18 Tea Party Classics, from Scones to Sandwiches

By Food & Wine
Updated January 10, 2019
Add some pizazz to a late-afternoon, British-inspired gathering with delicate tea sandwiches, scones, and sweet treats.
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Double-Lemon Scones

Credit: © Marcus Nilsson
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Lemon–poppy seed cake meets scones in this delightful recipe from Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple.

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Orange-Cranberry Scones with Turbinado Sugar

Credit: Tina Rupp
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These pleasantly dense cranberry-studded scones get a toffeelike flavor from light brown turbinado sugar, which has large, crunchy crystals. Sugar in the Raw is a good brand.

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Curried-Egg Tea Sandwiches

Credit: PHOTO © CON POULOS
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Cookbook author Martha Hall Foose says that in the early 1960s, The Time Life Picture Cook Bookinspired Mississippi ladies to "go exotic" by adding ingredients like curry powder and orange zest to egg-salad tea sandwiches.

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Hazelnut Tea Cake with Moscato Pears

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This aesthetically-pleasing tea cake is as beautiful as it is appetizing.

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Raspberry Scones

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Erin McKenna developed the recipe because of a single determined customer who came to BabyCakes NYC every day asking, "Do you have scones yet?"

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Cucumber-Rye Tea Sandwiches

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Little slices of party rye are a Southern favorite for tea sandwiches: "You don't see regular rye down here every day," Martha Hall Foose says. If party rye isn't available, use a cookie cutter to create rounds from regular bread slices.

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Smoked Salmon and Preserved Lemon Tea Sandwiches

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The flavors of Morocco—preserved lemon and saffron—inspired these tasty and elegant smoked salmon sandwiches from F&W’s Ben Mims.

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Lemon-Rosemary Sun Tea

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Willi Galloway steeps lemon and rosemary for this tea. "Herbs are great for balcony gardens," she says.

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Curried-Egg Tea Sandwiches

Credit: PHOTO © CON POULOS
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Cookbook author Martha Hall Foose says that in the early 1960s, The Time Life Picture Cook Book inspired Mississippi ladies to "go exotic" by adding ingredients like curry powder and orange zest to egg-salad tea sandwiches.

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Sweet Lemon-Poppy Biscuits

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These lightly sweet biscuits are delicious served warm for breakfast, with strawberry or raspberry jam.

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Radish, Parsley and Lemon-Butter Tea Sandwiches

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These open-faced sandwiches created by F&W's Marcia Kiesel can be cut into whimsical shapes. For a little graphic fun, look for radishes of varying shapes and sizes.

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Sophie Dahl's Iced Tea

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Sophie Dahl loves to make iced tea—especially using Earl Grey flavored with lavender.

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Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Credit: Grace Parisi
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You can easily replace the blueberries with other kinds of fresh fruit, such as raspberries or peaches (chopped into small pieces).

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Meyer Lemon Marmalade

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Likely a cross between an orange and a lemon, the Meyer lemon give this sweet-tart marmalade a bright citrus flavor.

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Radish Tea Sandwiches with Miso Yogurt

Credit: © Con Poulos
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These lovely tea sandwiches from Justin Chapple are super-adaptable. You can use butter or full-fat yogurt instead of fat-free yogurt, and you can substitute sliced baby turnips or daikon for the radishes.

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Deviled Ham Salad on Marbled Rye Bread

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Thanks to the addition of Dijon mustard and paprika, this dish is spiced without being spicy.

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Herb-Topped Sweet Potato Biscuits

Credit: PHOTO © QUENTIN BACON
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These biscuits get a kick from cayenne pepper and an aromatic lift from fresh herbs. Mashing the sweet potatoes with a fork means that the biscuits will be flecked throughout with orange.

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Crispy Sesame Tuiles

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Kyotofu, a sleek New York City dessert bar, uses Japanese ingredients like green tea and sesame seeds in updated versions of Japanese classics.

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