Making a fancy picnic or afternoon tea?

[DaisyDreaming]

For a special birthday I was looking into afternoon teas. We have some near us which aren’t near as expensive as the London ones but it did strike me that it could be nice to make a special one and take it somewhere pretty to eat rather than sitting in a noisy tearoom and for the same cost you could have a lot of luxury stuff. What ‘stuff’ though has me stumped, especially how to get the sweet/savoury balance and how to present it all. Any ideas?

I have done this.

Use a wicker hamper if you have one. You might be able to pick up an inexpensive one in TK max. Or look at the picnic ware in Sainsbury’s before it all sells out.

For plates/cups etc I’d have a look in charity shops too.

Nice linen napkins.

As for food and drink. Take thermoses of boiling water and the tea of your choice. Don’t make it in advance. Milk. Sugar. Lemon too.

Food - tiny sandwiches and mini bridge rolls (M and S have the best selection of tiny rolls). Fillings - smoked salmon and cream cheese, chicken and avocado, 2 types of differently coloured cheese grated and mixed together, wafer thin roast beef. Have a look at the sandwich combos in M and S for inspiration. Pack them in nice tins (biscuit tins) lined with baking parchment.

Possibly some tiny home made sausage rolls.

Cakes. I’d do a tea loaf of some sort (saffron cake, Banana bread etc), a selection of cupcakes, fruit tarts and then one bigger, impressive cake to cut from. Perhaps coffee and walnut as it would travel better than a gateaux.

Enjoy,

All that with the exception of cupcakes. A cupcake is too big, fairy cakes, or butterfly buns instead.

Now I really want to go for picnic tea with @LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood

A bottle of something fizzy, keep it well chilled with a frozen jacket.

Sandwich fillings, poached salmon & cucumber, ham & mustard, Coronation chicken, smoked duck rocket and hoi-sin sauce.

Cheese straws, small pork pies, cubes of cheese mixed with grapes, are other savoury ideas.

I'd miss out the cup cakes, to messy to eat or travel well.

No picnic is complete without hard boiled eggs, maybe use quail eggs for this!

Or instead of individual sandwiches you could try a Picnic Loaf - lots of recipes online - but basically a hollowed out loaf packed with savoury layers.

Easy to make and striking when sliced open!

Picnic loafs are amazing! I made this one with a couple of changes. www.thesimplethings.com/blog/picnicloaf

I am not a fan of cakes and biscuits so, if you have any invitees like me, please make sure you provide enough savoury for them. Nothing worse than the cake / sweet lovers wolfing down all the savoury before starting on the cakes.

Of course, experience has not made me bitter

My adopted home town has a tea room probably every other shop!!

I've been making/preparing/serving afternoon teas for over 30 years either professionally or during leisure time.

Personally I don't think sausage rolls are appropriate but it's personal choice.

If you want to stay as traditional as possible:

I would serve for savoury:

Classic cucumber sandwiches, watercress, smoked salmon and cream cheese, good roast ham and mustard, roast beef with a little horseradish sauce, egg salad - sliced not chopped egg and only a little good quality Mayo, cheese and tomato chutney.

You can choose either small triangle shaping or finger sandwiches but certainly cucumber are traditionally served as crust less triangles.

Less traditional but in keeping I think:

Small quiche, tartlets could also be served.

For sweet:

Scones (of course) not usually fruited. Served with clotted or hand whipped cream and strawberry jam.

Victoria sponge - strictly speaking should be raspberry jam as the sponge is sweeter than a scone and the tang of raspberry balances.

Fruited tea loaf

Patisserie - Millefeuille, mini eclair or choux buns

Biscuits - shortbread, langue de chat, Florentines

Choice of teas is good, again strictly traditionally you'd serve Indian teas in the afternoon. It may surprise people to learn that earl gray is actually a morning tea (traditionally).

Whether you go traditional or more modern hope you have a lovely time.

I should also say I think you need to decide whether it is a fancy picnic or an afternoon tea on the go that you are doing. I love picnics. But my suggestions were really designed for a portable afternoon tea. If I was told it was afternoon tea then I would expect something different from a posh picnic. Both are lovely. But I’d go for one or the other rather than a hybrid of the two.

Good luck.

You can order a take away afternoon tea from M&S if that helps

Crustless sandwhiches, made with egg cress, chicken coronation, smoke salmon etc the cling film over the top and place another dinner plate over the top to keep sarnies regular and uniform fingers.

Petit cakes, miniature size

Scones jame and clotted cream

Good quality loose leaf tea with tea strainer

Afternoon tea

I did a very lazy version of this for a friends birthday.
I bought a picnic basket from Waitrose and went to Gail’s bakery next door and loaded up on baked goods!
Got a bottle of fizz and some olives and fresh bits from Waitrose along with a picnic blanket, chucked my reclining garden chairs in the boot of the car and picked her up for a lovely afternoon by the river.

last nights left over curry and a can of beer

Those tiny m and s rolls are lovely.