High time for tea

Dust off the cake stand and fill it with chocolate cookies, fruity macaroons and a classic Victoria sponge for a traditional afternoon tea party

You may think drinking afternoon tea is a strictly British tradition - but in fact it was from Portugal, Catherine of Braganza, who introduced the custom to Britain on her marriage to Charles II in 1661.

Tea and cake quickly became a fashionable way to fill the gap between lunch and dinner, until our changing lifestyles consigned it to an occasional treat. Recently, though, afternoon tea has been enjoying a deserved revival as we rediscover the simple joys of baking.

The recipes here include some old favourites which I've reinterpreted slightly - such as the St Clement's drizzle cake, which is based on my grandma's wonderful lemon drizzle cake.

St Clement's drizzle cake

Serves 6 to 8

175g castor sugar

175g softened butter

grated zest and juice of 1 big lemon

grated zest and juice of 1 big orange

4 tbsp milk

2 eggs

175g self-raising flour

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 Preheat the oven to '176C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of one large (900g) or two small (450g) loaf tins. Place the castor sugar, butter and lemon and orange zest in a bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Add the milk and then beat in the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of the flour.

2 Mix in the remaining flour and spoon into the prepared tin/tins, levelling the surface. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes for a large cake, or about 30 minutes for smaller cakes, until they are golden and a skewer comes out clean.

3 Place the lemon and orange juice in a saucepan, bring to the boil and allow to reduce to about three tbsp. Cool and then stir in the granulated sugar until it starts to dissolve.

4 As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick it with a skewer several times, then slowly pour the lemon and orange sugar all over the top, letting it soak into the cake. Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out.

5 The cake will stay fresh for three to four days in an airtight container and will also freeze really well.


Orange magdalenas

Traditionally flavoured with lemon zest, but I think orange goes well, too.

Makes 16

115g plain flour

50g castor sugar

finely grated rind of

1 orange

100ml olive oil

3 eggs, separated

2 tbsp milk

Icing sugar, to dust

1 Preheat the oven to '176C/gas 4. Mix the flour, sugar, orange rind, olive oil, egg yolks and milk together. Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff. Stir a quarter into the cake mixture, then fold in the rest using a large metal spoon.

2 Line one or two muffin trays with paper cases. Spoon the cake mixture into the cases so they are about two-thirds full. You might need to keep some mixture back if you are using just one patty tin.

3 Bake for 20 minutes until golden and firm. As they cook, it is usual for the cakes to peak in the middle, crack and then flatten back down when cooling. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes in the tins.

4 Cool on a wire rack and then dust heavily with icing sugar.

Sparkling Strawberries

Delicious to serve with the orange Magdalenas. Serves 8 to 12

500g strawberries

icing sugar, for dusting

189 bottle of chilled pink sparkling wine

Cut the strawberries in half - or quarters, if they are particularly large. Place them in a serving bowl, champagne flutes or wine glasses. Dust heavily with icing sugar - the amount you use will depend on the sweetness of the strawberries. Pour over the pink sparkling wine and leave for about 30 minutes before serving.



Pistachio and raspberry macaroons

Makes 12

100g shelled, unsalted pistachios

175g icing sugar

2 egg whites

green food colouring (optional)

oil for brushing

4 tbsp good-quality raspberry jam

2 tbsp clotted cream


1 Preheat the oven to 170176C/gas 3. Place all but about 15g of the pistachios in a food processor, sift in half of the icing sugar and blitz to fine crumbs. Chop the rest of the pistachios fairly finely and put them to one side.

2 Whisk the egg whites in a mixing bowl until they form stiff peaks. Sieve in the remaining icing sugar and continue to whisk for about a minute, until the meringue becomes glossy. Using a metal spoon, fold the pistachio and icing sugar mix into the meringue, with a few drops of the food colouring, if using.

3 Line two baking trays with non-stick parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle and pipe 24 blobs, about 4cm in diameter, on to the trays, leaving a small space between each blob.

4 Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on to half of the meringues. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes to allow a "skin'' to form on top and prevent them from spreading too much. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, until the meringues are firm, but not coloured.

5 Remove from the oven and cool. When cold, sandwich macaroons in pairs by spreading a little raspberry jam on the base of the one with pistachio sprinkles, and clotted cream on the other and pressing together.

Double chocolate freezer cookies

What could be better than having some cookie dough in the freezer to create instant home-made cookies to enjoy with a cuppa? Makes 12

125g softened butter

100g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

15g cocoa powder

75g milk chocolate, chopped or broken into smallish chunks

1 tbsp grated plain or milk chocolate

1 Place butter and sugar in an electric mixer or food processor and whiz until pale and creamy. Add vanilla extract and egg yolk and whizz briefly before sifting in the flour and cocoa powder. Mix until you have a smooth dough and then add the chocolate.

2 Using lightly floured hands, roughly roll the dough into golfball-sized balls and gently press each one to a cookie shape in the palm of your hand. Place on a small, clingfilm-lined baking tray or something that will sit flat in your freezer.

3 Leave in your freezer for about an hour until the dough is solid, then peel away from the clingfilm. Place the cookies in a freezer bag to store for up to two months.

4 When you want to bake some of the cookies, preheat the oven to 200176C/gas 6. Remove as many as you wish from the freezer and place on a greased baking tray.

5 Bake for about 15 minutes until just beginning to firm up, but still not too dark around the edges. Remove from oven, sprinkle tops with the grated chocolate and cool for a couple of minutes before cooling further on a wire rack.

6 The cookies can be cooked as soon as they are made. They will take just 10 to 12 minutes in the oven. These quantities will easily double up to allow you to make plenty for your freezer. - The Daily Mail

• This article was originally published on page 13 of The Sunday Tribune on October 11, 2009

Source : http://www.iol.co.za