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Sep 4, 2019

Assorted Tea Sandwiches for Afternoon Tea

Assorted mini sandwiches are always perfect for afternoon tea. You can cut them into little rectangles or triangles. Just be sure to cut the crusts off for the perfect tea sandwich. 


Assorted Tea Sandwiches for Afternoon Tea

For afternoon tea, you definitely need to serve an assortment of little sandwiches, including these smoked salmon sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, and egg salad sandwiches.

If you are hosting a tea party, you can add little cucumber and little shrimp sandwiches. You can also make sandwiches out of little pâte à choux rolls, filling them with chicken salad.

Round out your tea party spread with scones and jams, curd, or other spreads. shortbreads, tiny tarts, and tiny cakes. I included some of these little cheese puffs! Don't forget the tea and sparkling wine.

Assorted Tea Sandwiches


What is the history of afternoon tea?


Evidently, afternoon tea has been around since the mid nineteenth century.

Tea drinking as a pastime gained popularity in England when Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, along with other ladies of the upper crust started the daily routine of having a cup of tea and a light mid-afternoon meal earlier in the day.

With Queen Victoria, it became an even more formal affair, where tea service was introduced by England's fancy dining rooms, and going to tea was part of the routine of the well-to-do. There was a dress code and rules about how to stir and pour the tea (Source: Afternoon Tea at Home by Will Torrent).

Fortunately, the "rules" have relaxed quite a bit since the nineteenth century.

Assorted Tea Sandwiches for Afternoon Tea on a cake pan


P.S. I've been to two great tea rooms, The Palace Hotel in San Francisco and the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, B.C. They are both gorgeous and worth a visit if you are nearby. They will give you a taste of what enjoying a traditional tea time was like.

Three tea sandwiches for afternoon tea:


For afternoon tea, I made three tea sandwiches. To celebrate the birthday of Duchess Anna, my friends from the Foodie Extravaganza group are also offering recipes for scones, little cakes, fruit curd, and little biscuits. 


Tea sandwich trio

How to make tea sandwiches:


To make tea sandwiches, all you need is fairly thin sliced sandwich bread. I used both white bread and light wheat bread. If you can find (or bake yourself) sandwich bread where the slices are squared on top, it makes it super easy. If you make your own, you can bake it in a Pullman pan with a lid to square off the top of the bread.

You make the sandwiches before cutting the bread, slice off the crusts, and then cut the sandwiches into small rectangles or triangles. Be sure to butter the bread slices with salted butter first to prevent the bread from getting soggy (and who doesn't like butter!).

Tea sandwiches ready to assemble

Deviled Egg Tea Sandwiches:


These deviled egg tea sandwiches turned out to be my and my taste testers' favorite of all three sandwiches. The egg salad mixture includes mango ginger chutney! The combination is totally worth trying. 

They also include Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, and fresh watercress. 

Egg salad tea sandwiches

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches:


These smoked salmon sandwiches are simple to make. They include thinly sliced smoked salmon, whipped cream cheese, and lemon butter! I made these with light brown bread. 

Salmon tea sandwiches


Roast Beef Sandwiches:


For these roast beef sandwiches, I used deli-sliced roast beef, watercress, and a roasted garlic and horseradish mayonnaise. The recipe for the garlic mayo is amazing. You will have lots of the mayo left over to enjoy later. 

Roast beef tea sandwiches


Let's celebrate the birthday of Anna, the Duchess of Bedford with the Foodie Extravaganza group, hosted by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla

More afternoon tea recipes:



Assorted Tea Sandwich Recipes


Yield: 8 servings
Author:
Assorted mini sandwiches are always perfect for afternoon tea. You can cut them into little rectangles or triangles. Just be sure to cut the crusts off.

ingredients:

For the Egg Salad Sandwiches
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon mango chutney (I used mango ginger chutney)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 8 slices white bread
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons softened salted butter
  • Fresh watercress
For the Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
  • 3/4 stick salted butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces whipped cream cheese, softened 
  • 8 slices light wheat bread
  • 12 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
For the Roast Beef Sandwiches
  • 1 small sweet onion, peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
  • 8 slices white bread
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces thinly sliced roast beef
  • Fresh watercress

instructions:

