Afternoon Tea Party

Yesterday was our friend Naomi’s birthday and as a little surprise for her we put on an afternoon tea party with a selection of baked goods. Although this may have caused our stress levels to rise somewhat, it was a success and we all had a delightful (and food filled) evening.

We made a whole host of different baked delights, some were remakes of old posts, some were ideas we had that excited us and some were based on flavours and foods we knew Naomi loved. Whilst producing all the baked goods we thought that there was nothing we wanted to do more than share them all with you! So following on from this will be a series of posts showing you guys all the yummy new recipes we made.

One of the remade items was our very first post on the blog, Salted Caramel Eclairs, which have always been a favourite of ours and then also some more recent bakes such as the Breakfast Sausage Rolls which disappeared very quickly (just like the first time we made them).

Along with the Breakfast Sausage Rolls, we made a vegetarian version we have been talking about trying for ages with homemade falafel as the filling. These Falafel Rolls were one of our favourite new bakes and are definitely going to become a staple at any event we make food for (and also in our everyday lives). To continue with the puff pastry deliciousness we also whipped up some cheese straws, Cheddar and Chilli Jam and Parmesan and Herb to be exact. These were a great addition to the table as a little something to nibble on and so easy to make.

A while back we made Drunk Jaffa Cakes, as we wanted to start a series of remakes of our favourite childhood biscuits. Unfortunately these were not part of the spread but we did remake another classic biscuit, the Bourbon, which we were really happy with the outcome of, as they tasted just like the real thing!

We chose not to have sandwiches as part of our afternoon tea and instead made a couple of delicious Focaccia, a simple Rosemary and Seasalt one and a very tasty Tomato and Feta (just look at that crumb structure).

We also made mini cake versions of our Lemon and Earl Grey Shortbread Biscuits, which remains a favourite flavour combination for us, that were sandwiched together with cream as a more modern alternative to a victoria sponge. Another cake item we included in the spread was based on a favourite flavour of Naomi’s, Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

Along with tables covered in treats, we put together a “Scone Station” which had a selection of plain, fruit and cheese scones with an array of different accompaniments. This is a simple and fun idea that anyone could pull off successfully and it went down a treat with all the guests who got to put together different flavour combinations themselves. To go with the scones, we had put out everything from classic clotted cream to little bacon bits.

As she studied french and lived there for a while, Naomi is a huge lover of a macaroon, so it was only appropriate of us to make some for her! And as it was her birthday, we made Birthday Cake Macaroons which we decorated with colourful sprinkles. And then of course, there was the birthday cake itself, a simple vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and absolutely covered in sprinkles! (we really like sprinkles)