With King Charles’ coronation happening this year, it makes sense we’ve all got a little British… fever? Excitement? Certainly a healthy dose of curiosity from afar. Looking for a fun and easy way to dip your toes into British tradition? Throw an afternoon tea, full of adorable pastries, delicious salads, and savory treats. Check out our 40 afternoon tea recipes, then put the kettle on, pull out your nicest plates, and get ready to feel extra posh.
Afternoon tea can mean different things to different people, but some tenets we think are important are having a good mix of sweet and savory items, serving things on special dishes, and, of course, the tea! While we’re all for a solid cup of Earl Grey or oolong, we’ve also included some recipes here for if you want to shake things up. Our Thai iced tea, our kombucha, or our Arnold Palmer are fun tea-adjacent drinks perfect for adding pizzazz to your spread (they’re good for winning over tea-haters too!).
Speaking of switching things up, let’s talk etiquette. For many people, afternoon tea is a time to behave a bit fancier than usual, and there are many rules you can follow if you’d like to do the same, including holding your teacup (pinkies out!) to folding and unfolding your napkin in a particular ways. We’re all for tradition, but are also very into making things our own. If stirring your cup without touching the sides excites you, go for it! Otherwise, feel free to enjoy other aspects of an afternoon tea, like the FOOD.
Let’s start with the savory options, which per tradition should be eaten first. We’ve included recipes for our deviled eggs, our flaky sausage rolls, or our Scotch eggs, as well as our classic chicken salad, our best egg salad, and our coronation chicken salad that are perfect for turning into lettuce cups or finger sandwiches (cut those crusts off!).
Next course should be scones—we’ve got a recipe here for our favorite versatile scones that can swing sweet or savory, as well as some shortcakes like our Bisquick strawberry shortcake biscuits and our lemon blueberry shortcakes. Serving scones with clotted cream is traditional, but we’ve also included some of our other fave add-ons, like homemade whipped cream, garlic butter, lemon curd, or fig jam. A little variety is nice, so have fun with it.
The final (and best!) course is the sweets! Bite-size versions of all your favorites can make an appearance here. Check out our petit fours (made with Funfetti cake!), our French macarons, our rhubarb cake (or traybake, in the UK), or our amaretti cookies for ideas, but really, anything goes. All your favorite cookies, cakes, and mini desserts can make an appearance here, so make your afternoon tea your own.
1
Scotch Eggs
We didn’t think a jammy egg could get any better—until we tried Scotch eggs. Featuring a layer of sausage wrapped around a boiled egg that's battered and deep-fried, this popular British snack is our new favorite thing to eat for breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon snack... and any meal in between.
Get the Scotch Eggs recipe.
2
Petit Fours
Featuring confetti cake layered with raspberry jam and buttercream and covered in a shiny white glaze, these stunning mini cakes will delight anyone who attends your afternoon tea.
Get the Petit Fours recipe.
3
Lemon Blueberry Puff Pastry Tart
With a lemon-cream cheese base, jammy blueberries, a crunchy crumble, and a flaky puff pastry base, this tart is absolutely perfect. Serve it for afternoon tea, then keep it in your pocket for your next brunch too.
Get the Lemon Blueberry Puff Pastry Tart recipe.
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4
Coronation Chicken
Although it originated in the United Kingdom during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, this dish is just like the chicken salad we all know and love here across the pond. It would be delicious served with crackers for scooping or piled onto a buttered and toasted brioche bun for tea, but we like to serve it on fresh and crisp Bibb lettuce leaves.
Get the Coronation Chicken recipe.
5
Sausage Rolls
If you like pigs in a blanket, you’ll fall hard for sausage rolls. Featuring juicy pork filling wrapped in flaky golden brown pastry, these savory snacks are sure to become your favorite part of your afternoon tea spread.
Get the Sausage Rolls recipe.
6
Bisquick Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits
These are the ultimate reason to pull out the yellow box: classic Bisquick biscuits. These biscuits are exactly what you want: cakey, just sweet enough, and—perhaps most important of all—the ideal vehicle for shortcakes, featuring clouds of whipped cream and saucy strawberries.
Get the Bisquick Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits recipe.
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7
Garlic Butter
Garlic butter is a compound butter, which is really just a fancy way to describe butter that has extra flavorings added to it, either sweet or savory. We’ve also got red wine butter, Tuscan butter, and maple butter too, if you prefer!