How to cook Assorted Tea Sandwich Recipes

To Make the Egg Salad Sandwiches
  1. Peel and grate the hard-boiled eggs with a box grater. 
  2. Add the mayonnaise, mango chutney, mustard, cayenne, salt, and pepper, and mix well. 
  3. Lay out the bread on a work surface and spread each slice with the butter. 
  4. Divide the egg salad among half of the bread slices, sprinkle with watercress, and top with the rest of the bread. 
  5. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two hours until ready to serve. 
  6. Trim the crusts off of the sandwiches with a serrated knife and cut the sandwiches into rectangles or triangles, and serve. 
For the Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
  1. Beat the butter until soft and add the lemon zest and juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Season the whipped cream cheese with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Lay out the bread on a work surface and spread each slice with the lemon butter.
  4. Spread half of the slices with the whipped cream cheese and lay the sliced smoked salmon on top.
  5. Top with the rest of the buttered bread.
  6. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two hours until ready to serve.
  7. Trim the crusts off of the sandwiches with a serrated knife and cut the sandwiches into rectangles or triangles, and serve.
For the Roast Beef Sandwiches
  1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F
  2. Wrap up the onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in foil and bake on a roasting pan for about 40 to 50 minutes, until browned.
  3. Let cool slightly and then process in a food processor. Let cool completely.
  4. Combine the onion and garlic mixture with the mayonnaise and horseradish. You will have more than you need. Refrigerate any leftover mayo.
  5. Lay out the bread on a work surface and spread each slice with the butter.
  6. Spread half of the slices with the onion, garlic, and horseradish mayonnaise.
  7. Top the slices with the sliced roast beef and sprinkle with watercress.
  8. Top with the rest of the buttered bread.
  9. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two hours until ready to serve.
  10. Trim the crusts off of the sandwiches with a serrated knife and cut the sandwiches into rectangles or triangles, and serve.
tea, tea sandwiches
Tea, sandwiches
English
Created using The Recipes Generator
These recipes were adapted from the book, Afternoon Tea at Home by Will Torrent. There are so many amazing recipes for tea time treats in the book. These recipes are easily scaleable to make less or more sandwiches. 

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Would you like to comment?

  1. Perfect little sandwiches. I'm glad you went with the sandwiches. So many of us chose scones.

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  2. Ahhh...I went to tea in Victoria, too. I'll have to look up the one in San Francisco. We're up there at least a few times a year. Never been to that one. Thanks for joining me this month, Karen. As always, your post has my mouth watering.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the great theme. The dining room is called the Garden Court, and it is stunning!

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  3. what a wonderful post, Karen! I had the opportunity of going to a great tea place in London, and was absolutely AMAZED by it! at some point I intend to blog about it, but probably it will take me a while

    I've been thinking of re-visiting the tea sandwiches, so your post brought a huge smile to my face...

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    Replies
    1. How cool that you got to go to an elaborate tea room in London! P.S. does this book tempt you? He he!

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    2. no, it did not tempt me... but for a very simple reason....

      https://bewitchingkitchen.com/2019/04/20/chocolate-tartlets-with-honey-caramel-filling/

      ;-)

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    3. Ha ha! I remember those. Now I'm pretty sure it was YOU who tempted me with that book!

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    4. I was hoping it was the case.... because I find that super cool.... ;-) and of course, I think we are pretty balanced in this enabling game we play... ;-)

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  4. This my comfort food Karen! I can enjoy sandwiches at any time of the day and are simply delightful..yum.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This makes me nostalgic - I have wonderful memories of high tea at Harrods with my Grandmother, and with a couple of girlfriends for my "sprinkle" when pregnant with my son. Bookmarking to maybe set up a tea with my daughter and our "quarantine team"

    ReplyDelete

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