Customer Reviews

The Book of Afternoon Tea

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book starts with 2 pages of intoduction -- a brief history and instructions on how to brew tea. "Illustrated" is an understatement! The book is full of gorgeous, full-color photographs. It contains one recipe per page, starting with a photo of the finished product arranged on a serving plate and 3 photos next to the recipe showing the steps in preparation. The most "advanced" recipes involve using a pastry bag with a star tip, but that's as complicated as they get.

sandwiches: 12 recipes / savories: 12 recipes / scones & muffins: 6 recipes / yeast breads & quick breads: 10 recipes / cakes: 10 recipes / small cakes: 10 recipes / special cakes: 12 recipes / pastries: 8 recipes / cookies: 12 recipes / preserves: 4 recipes / drinks: 6 recipes

This is a wonderful cookbook and one of my favorite sources of tea-time recipes!

In its roughly 50 parts, all written by experienced cooks and cook book writers, HP Books' "The Book of ... Cooking" series takes you to the cuisines of various regions of the U.S. and around the world; all in easy to follow, well-explained recipes.

This installment, the Book of Afternoon Tea, starts with a brief introduction into the basics of traditional afternoon tea, and then presents recipe suggestions for all major types of tea snacks, from sandwiches and savories to cookies and preserves. Special chapters are dedicated to scones, muffins, yeast breads, quick breads, cakes and pastries. The book ends with a small section on afternoon drinks and a few suggestions for afternoon snack platters. Classics such as assorted sandwiches, shortcakes, muffins and meringues, apple butter, chocolate brownies, chocolate marble cake, Dundee cake, Florentines, lemon curd, Linzer hearts, mini quiches, lemonade, scones, smoked salmon croutes and spiced tea appear next to unique recipes such as coconut and cherry cake, crab and ginger triangles, grapefruit barley water, lemon and currant brioches, lemon mousse gateau, raspberry eclairs and rose petal jam.

From almond macaroons to Welsh rabbit fingers, this collection of recipes, while not all-encompassing, is a great introduction to the endless variations of snacks you can serve with afternoon tea - and at a relative bargain price, to boot. Also recommended: this series' installments on chocolates and petits fours, ice creams and sorbets, preserves, and cookies.

Also recommended:
Around the World Cookbook
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World
On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (4th Edition) Textbook only
Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

This is one of the best afternoon tea books ever written. The recipies are easy, and delightful. There are items for a simple tea, as well as more sophisticated delicacies. The pictures and instructions are outstanding. It's almost as good as having an instructional video tape.

I have only made a handfull of recipies from this book since receiving it only a few weeks ago, but every one has been a tremendous hit, and that's enough to realize that Afternoon Tea is quite a find.

The recipies are varied - everything from finger sandwiches to scones to cakes and cookies - and the full-color photographs take you through the recipie with ease. I will be using this book for a long time to come.

Ever wonder how that batter is supposed to look? How stiff does the peak have to be after beating the egg whites? Yes? Well, not to fear- you won't have any of those problems if you use this cookbook.

I can't help but give this book 5 stars. I enjoy cooking and baking as a hobby and even more since I found a couple of the HP Cookbooks at a used book store in Chicago. Not only do the recipes make for some delicious meals but they have exquisite full-color photographs side by side with step by step instructions. These series are a must-have resource for those who enjoy cooking and culinary art, both photographic and gastronomic!

This particular book features some beautiful and tasty recipees for various breads, cakes, and cookies. Cook from this book and tea time will be the best time of the day!

This is the absolute best compilation of tea recipes I've come across. The recipes are wholly uncomplicated and definitely tasty! For those of you thinking of hosting teas, I'd suggest this as your main buy if you're looking for a recipe resource. I have several others, but I always end up using the recipes in this book.
Don't be afraid of the ingredients (curry and mango chutney), they are what make the recipes memorable for those that attend. I'll be ordering a new copy because my first one is getting worn out fast.

This is probably the most useful of my books on afternoon tea. Rather than going into a history or details of the art of afternoon tea, this cuts right to the chase and presents dozens of simple, easy to follow recipes for sandwiches, savories, cakes, scones, and drinks, each one limited to a page or two, with a colour photo of the various steps, as well as a photo of the finished sandwich or cookie or cake, so that you have an idea of what you're supposed to be aiming for. Most of the ingredients are easy to find, and this lacks the 'preciousness' and odd mixes that seem so prevalent in food today. What I really like is that the cookie recipes make just enough for 2 or 4 people, enough for an afternoon tea gathering, but not so much as to cast all diets to the wind. Try the curried chicken sandwich, the double chocolate cookie, and the scones -- these have become favorites of mine, and the price for this book is just about right. Definately recommended!

The nice thing about the book is that it has pictures. Ironically, however, after reviewing the pictures, I quickly saw that the recipes were not good and looked unappealing. Upon closer inspection, many of the cakes had similar, powder-sugar based frostings/glazes, the level of quality in desserts you'd find at the local supermarket. The same could be said for the cake batters. I was looking for something more historically authentic. Because each recipe fits on one page, I'm guessing that a lot them were simplified to suit the format of the book.

If simplicity (at the expense of quality) is what you want, then this book is for you. Otherwise, you might be happier with The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea.

I love this book. I've used several of the recipes already and have had great success. They were delicious. My Tea Party guests just loved the sandwiches and the desserts I made using the recipes in this book. I highly recommend this book---it's great for any entertaining occassion.

I have given several afternoon teas using the recipes in this book. Just recently my unit had a tea. I brought in the book and they all loved it! We used about 10 of the recipes and everything turn our great! This would make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Afternoon Tea.