Get the Garlic Butter recipe.
8
Versatile Scones
This buttery and flaky scone recipe works well with any extra add-ins and can even go sweet or savory. We include a few of our favorite variations, but don't let the fun stop here. Go wild with some of your favorite fruit, chocolate chips, or favorite cheeses!
Get the Versatile Scones recipe.
9
Lemon Blueberry Shortcakes
A strawberry shortcake is one of those quintessential summer desserts we can't get enough of—we made this extra fruity version so we can enjoy it even more. The buttery, flaky biscuits here are crowned with a homemade lemon curd (store-bought would be fine!), sweetened blueberries, and an easy whipped cream. It’s tart and sweet—and incredibly good.
Get the Lemon Blueberry Shortcakes recipe.
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10
Rhubarb Cake
Rhubarb is strikingly beautiful, and this cake shows it off well. The stalks bake right into the cake, becoming soft and jammy, and surrounded by a crunchy sugary crust. It’s quick and simple–more like a snacking cake (or traybake, in the UK)–meaning you can eat it with your hands if you so desire.
Get the Rhubarb Cake recipe.
11
Iced Tea
Our top top for making the best iced tea—brew your tea stronger than normal. Similar to making cold brew, you where you want to make a strong concentrate so you don't end up with a weak glass of sugar water. Not into sweet tea? Feel free to skip it!
Get the Iced Tea recipe.
12
Strawberry Pop-Tart Blondies
Buttery, chewy, and filled with strawberry jam, this dessert combines the nostalgia of Pop-Tarts and the classic comfort of blondies in one adorable cookie bar. We went with easy sprinkles, but feel free to have fun with it.
Get the Strawberry Pop-Tart Blondies recipe.
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13
Confetti Butterfly Cupcakes
Layer cakes are spectacular, but they’re not always the most practical—enter, cupcakes! Specifically these ultra-adorable confetti butterfly cupcakes (also known as fairy cakes in the UK).
Get the Confetti Butterfly Cupcakes recipe.
14
Cherry Bakewell Cookies
These cookies have a light yet chewy almond-flavored base and are stuffed with tart cherry jam to mimic the flavor combination in a Bakewell tart. Decorated with sliced almonds and icing, these are the epitome of style AND substance.
Get the Cherry Bakewell Cookies recipe.
15
Whipped Feta With Balsamic Roasted Strawberries
If you’re a fan of our cranberry whipped feta recipe, this is the spring appetizer for you. Fresh feta is combined with mascarpone, whipped until super-smooth, then topped with balsamic-roasted strawberries and fresh basil. The result is a creamy, sweet, tangy dip you’ll find completely irresistible.
Get the Whipped Feta With Balsamic Roasted Strawberries recipe.
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16
Cucumber Salad
Classic cucumber salad recipes feature the crisp, green vegetable thinly sliced into rounds and tossed in a simple combination of salt, sugar, and vinegar, but we think you (and your afternoon tea!) deserve better than basic—our recipe adds mustard seed, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and plenty of fresh herbs to make it extra special.
Get the Cucumber Salad recipe.
17
Lemon Curd
Fresh lemon juice and zest are the stars in this lemon curd, creating a natural and distinctly citrusy flavor. Spoon it into baked pastry shells, over pavlova or meringue cookies, onto buttered biscuits... whatever you like!
Get the Lemon Curd recipe.
18
Baked Salmon Sushi Cups
Making sushi at home can be intimidating, what with making sushi rice, rolling it up just right, and dealing with raw fish. With these baked salmon sushi cups, you can skip all that but still get all the flavors of your favorite roll, in one bite-size package.
Get the Baked Salmon Sushi Cups recipe.
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19
Perfect Fruit Scones
Fruit scones are meant to be seasonal, so use your favorite farmers' market fruit (or whatever you need to use up in your fridge). Serve with some ice cream or whipped cream for a shortcake-inspired dessert in the evenings too.
Get the Perfect Fruit Scones recipe.
20
Sponge Cake
Having this cake in your recipe arsenal will have you ready for anything that gets thrown at you: You can cube it a trifle, crumble it over ice cream, or—our favorite—stack it with whipped cream and berries. The best part? You can also have this entire cake ready in just about an hour.
Get the Sponge Cake recipe.
Camille Lowder
Digital Food Producer
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
