High Tea Party Recipes

How to plan your own High Tea Party

High Teas are the perfect girls event. They work well for so many occasions and are particularly suited to wedding showers, baby showers, grandma's birthday and even book club meetings

A great high tea menu includes some items that can be prepared well in advance; otherwise it quickly becomes an enormous amount of work to try to do in one day. You can also mix and match home cooked and store bought items.

Oh and even though it's called a high tea there is no rule that says you can not serve champagne cocktails!

Tips for planning a high tea

Essential Ingredients for a great high tea

Presentation is almost as important as the food when it comes to a high tea. Having the following will really make your table look beautiful

• Pretty platters
• Cake stand
• Cups and saucers
• Serviettes/napkins

High Tea Menu for 12 - Recipes below

• Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes
• Mini Portuguese Tarts
• Buttermilk Scones
• Cupcakes
• Mini Quiches
• Boccincini Skewers
• Egg Sandwiches
• Mini Chicken Sausage Rolls

These cheesecakes are easy to make but they do take a while to cook and cool. You can prepare them 2 days ahead and store in the refrigerator or up to a month ahead and store in the freezer. Defrost overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 150 g shortbread biscuits - crushed finely (use a food processor)
• 50 g melted butter
• 250 g softened cream cheese
• 1 60 g egg
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 100 mls of thickened cream
• 1/3 cup superfine (caster) sugar
• Fresh or frozen raspberries

Instructions

1. Mix biscuits and butter and press into 10 muffin cases - pack this in firmly.
2. Using an electric mixer beat cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the egg, juice and cream and beat again until well combined.
4. Put mixture into cases and cook at 350F (160C) degree oven for 20 minutes - leave in the oven to cool with the door open for a further 5 minutes
5. Remove from the oven and cool on the bench for 30 minutes before removing from the muffin tin
6. Top with raspberries just before serving.

Mini Portuguese Tart Recipe - So easy you will make these again and again

Consider this a warning - these tarts will disappear in minutes. Double the recipe if you have more than a few friends to feed. They can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator - reheat in the oven for a few minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• I sheet of pre made Butter Puff Pastry
• Vanilla Bean scraped (keep seeds only)
• 2 tablespoons of cornflower
• 2.5 inches of lemon rind
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup single cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F
2. Grease/spray a 24 cup mini muffin pan
3. Combine egg yolks, milk and cream
4. Add cornflour and sugar and pour into a saucepan
5. Whisk over low heat until well combined
6. Add the vanilla bean seeds and the lemon rind
7. Stir until the custard begins to boil - remove from heat
8. Strain custard to remove beans and rind and set aside until ready to assemble tarts
9. Cut the pastry in half and put one piece on top of the other then roll the pastry from the long side and cut into 24 rounds
10. Press into light greased mini muffin tins
11. Divide cooled custard between tarts
12. Cook for 10-12 mins - remove from racks and cool before serving

Mini Vegetarian Quiches - And a bacon option too

Every single time I make these they are all gone in minutes. It's a really easy recipe that can be adapted easily to suit your tastes. Switch the ingredients to almost anything that takes your fancy... Mushrooms, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, caramelized onions, salmon, chicken and corn. The only thing that did not really work when I tried it was tomato.. too wet. The mini quiches can be made ahead and frozen for a month or two. Thaw over a few hours and reheat in a warm oven.

Ingredients

• 3 sheets of puff pastry
• 6 eggs - lightly beaten
• roasted diced sweet potato
• 3/4 cup cream
• 3 finely chopped shallots (spring onions)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup of grated tasty cheese

Instructions

1. Using a glass or egg ring cut pastry and press into lightly greased muffin tins
2. Cook onion and bacon in a pan until browned - cool
3. Divide between muffin holes
4. Add sweet potato
5. Top with grated cheese
6. Mix eggs and cream and divide between cases
7. Bake at 350F (180C) for 20 minutes.
8. Serve warm or cold.

High Tea Sandwiches Recipes - Egg Salad Sandwiches

• 5 boiled eggs - mashed (just hard boiled)
• 1/4 cup of Hellman's mayonnaise (or any egg mayo)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped continental parsley
• 8 slices of rye or wholemeal bread
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the eggs for 7 minutes then place in a bowl of cold water to stop them over boiling.
2. Peel the eggs and all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix
3. Spread on bread and cut into 3 fingers. You can remove crusts for more delicate looking sandwiches if you wish.

Bocconcini skewers - soft Italian cheese and tasty tomato

• I jar of marinated baby bocconcini
• I punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes
• small bunch of basil
• Toothpicks

Instructions

1. Drain and half the bocconcini
2. Thread onto a small skewer
3. Place one basil leaf on top of the cheese
4. Place a small cherry tomato or half tomatoes if they are larger
5. Can make an hour or two ahead but removed from fridge 20 minutes before serving to allow tomato to return to room temperature

More high tea recipes

• Buttermilk Scones
  Shape into smaller scones for a high tea
• Taste.com.au Morning and afternoon tea selection
  Over 100 great recipes - with user feedback - suitable for morning and afternoon teas
• Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt cups
  A skinny recipe from the blog Skinny Taste by Gina
• Mini Chicken Pies
  Make ahead and freeze recipe.. perfect for entertaining

What is your favourite high tea recipe

alex89 lm on June 13, 2012:

great collection of recipes

Spiderlily321 on May 15, 2012:

These recipes all sound so good. I have got to try to make some of these. Thank you for sharing this lens!

June Nash on January 10, 2012:

I like the mini quiches!

Terrie_Schultz on January 03, 2012:

These all look so fun and delicious!

Lynsher on September 15, 2011:

milk tart,delicious! Gonna try those quiches.

RecipePublishing on August 06, 2011:

Oh how yummy.

Carol Fisher from Warminster, Wiltshire, UK on July 29, 2011:

I love egg sandwiches and your recipe for them sounds delicious but I really want to sample those mini quiches. They look absolutely yummy.

justholidays on July 27, 2011:

So, could you send a pack including all foods included in this page, please? Cutlery set and plates are already on the table :D

BTW. I didn't know about this egg sandwich but will certainly give a try today or tomorrow.

Jackie Block from SE Michigan on July 26, 2011:

I love the idea of having a tea for a book club meeting. My book club usually meets in the evening, but an afternoon tea meeting sounds like a wonderful idea. Thanks for shaing these recipes. I look forward to trying them.

Richard from Surrey, United Kingdom on July 25, 2011:

I'll take some of those egg salad sandwiches, if you have any extras :)

Wednesday-Elf from Savannah, Georgia on July 25, 2011:

I'm reading this group of delicious looking High Tea recipes before lunch ... now I'm starving! What time are you serving High Tea today at your place... I'll be over. :-) As for the menu, I'd like to try some of the Quiche, please.