Afternoon Tea Christmas Style!

Christmas is about to descend upon us but it does go by so very quickly. But once Christmas Day is over, that doesn’t mean that the fun times should stop! Most of us absolutely love Christmas . It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year and we don’t care what anyone says – it’s not just for kids! One of the things we love about Christmas is the chance to eat, drink and be merry (is that three things?) It’s also great that you have the time to relax and the chance to catch up with people you might not see a great deal of throughout the year. Furthermore, could there be a more aesthetically pleasing time of the year than Christmas?

With thanks to Gabor Adonyi at Pixabay

So what better time to indulge in a festive-themed afternoon tea than, um, the festive season? At An Extra Slice, we're huge fan of anything that involves, food, drink, people and conversation. But there’s something extra special about having afternoon tea, probably because we don’t often find the time to have a real, proper afternoon tea so it’s become something of a treat. And when you combine afternoon tea with Christmas, then you have a delightfully themed tea.

Image by Daria-Yakovleva at Pixabay. With thanks.

Of course, we're not suggesting you have a Christmas afternoon tea on Christmas Day itself. By the time you’ve devoured the turkey with all the trimmings followed by a helping of Christmas pudding, tea will be the last thing on your mind! And as for all that prep when you're already rushed off your feet forget it! The whole point of afternoon tea is that it's supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. But the good news is that you can hold your Christmas themed tea at any time during the Christmas holidays which generally last for twelve days beginning on Christmas Day.

With thanks to Ingrid at Pixabay

The beauty of hosting a Christmas afternoon tea during the season is that many of your family and friends are likely to be in town in order to celebrate the holidays, so it will be a lovely way to spend more time with them before they go home. There’s also no need to buy decorations for your tea – because it’ll already be there: the tree and other decorations will still be up; you might have poinsettias on the table; your fancy Christmas table cloth is likely to be adorning the table, and you may have lots of accessories in traditional Christmas colours.

With thanks to Nina at Pixabay. Edited by Angel Noire

Furthermore, it’s also a great way to use up any leftovers that you might have. Everyone knows that when it comes to Christmas, we really go town, buying/baking/cooking as though we’re facing the apocalypse. So there’s no need to prepare too much food, and in addition, any Christmas type food items that need to be bought are likely to be reduced in supermarkets after Christmas. And let's be honest - time after Christmas, we all want to save wherever we can!

The list below gives food ideas of what you can include in your afternoon tea party menu which include typically Christmassy festive flavours:

SANDWICHES

With thanks to Ihtar at Pixabay. Edited by Angel Noire

Smoked salmon and cream cheese

Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce

Ham and chutney

Ham, brie and apple

Turkey, Bacon and chipolata

Cream cheese and cranberry

Cheddar cheese and chutney

Ricotta and orange marmalade

SAVOURIES

Yorkshire puddings. With thanks to Cbertel at Pixabay

Mini sausage rolls

Mini Yorkshire puddings with turkey, stuffing and gravy

Filo parcels with cheese and cranberry sauce

Pigs in blankets

Mini Cornish pasties

Baked brie with cranberries

Cheese scones

Cheese and bacon pastries with cranberry sauce

SWEET SCONES/TOASTED BREADS

Fruit loaf

Teacakes

English muffins

Slices of Panettone

Cranberry and dark chocolate scones

Orange and cranberry scones

CAKES, TARTS AND OTHER SWEET TREATS:

Stollen. With thanks to Tanja at Pixabay.

Christmas cake

Rum cake

Ginger cake

Mince pies

Spiced apple pies

Stollen

Mini yule logs

Orange and walnut cake

Cranberry and orange jelly in shot glasses

Sherry trifle served in teacups

DRINKS:

With thanks to AlaskanPuffin at Pixabay. Edited by Angel Noire

Mulled wine

Spiced tea

Ginger and cinnamon tea

Apple and cranberry fruit tea

Eggnog

Hot apple toddy

Spiced pumpkin latte

Shot glasses of thick hot chocolate flavoured with rum or Bailey’s

Remember to serve butter and seasonal conserves such as fig, mulled plum or orange curd to go with some of the breads, and you might need some clotted cream if you’re serving scones which you could flavour with spices, orange zest or brandy if you wish. You might also need some chutneys and sauces to go with the savouries.

We found a delightful recipe for chocolate and orange scones, by Ellie Simmonds, which we have tried before so know it’s delicious and would be perfect as part of your Christmas tea.

CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE SCONES

Ingredients

• 700g/1lb 9oz self-raising flour

• 150g/5½oz butter

• 150g/5½oz caster sugar

• 2 large oranges, finely grated zest of both and juice of one orange

• 150g/5½oz chocolate drops

• 200ml/7fl oz whole milk, plus extra for brushing

To serve

• clotted cream

• 2 satsumas

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 210C/400F/Gas 6.

2. Lightly butter two baking trays.

3. Sift the flour into a bowl.

4. Rub in the butter using your hands until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

5. Stir in the sugar, chocolate drops and orange zest.

6. In a measuring jug, mix the milk with the juice of one orange.

7. Add to the flour mixture gradually until the dough just comes together.

8. You may not need all the liquid. Be careful not to overwork the scone dough.

9. Roll out the dough to approximately 2cm/1in thickness and cut out scones using a 5-6cm/2-2½in cutter.

10. Transfer the scones to the buttered baking trays, brush the tops with milk and bake in the centre of the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.

11. Remove from the oven and cool on wire rack.

12. Serve with clotted cream and satsumas.

Enjoy!

Photos: Pixabay

Blog graphics: Angel Noire