Afternoon tea at home

You know how I love all things related to the UK … especially their singers/actors, let’s be honest, but also the lifestyle and their humour … and all the more with our road-trip from last summer.

I have always been more of a tea rather than a coffee person (a food-loving tea person I’d add!), which is why I love Afternoon tea, this English ritual that consists in taking a break between lunch and dinner to have cake and savory delicacies while sipping on tea.

A couple months back, BHV launched it’s website BHV.fr and as a “food” ambassador, I ordered online to make an afternoon tea at home. I also took the opportunity to order a bit of crockery and other necessary accessories to create an authentic teatime experience….or at least to the best of my ability (Your Royal Highness Queen Elisabeth, if you are reading this, please be lenient!)

 

Preparations in the kitchen

Since I’m enjoying cooking more and more often, I’m trying to invest in quality equipment. I didn’t have moulds for madeleines or cannelés yet : I browsed the website and found these silicone ones (not too bulky for storage either, which is nice). The madeleine mould was tested and approved for this post : perfectly cooked and very easy to turn out.

 Madeleine and cannelés moulds De Buyer (here and there)
Maple wood spoon Kuhn Rikon
Cooking whisk Absolument Maison

 

I decided to prepare my cakes using the Marlette mixes (that I found at the BHV MARAIS) : scones, chocolate chip muffins and madeleines. I could have done everything from scratch, but having already baked these cakes over Christmas, I realized they were a great way to save time (for most, you just need to add butter, mik and eggs), all while keeping the recipe yummy and with quality ingredients.

My only personal twist was in the madeleine recipe : I added white chocolate chips and matcha powder : a success !

Madeleine mould De Buyer

 

On the savory side, I decided to prepare finger sandwiches and mini grilled cheese, in bite size versions : I chose to add ham, butter and pickles to the sandwiches and a yummy cheddar cheese to the grilled cheese. Which only left cutting the bread to the right size and tada for a complete afternoon tea!

I also added crunchy sandwiches with sesame kamut bread and chicken rillettes (which can also be found at LE BHV MARAIS).

Round wood cutting board Absolument Maison

 

Crockery

Hirène tiered cake stand Absolument maison
Hirène teacups Absolument maison
Cake knife and server Nuova

 

When you say afternoon tea, you say teacups! Believe it or not, but up to now, I only had large japanese cups or mugs! I had to get small traditional teacups, that I found on the website. I really like the elegant scalloped edges.

Sugar pot Bitossi
Hirène tiered cake tray Absolument maison

 

I also wanted to get the teapot from the same Hirène collection, but it wasn’t in stock when I ordered : I will make up for this shortcoming by ordering it right now. I hope the royal family won’t have noticed it was missing! As a diversion tactic, I chose a cute sugarpot with lots of detailed and a special hole to put a golden spoon.

The masterpiece of the afternoon tea was the tiered cake tray, that allowed to present the cakes and sandwiches and transport you directly into an english teahouse … how cute!

 

Tea for two

For this yummy one on one moment, I chose to prepare a Christmas tea that I had already shown you in my Instagram stories and that I really like : the Star tea (Thé des étoiles) from the Palais des Thés. It’s chocolate notes (green tea, chesnuts and tonka bean) was perfect to go along the sweets and treats.

With such a tasty and hearty teatime, dinner of course is barely a supper. I had been ambitious for a 2 person teatime, but supper did include some madeleines for dessert! (English translation by Marine)

 

(This is a promoted post and was made in collaboration with LE BHV MARAIS )