HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
I was chatting with my good friend British actor Nicholas Hosking about scones, and he enthusiastically decreed, "there are no finer scones than the ones you get with an afternoon tea at the Ritz Hotel in London.
In fact, tea at the Ritz is one of life's great joys!" I looked up the Ritz London on the web and found a glorious room and sumptuous tea menu-and, alas, a very long waiting list.
In fact, tea at the Ritz is one of life's great joys!" I looked up the Ritz London on the web and found a glorious room and sumptuous tea menu-and, alas, a very long waiting list.
So why not do it yourself? Create your own afternoon tea with some delicious scones as the crowning jewel to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or simply for a downright royal time any time at all.
Designing the drama and elegance of tea at the Ritz in your own home or backyard is easy with my Putting on the Ritz tea menu!
These will make even the Queen herself jealous of your scone-making skills!
(Recipe courtesy of Anne Apra, caterer extraordinaire!)
Yield: 8 large scones
(Recipe courtesy of Anne Apra, caterer extraordinaire!)
Yield: 8 large scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 Cup unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 Cup granulated sugar (with an optional 1/4 cup to dust tops pre-baking)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, precut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
- 4 1/2 Oz candied ginger, finely chopped to yield 2/3 cup
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- Options : Replace ginger with 3 tablespoons chopped candied cherries and 3 tablespoons golden raisins
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and pulse to incorporate.
- Add lemon zest and butter -- pulse on and off.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Fold in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust hands with flour and gently knead into a ball. Roll or pat the dough into a circle about ¾-inch thick. Using 2-inch flour-dipped pastry cutter, stamp out circles, cutting them close together. Gather the scraps, press the pieces back together and cut out remaining dough.
- Place scones 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with the remaining cream. (Optional: sprinkle tops with dusting of reserved sugar)
- Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the surface cracks and they are slightly browned. Cool slightly on wire rack. Eat immediately with clotted cream, butter, jam or as is.
- Scones can be frozen for up to 2 months.
A faux Devonshire style Cream to add to your scones. Yum.
Makes about 1.5 cups of cream.
Makes about 1.5 cups of cream.
Ingredients
- 4 Oz mascarpone
- 1 Cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 Teaspoon good vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar or Splenda ®
- Tiny Pinch of Salt
Steps
- In a mixer on low speed mix all the ingredients together until soft peaks are formed. Don’t over mix. Serve with your scones and refrigerate the rest!
Make this event run as flawlessly as possible. Here's how to execute like the pros at the Ritz!
Other Elegant Affairs
Gather For a Fabulous Time
Plan your party with the best-looking invitations on the web!
- Best to make the sandwiches right before serving as the bread can dry out quite quickly.
- One of the tricks we use in catering is to make the sandwiches in the morning and cover loosely with wax paper, then a damp kitchen towel. '
- Make sure the kitchen towel has been well wrung out and is truly damp, store in the fridge till you are ready to serve.
- For convenience, you can prepare some of your ingredients in advance.
- For example, the cucumbers can be sliced the night before and stored in a plastic or glass sealed container.
- This will make the assembly of the tea sandwiches really easy on the day of your royal high tea!
Making the perfect cup of tea can be really easy if you have the right resources.
- Alton Brown of the Food Network fame has a tasty recipe for tea. He always knows the right way to do anything in the kitchen!!
- Here's a guide for Putting on the Ritz tea.
- Many of my fussy British friends favor a brand of tea called PG tips, but you can choose the tea you like best.
So, as they say in London, give it a go!
This Putting on the Ritz high tea replete with glorious scones, elegant tea sandwiches, and the perfect spot of tea will transform your little corner of the world into the elegance of the Ritz on Piccadilly Street. No reservations required!
We have some wonderful scone recipes that will shine like the Crown Jewels. We also have some fantastic tea sandwich recipes that will have your guests smearing their white gloves for more.
Great Scone Recipes
If you are pressed for time...
