Valentine’s Day, albeit overrun by consumerism in the modern world, is all about love. Despite my standpoint that if you love someone, they should hear it every day – not just once a year, I still think it’s nice to do something extra special on the day to celebrate your relationship.
Pete and I looked into going out for afternoon tea for Valentine’s day but with loved-up punters getting their bookings in before us, we’d missed the boat… I guess it is one of the busiest times of the year for hotels and restaurants! After an hour or so of cringe-worthy Googling of ‘Things to do on Valentine’s day’, I had an idea…
With my love for being in the kitchen, baking and experimenting with new recipes, I decided that I would make homemade afternoon tea, which actually turned out to be a huge success! There were also many positives behind it: No cucumber sandwiches you don’t like – just your favourite selection of cakes and savoury delights, the handmade touch makes it feel extra special, the ingredients come in at an inoffensive price tag (compared to the £38+ of hotel selections!) and the bonus of the option to drink more than one glass of champagne – as you don’t have to drive home! Perfect.
After a quick search on Pinterest for inspiration I delved into the recipe folder and selected some of my favourite homemade recipe’s to make as outlined below:
Savoury – Salmon and cream cheese blinis, parmesan cheese straws, cured meats blinis and a selection of sandwiches.
Sweet – Sultana & cherry scones, mini Victoria sandwiches, chocolate brownies, French macarons and white chocolate cupcakes.
I know it sounds like a tall order for one person (without a michelin star) to make all of these, but I actually put all this together within a Saturday afternoon, so it is definitely achievable if you enjoy baking.
Homemade afternoon tea was a really fun experience! I really enjoyed making all the different elements and positioning them on the cake stands like they would in a fancy hotel. This idea would work well for a number of different occasions such as for a hen do, baby shower, wedding or birthday party so you’re not just restricted to Valentine’s day.
Over the next few weeks I’m hoping to post my recipe for each of the elements of the afternoon tea, so keep an eye out if you would like to replicate the selection I made. In the meantime, here’s a link to my homemade chocolate brownie recipe, which made it onto the stand!
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