All articles
Everything on Teacup & Cakes, organised by topic.
Hosting
- Afternoon Tea Menu Ideas: How Much, What Order, What to Skip — An afternoon tea menu has three layers, eaten in order: small savoury sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, then two or three small sweets, served with a…
- Afternoon Tea Sandwiches: Fillings and Making Them Ahead — Afternoon tea sandwiches are small, crustless sandwiches on thin, well-buttered bread, cut into fingers or triangles.
- How to Prepare Afternoon Tea in Advance: A Timeline — To prepare afternoon tea in advance, bake what keeps first: shortbread three to five days ahead, a loaf cake two to three days ahead, and scone rounds and…
- Tiered Cake Stand for Afternoon Tea: Buy One or Use Plates? — You do not need a tiered cake stand for afternoon tea. A stand stacks three plates on one rod, so the spread takes the table space of a single plate and…
- What Is Afternoon Tea? Menu, Etiquette, and How to Host — Afternoon tea is a light meal served in the mid-afternoon, traditionally between about 3 and 5 pm, consisting of finger sandwiches, scones with jam and…
Tea
- Best Tea for Afternoon Tea: What to Serve and Why — The best tea for afternoon tea is a robust black tea such as English breakfast or Assam, which stands up to milk, clotted cream, jam and cake.
- Earl Grey vs English Breakfast: Which to Pour With Cake — Both are black teas. English Breakfast is a blend of black teas (Twinings uses Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan) made to be strong and dark, and is usually taken…
- How to Brew Tea Properly: Times and Temperatures by Type — To brew tea properly, match the water temperature to the tea type, use about one teaspoon (2-3g) of loose leaf per cup, and time the steep.
- How to Make a Pot of Tea for Guests: Amounts and Timing — Warm the teapot with a swirl of hot water and tip it out. Add one teabag or one rounded teaspoon of loose black tea for each cup the pot holds, then fill…
- How to Store Tea: Tins, Cupboards and How Long It Lasts — Store tea in a clean, airtight, opaque container in a cool, dry cupboard, away from the kettle, the hob, sunny windows and strong smells such as spices or…
- Loose Leaf Tea vs Tea Bags: When the Difference Matters — Loose leaf tea is usually better for aroma and variety, because larger leaves have room to unfurl and release flavour gradually, and many can be steeped…
- Milk in Tea First or After? What It Changes in the Cup — Either order makes a good cup, and any taste difference is small.
- Best Teapot for Loose Leaf Tea: How to Choose One — For most people, the best teapot for loose leaf tea is a plain ceramic pot of about 800ml to 1 litre, warmed before use, with a clean-pouring spout, a lid…
Baking
- Afternoon Tea Bakes: What to Make and Where to Start — For a first afternoon tea, choose scones, one cake and one biscuit rather than several unfamiliar recipes.
- Classic Shortbread Recipe: The 3-2-1 Ratio — Classic shortbread uses a 3-2-1 ratio by weight: three parts plain flour, two parts butter, and one part sugar.
- Coffee and Walnut Cake Recipe: Real Coffee in Every Layer — Make an equal-weights sponge: weigh four eggs, then use the same weight each of butter, sugar and self-raising flour.
- Fruit Tea Loaf Recipe: Soak Overnight, Bake, Wait a Day — For a classic tea loaf, soak 350g mixed dried fruit and 100g brown sugar in 250ml strong hot black tea, covered at room temperature, for at least 8 hours.
- How to Make Scones That Rise Tall: Method and Ratios — To make scones, rub cold butter into self-raising flour at a ratio of about one part butter to four parts flour, stir in a little sugar, then add cold…
- How to Store Cakes, Scones and Biscuits Ahead of Time — Cool the cake completely, then seal it in an airtight tin, cake keeper or under a dome.
- Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake Recipe: The Soak Is the Point — For a lemon drizzle loaf cake, cream 175g each of softened butter and caster sugar with the zest of 2 lemons, beat in 3 large eggs, fold in 175g…
- Stand Mixer vs Hand Mixer: Which Does a Home Baker Need? — For baking cakes and scones a few times a month, a hand mixer is enough: it creams butter and sugar for a sponge, whips cream and beats buttercream, then…
- Victoria Sponge Cake: Classic Equal-Weights Recipe Method — A classic Victoria sponge uses equal weights of eggs, butter, caster sugar, and self-raising flour: weigh 4 eggs in their shells, then match that weight…