Customer Reviews

The Perfect Afternoon Tea Book: Create the Perfect Teatime Celebration with 80 Classic Tea-time Treats

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This reminds me of baking books that my grandmother used (Finer Cooking with Mcdougalls springs to mind!) This is the type of book that would have done quite well before the popularity of the cupcake took on epic proportions.

The recipes are simple, straightforward, traditional, gimmick free and no-frills. There isn't anything original in there, but I really do think that sponges in various forms have been re-worked to death now (and I say this as someone who LOVES Hummingbird, Primrose, Cookiegirl et al). This book strips it all back to basics, which might seem boring to some, but is refreshing in a lot of ways.
Is it trendy? No. Is it something that National Trust shops might sell? Yes!!! (Who knows maybe it's already on their shelves).

The book contains recipes for: teabreads, sandwiches (!!) pastries, biscuits, cakes and jams. It's not a coffee table book to show off with, but I personally think it's delightfully retro. Maybe even quaint.
The reason I haven't given it five stars is because at the beginning, there is a chapter about the history of afternoon tea; how to make the perfect cup of tea and tea etiquette. Whilst the book is about afternoon tea, I found this chapter staid and long-winded. A more concise intro with a few more recipes added to the book instead, would have been preferable.

I bought the book for the following recipes:
Fat rascals, coconut macaroons, chocolate chip walnut cake, sticky gingerbread, battenberg, buttermilk scones and soul cakes.
The recipes work well and the instructions are easy to follow.
There are over seventy recipes in the book, including: leek and bacon tarts, potted cheese, salmon mousse, barm brack, curd tart, Tinker's cakes and victoria sponge.
If you want to backlash against all the band-wagon jumping, over-iced, sparkly, mini-portioned cake books, then this is the one for you. It will stand the test of time and be used for years to come. The type of baking that will never go out of fashion!!

Afternoon tea is great and I have lately invited friends to tea - it's a nice time of day, and so elegant and great to get use out of that pretty bone china tea set that has been stashed away for so long!

The book is lovely - it has an interesting introductory chapter, attractive illustrations, and the best recipe for Gingerbread I have found since I lost my dear-departed mother's recipe! That's the only item I have made from it so far and it's a corker!

Someone commented on the fact that this book tells you "how to make sandwiches!!!"
Well, I have recently been out to two very posh places for afternoon tea. At one, the sandwiches were superb. At the other, they were truly shocking - they fell apart, the fillings in each didn't go well together, and they were just clumsy and gross. So, maybe, a little help with the kind of fillings that will ensure a delicate, crust-free sandwich that stays together, and tastes and looks good, isn't such a silly idea!

I received this book as a Christmas present; despite many of the receipes being duplicates from other books, I quite liked the fact that many of my favourtie recipes were contained in one book. However I have not been impressed by the results. Obviously receipes do vary from one book to another and everyone has their favourites but where the quantities stated are clearly wrong in proportion to the rest of the ingredients it is impossible for the outcome to be anything but a disaster. I am an experienced baker so fortunately able to make adjustments accordingly but I certainly wouldn't recommend this book.

This was bought to help plan a fund raiser for the homeless. Great ideas, quirky, practical, fun. Beautiful photos, good advice

A great book containing all the information required to recreate an old fashioned 'English Afternoon Tea'.