them for 12–15 minutes or until they’re well-risen and pale, golden brown and place them on a cooling rack.
• The fresher the better! Serve your scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream – we’ll leave the order up to you… And why not serve them using one of our exquisite cake servers and exceptional cake knives for that extra luxurious flourish?

2. Macarons

Fancy pushing the boundaries of your baking prowess a bit further and adding a beautiful splash of colour to your afternoon tea spread? Then why not have a go at making macarons?

• Begin by preheating your oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas mark 3½ and lining 2 large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
• Blend 170g icing sugar and 160g ground almonds in a food processor until very smooth. Sift the mixture into a bowl and put any large pieces of almond back in the food processor and blend for longer.
• Once the almond mix is all sifted, stir in two egg whites to create a smooth paste. Whisk the two other egg whites together in another bowl until they form stiff peaks.
• Measure out 50ml of water, add 160g granulated sugar and place in a saucepan. Heat the two together over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, bring it to the boil until 118°C – keep checking with a sugar thermometer.
• Whisk the egg whites again on a high speed while slowly pouring in the sugar syrup (avoiding the beaters). Whisk for a few minutes until the meringue has cooled slightly. The meringue should look glossy and form peaks when the whisk is taken out. Grab your pink food colouring and whisk it into the mix until the meringue is evenly coloured.
• Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture until it’s smooth – don’t overmix! Spoon the mixture into piping bags and pipe 4cm rounds onto the greaseproof paper on your baking trays. Give the trays a knock on the surface to remove any air bubbles.
• Leave the macarons to stand for 20–30 minutes before baking. This will help them form a skin. Then bake for 13–15 minutes until they’re risen and set.
• Remove the macarons from the oven and put aside to cool and then carefully peel the macarons off the paper.
• To make the raspberry ganache filling, heat 120ml double cream in a saucepan until it just comes to the boil and then take it off the heat. Pour the cream over 110g of chopped dark chocolate until the mixture is smooth, then stir in 25g unsalted butter and 75g raspberry jam.
• Spoon the ganache into piping bags and put aside to cool down. Once cool, pipe a small amount of ganache onto half of the macarons and sandwich together with the remaining macaron halves.
• Choose from our beautiful range of cake forks to accompany your macarons to add the extra elegant touch to the experience.

3. Strawberry tartlets

And for a showstopper that will assure you a handshake from Paul Hollywood, why not make a strawberry tart that celebrates the best of seasonal fruit, looks stunning and tastes delicious?

• To create your pastry, place 100g of softened unsalted butter and 50g of icing sugar in a food processor and blend until combined. Add 2 egg yolks and blend until smooth. Once happy, add in 200g plain flour and ¼ tsp of salt and blend until a dough starts to form.
• Shape the dough into a ball and then flatten to a disc, wrap it up in cling film and put it in the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes.
• Move on to make your crème pâtissière… heat 300ml full-fat milk, 1 tsp vanilla paste and a pinch of salt over a low heat until it’s gently steaming.
• As your milk, vanilla and salt is heating through, put 2 egg yolks, 50g granulated sugar and 2 tbsp of cornflour into a bowl and mix together until smooth and thick. Gently pour in the hot milk mix in a thin stream while stirring with a whisk.
• Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over a low heat, stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat and stir in 30g unsalted butter until it melts in fully combines with the mixture.
• Put the mixture into a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
• Take your pastry dough out of the fridge, lightly flour a surface and place the dough on top. Roll the dough out into a circle around 30cm in diameter. Line a 23cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin with the pastry. Lightly press the pastry into the tin and up the sides, leaving the pastry overhanging the edge of the tin and trim away the excess pastry. Prick the base with a fork and then put the pastry in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6.
• Grab the tart tin from the fridge and place on a baking tray. Take a large square of baking paper, crumple it into a ball and use it to line the pastry. Fill the base with baking beans to support the edges while the pastry bakes.
• Blind bake the pastry for 10–12 minutes until the edges are turning golden. Lift the baking paper and baking beans out of the base and put the pastry back in to bake for 7–10 minutes until it’s golden and crisp all over and then leave to cool.
• Sprinkle 1 tbsp of caster sugar over 500g strawberries and put aside for 5 minutes.
• Remove the crème pâtissière from the fridge and stir slightly until smooth. Pour the mixture into the cool pastry case and spread evenly. Then decorate with the sugar-coated strawberries, cut into slices and serve.
• And why not serve it up with Arthur Price’s magnificent pastry cutlery range to give your afternoon tea a sophisticated edge?

Make your afternoon tea spread sparkle during this year’s Afternoon Tea Week with the fantastic range of Arthur Price products.

Share your plans, ideas and pictures of your afternoon tea events with us on social media – we can’t wait to see them! Find us on Facebook (Arthur Price), Instagram (@arthurprice1902) and Twitter (@ArthurPrice1902). Enjoy our fabulous range and your Afternoon Tea Week.

Sources
Scones recipe – Mary Berry's scones recipe on BBC Food
Macarons recipe – Macarons recipe on BBC Food
Strawberry tart recipe – Strawberry tart recipe on BBC Food