Afternoon Tea

After dropping the kids off to school, putting on a load of washing, and doing a quick whip around the house to tidy up, I get down to work. Working from home means quite a few distractions during the day – housework, dinner plans, etc, but it also has the benefit of being able to stop when you like and sit and do a few rows of crochet or make some cookies or take advantage of a sunny day for 30 minutes of gardening.

But the best time of day for me is afternoon tea. I do have multiple cups of tea during the day, but at about 2pm I stop what I am doing and bake something – sometimes its some quick muffins or cookies, occasionally I might make a cake or brownies, or if I am running out of time I prepare for French toast. Then I pick the kids up from school and when we all get home we sit and have some warm sweet baked somethings and a pot of tea. We are all tea mad and love to try out different sorts of tea. Chai is a regular favourite, we also love an Earl Grey blend, sometimes we have Genmaicha (Japanese rice green tea) but most of the time we stick to a Traditional Afternoon blend. We love this time as we sit and chat about our day, the kids talk excitedly non-stop for the duration, while I sip my tea and occasionally ask questions. Then we clear up and get on with our afternoon tasks. It is a special time of day.

The recent Action Pack is dedicated to tea and has lots of different tea tastings as well as sewing projects all related to tea. So in honour of ‘Sew & Tea’ Action Pack and our love of tea, I will be posting lots of tea and tea craft related posts over the next couple of weeks. Including a pattern to sew a teapot to go with the teacup pattern you will find in this months Action Pack, tea-towel crafts, tea cozies, recipes for Afternoon Tea and lots more – so stay tuned!

Today I am making a Cinnamon Tea Cake - it’s a classic country cake and perfect to have with Afternoon Tea. This recipe must have been the first cake I ever made – back when I was 8 or 9 years old, with my grandmothers help. So simple to make, yet so delicious to eat.

What you need:

Cake batter:

• 60g (2oz or 1/2 stick of) butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Self raising flour (or plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder)
• 1/3 cup milk

Topping:

• 15g (1/2oz) extra butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon (castor or finely ground) sugar, extra mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

How to make:

1. Line your round sandwich cake tin with baking paper (I used the butter wrapping paper)
2. Beat the butter and vanilla and sugar together until creamy.
3. Add the egg continue to beat for another minute.
4. Add half the flour and half the milk, mix in for half a minute, then add the rest of the milk and flour and beat until just combined – don’t over beat.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes or until just golden. The cake should shrink away from the sides of the cake tin.
6. Turn the cake out onto an airing tray. Brush the top with the extra melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
7. Serving with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea and eat warm for your afternoon tea.

Here are 4 more things you can make for afternoon tea today (if you have some time):

Scones, Plum cake, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Green Goddess Tea Sandwhiches

Be sure to check out the rest of the Action Pack if you are a tea fan like us!

Tagged as: afternoon tea, cinnamon tea cake recipe, recipe