If you’re missing your favorite Valentine’s Day princess tea or party, create your own at home. Start with a theme – superheroes, princesses, zoo animals – then put your pinkies up for an at-home tea party.
The food
A traditional English tea comes complete with finger sandwiches, scones with jams and cakes and pastries. Visit historic-uk.com for more info on tea.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t make a perfect cucumber sandwich. A great finger sandwich can also be peanut butter and jelly, sans crust and cut into dainty strips. For flair, consider pulling out the cookie cutters for a Teddy bear or flower motif.
A good scone is a sweetened biscuit and occasionally includes fruit in the batter. When it comes to homemade scones, a simple recipe from sallysbakingaddiction.com helps you include whatever additions (dried cranberries, chocolate, cheese or all of the above) that your family will love.
Pastries are the star on the top of the tea tower. Sweet, single-bite and memorable, your pastries can include anything from expert-level chocolate croissants to anything you can make with puff pastry and served in small pieces.
The tea
If you can boil water, you can make tea.
Pick teas that go great with your theme. Sweets? Go with a cranberry, blueberry or peach. Do you want heavier and savory? Try an Earl Grey or English Traditional. If everyone can pick their own, grab a selection.
Kids younger than age 5 would love a swap of tea for hot chocolate (the key to the world’s best hot chocolate is milk; even in instant mix, milk adds decadence).
The service
The key to turning lunch sandwiches into tea is the service.
Gather the best tea cups you can find, it’s OK if they don’t match. Or decorate for the occasion by painting plain white ceramic cups using Sharpies, then bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes (let the mug preheat and cool in the oven so that it isn’t shocked by the temp).
If you don’t have a plate tower to present the sandwiches and pastries, use a cake plate to add levels.
Dress in your finest or costume up with the theme, and serve.