If you really want to be queen for a day, order your scones pre-made from Fat Cat Scones, and use all the extra time to dress your house and yourself in Royal elegance—tiara optional. These mail order delicacies are delicious, all natural, and baked with only the best ingredients.
Their Lemon Drop scones (my favorite) are heavenly. They ship frozen with dry ice, and just need to be heated and frosted. They go from freezer to oven in about 18 minutes. Even a maid-in-waiting can do that!
To accompany your scones, whip up a few different tea sandwiches. If possible serve on a pedestal style platter or larger serving tray.
Some options for tea sandwiches include:
- The World’s Best Scones
- King Arthur’s Cheesy Savory Scones
- Apricot and White Chocolate Scones
- Delicious Date Drop Scones
- Perfect Scones
If you are pressed for time...
- King Arthur Flour sells some excellent scone mixes, and this establishment stands as a wonderful baking resource.
- They stress the importance of measuring your flour and they advise that scones, like biscuits, will be most tender if the dough isn't worked too much.
- Use a gentle touch and work with cold fat. That is some regal advice from the King himself!
If you really want to be queen for a day, order your scones pre-made from Fat Cat Scones, and use all the extra time to dress your house and yourself in Royal elegance—tiara optional. These mail order delicacies are delicious, all natural, and baked with only the best ingredients.
Their Lemon Drop scones (my favorite) are heavenly. They ship frozen with dry ice, and just need to be heated and frosted. They go from freezer to oven in about 18 minutes. Even a maid-in-waiting can do that!
To accompany your scones, whip up a few different tea sandwiches. If possible serve on a pedestal style platter or larger serving tray.
Some options for tea sandwiches include:
- Crisp Vegetable Tea Sandwiches
- Tea Sandwiches à la Sandra Lee
- Curry Chicken Tea Sandwiches
- Cucumber Tea Sandwiches (a Vegan option)
Make your scones shiny and all the more delicious.
Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash prior to baking.Whisk together one egg with a small amount of water and with a pastry brush coat the top of the uncooked scone with the egg wash.
Sprinkle with course sugar and bake. You can also brush the tops of the pre-baked scones with heavy cream for a shiny light brown finish.
Sugar in the Rawwill give the scones a nice sweet touch, and a beautiful look. You can also use granulated white sugar too. Scones are traditionally served warm, split open and topped with butter or jam or Devonshire cream and lemon curd.
Devonshire cream, also known as clotted cream, can be a bit tricky to find, and in this article we have a recipe to make your own version of Devonshire cream.
Here are other links to making your very own Devonshire cream.
Sprinkle with course sugar and bake. You can also brush the tops of the pre-baked scones with heavy cream for a shiny light brown finish.
Sugar in the Rawwill give the scones a nice sweet touch, and a beautiful look. You can also use granulated white sugar too. Scones are traditionally served warm, split open and topped with butter or jam or Devonshire cream and lemon curd.
Devonshire cream, also known as clotted cream, can be a bit tricky to find, and in this article we have a recipe to make your own version of Devonshire cream.
Here are other links to making your very own Devonshire cream.
- Mock Devonshire cream
- Luscious Lemon Curd
- Here is a great recipe for Low Fat Lemon Curd, (substitute Splenda ® for the sugar to make it more figure friendly)!
To add a little "pomp" to your affair, ask your guests or your guest of honor to gussy up-white gloves, a special gown, even formal wear would be tea-riffic! Please no scone-washed jeans!
Set the table in an elegant manner, using your white linen table clothes, napkins and sterling silver flat wear and serving pieces.
Dig out all your old china pieces-the more mismatched the better!
Be creative with the location of your high tea sit down.
You don't have to set the event at your dining room table. A small side table and chairs is a fun option too, or perhaps you can reconfigure a sitting area in a sunroom or outside in your garden.
Most of us associate scones with a traditional English Tea, but these delicious treats originally hail from Scotland. They were born as Scottish 'quick' bread in the 1500s. According to many historians, Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, ordered tea and some sweet breads one afternoon, and was so delighted by this tea and it's accompanying baked treats, including scones, that it became a tradition thereafter in England.
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