12 Brilliantly Vintage Tea Party Ideas

Everyone loves tea parties. And just in case you needed another excuse to have one, from the 20-29 June Marie Curie are holding a Blooming Great Tea Party event, encouraging you to host a tea party for charity. We’ve rounded up some beautiful recipe ideas to get you started…

Raspberry Meringue Dark Chocolate Sandwiches

The great thing about these meringues is that you can make them the day before so you have less to do on the day of your tea party. They’re beautiful, they’re rose-shaped and I bet they taste pretty gorgeous, too. These raspberry meringue sandwiches with whipped dark chocolate ganache were made by Allie, from the Baking A Moment blog.

Cranachan Ice Cream

Lauren at the blog Coffee Muffins gives us a twist on the traditional Scottish treat, Cranachan. She’s tweaked a raspberry ripple ice cream recipe, adding whisky and an oat praline layer, turning the whole thing into a beautiful Cranachan ice cream, served in lovely vintage tea cups. A refreshing alternative to all that cake, especially if it’s a warm day.

Sandwich Cake

Don’t panic, because this isn’t a cucumber cake. It’s actually a sandwich cake, based on the Swedish recipe for Smorgastorta. This one comes from Pavani, from the blog Cook’s Hideout and contains cream cheese, baba ghanoush and a whole load of other delicious things. You make it up and then just slice it into portions like you would a normal cake.

Mini Apple Rose Pies

I’m in love with these mini apple rose pies, from Holly, who writes at the blog From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen. And you’ll be pleased to find out that making apple roses isn’t as fiddly as you’d think. Check out her blog post for step by step instructions, and the full recipe.

Sponge Cake with Berries and Cherries

Sometimes, if you’re feeding a lot of people (or even if you’re not), you just need a big cake as a centrepiece to your tea party. And this is perfect. The recipe comes from Christina at Hungry Australian, and it proves you don’t need a lot of fiddly icing on it either - just pile the top of the cake with berries and cherries.

Cheese Scones

If all that cake and ice cream gets a bit much, you can always have a few cheese scones on the table, too. This recipe for Cheddar dill scones comes from the blog An Edible Mosaic. Perfect with a cuppa and thickly spread with salted butter. Yum.

Blackberry Cupcakes

More proof that decorating your cakes doesn’t have to be fiddly. Michelle from Hummingbird High has made these gorgeous blackberry cupcakes topped with rose cream cheese frosting, blackberry sauce and, of course, blackberries.

Jam Scones

Oh yes. Get out the scones, creamed jam and layer it all up for a good, old-fashioned cream tea. Bung it all on the table and let everyone help themselves. And that way, there’ll be no arguments about whether you put the cream or jam on first. (Not true - there probably will be). Get the recipe for these scones at Gourmet Kitchen Tales.

Pimm’s Strawberry Cups

In case you need a break from just buckets of tea. This refreshing drink comes from Jessica from How Sweet It Is. And because you can’t beat a spot of Pimm’s at a traditional tea party. Get the full recipe on her blog.

Rose Petal Jelly

Love the fragrance of rose petals? Then you’ll love slathering this rose petal jelly over your scones. And luckily, it’s no too difficult to make. Check out step by step photos at Lucky Beans. Katurah reckons it would also make a perfect glaze for a lemon cake or as she eats it: on baked French toast with blackberries.

Champagne Strawberry Jellies

If you’re looking for something a bit different from cakes and biscuits, then how about this? Champagne and strawberry jellies, from A Beautiful Day. You can make them the day before, too.

Earl Grey Cookies

Another recipe here from Hummingbird High, but I couldn’t resist. Earl Grey tea works really well in baking recipes and Michelle has cracked it here with these Earl Grey and dark chocolate cookies. She also says you can always switch out the Earl Grey for your favourite tea. Perfect.

The Blooming Great Tea Party runs from 20-29 June. Will you be making any of these treats?

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