Create the Perfect Afternoon Tea

As King Charles III’s Coronation Day approaches, what better way to celebrate than with a sumptuous afternoon tea. I incorporated my recipe for a quick coronation chicken, first designed for her late Majesty the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.The following recipes will make enough for 6 comfortably but could be stretched to feed a big crowd.

The coronation chicken, sausage roll (uncooked) and the lemon drizzle cake can all be made in advance the day before, leaving you to make the scones, bake the sausage rolls and fill the sandwiches on the day. I have included a blueberry sorbet on mine, but you can decide whether to include another savoury or sweet element of your choosing.

A cup of tea or a celebratory glass of fizz would be the perfect accompaniment

The savoury elements need to be seasoned perfectly and I used the Cole & Mason UK | Marlow Salt & Pepper Mills 185mm (coleandmason.com)

My Cole & Mason UK | Burwell Self-Watering Potted Herb Keepers (coleandmason.com) also proved very handy for those fresh herbs, which lift the flavour of the Coronation Chicken and sausage rolls.

If you don’t have a cake stand, a good way to serve it would be on the Cole & Mason UK | Acacia Wooden Chopping & Serving Board (coleandmason.com)

Difficulty: Medium

Cooking/prep time: 1 hour prep, 30 mins cooking time

Serves: 6 people

Ingredients:

For the Coronation Chicken Sandwich

• 2 chicken breast (cooked)
• 150g mayonnaise
• 50g soured cream/creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp mango chutney
• 1 tbsp korma/tikka curry paste
• Small handful of chopped coriander

• 6 dried apricots, chopped

• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Salt, pepper, chilli flakes
• Quality white bread

For the Lemon Drizzle Cake

• 112g butter
• 112g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 112g self-raising flour
• 1 lemon (zested)

Drizzle – ½ lemon, tbsp caster sugar

Topping – ½ lemon juiced, 50g icing sugar

For the Scone

• 100g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 25g butter
• 25g caster sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 tbsp milk

Strawberry jam

• Fresh strawberries
• 150ml Whipping/double cream

For the Sausage Roll

• 1 packet quality pork sausages
• 1 red onions
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 1 packet of shop bought puff pastry
• 1 egg for glazing

Method:

1. For the Coronation Chicken

• Chop the chicken into small pieces. Chop the dried apricots into similar sized pieces.
• In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, soured cream, mango chutney, curry paste and chopped coriander. Combine the two, mix and season with salt, pepper and some ground chilli flakes (to taste).
• This can be used in afternoon tea to fill mini buns or sandwiches.

2. For the Lemon Drizzle Cake

• Pre-heat oven to 180C
• Grease a mini loaf tin or mini muffin tray with butter
• In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and light.
• One by one, beat in the eggs and lemon zest
• Now fold in the flour, baking powder and salt
• Place the batter into your tray filling up to about 2/3 full in each loaf or muffin holes
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through.
• Whilst they are still warm, mix the lemon drizzle mixture in a pan – sugar and lemon juice and cook rapidly until you have a thin syrup. Whilst still hot skewer each cake and pour a little of the drizzle over the top.
• Once they have cooled completely, mix the icing sugar and lemon in a bowl and mix to a runny paste. Drizzle over the lemon cake and decorate with flowers or lemon zest.

3. For the Scone

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C and grease and flour a baking sheet
• Put the self-raising flour, sugar and salt and cubed butter in a bowl.
• Use your fingertips to incorporate the ingredients to a breadcrumb texture
• Now add the milk and form to a thick, but soft dough
• Roll out to around 1.5-2cm thick on a floured surface
• Use a 2.5cm cutter to make scone shape and place on the baking sheet. Brush a mixture of egg and milk on top.
• Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes, or until risen and slightly golden on top
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack.
• Once cool, cut in half, whip the cream to soft peaks, and fill each scone with jam, cream and a slice of fresh strawberry. Dust the top with icing sugar.

4. For the Sausage Roll

• Pre-heat oven to 200C
• In a frying pan, put a splash of oil and a knob of butter. Dice your red onion into half-moons and add to pan. Cook very gently on a low heat until the onion is a little browned and caramelised (but not burnt). Once cooked, chop the mixture to break up the onion.
• Take your quality pork sausages and use a sharp knife to slit the skin lengthways. Remove the skin and place the sausage meat in a bowl.
• Combine the cooled onion mixture, chopped parsley and sausage meat. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Half the sausage meat mixture and take 2 pieces of cling film. Make 2 long, even sausages (one in each of the cling film sheets) and roll into a long sausage shape (the same length as your pastry sheet)
• Take the pre-rolled pastry sheet and place on a floured surface. Cut the sheet in half lengthways.
• Put your long sausage roll onto the pastry and fold the pastry over to snugly fit around the pastry. Use a fork to crimp the edges and cut along to get a clean edge. Repeat with second sausage.
• Separate the egg and put the egg yolk in a bowl with a little salt. Use a pastry brush and brush each long sausage with egg glaze. Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on them and place in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.
• Remove from the fridge and cut each roll into small pieces (or large depending on how big you want them!). Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins, or until golden brown and cooked through.