Mother’s Day afternoon tea

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven for the lemon drizzle loaf: 170°C fan / 190°C conventional. Grease and line a 20 cm loaf tin.

2. 2

   Make the lemon drizzle loaf batter: in a large bowl beat the softened unsalted butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy (about 3–4 minutes with an electric whisk). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract, the finely grated zest of the lemons and 1 tbsp lemon juice.

3. 3

   Sift the plain flour and the 1 tsp baking powder for the loaf into the bowl and fold gently until just combined. Avoid overmixing or the loaf will be dense. Spoon into the lined tin and level the top.

4. 4

   Bake the loaf in the preheated oven for 45–55 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of foil for the last 15 minutes.

5. 5

   While the loaf bakes, make the scone dough: preheat a separate oven to 220°C fan / 240°C conventional and line a baking tray. Put the plain flour, 2 tbsp baking powder and 25 g caster sugar into a large bowl and rub in chilled unsalted butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

6. 6

   Stir in 180 ml milk to form a soft but not sticky dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, pat to 3 cm thickness and use a 5 cm cutter to stamp out 8 scones. Re-roll trimmings only once.

7. 7

   Brush the scones with a little milk or a beaten egg and bake at 220°C fan / 240°C conventional for 12–15 minutes until well risen and golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

8. 8

   When the lemon loaf is out of the oven, lift it from the tin and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. While it cools in the tin, make the drizzle: mix 100 g icing sugar with the juice of the remaining lemon and a tablespoon of water to a runny icing.

9. 9

   Once the loaf is on the cooling rack, pour the lemon drizzle evenly over the top so it soaks into the loaf. Leave the loaf to cool completely on the rack.

10. 10

    Assemble cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches: thinly slice the cucumber and sprinkle lightly with salt, then pat dry on kitchen paper. Spread a thin layer of unsalted butter on 8 slices of white bread, spread full-fat cream cheese on 8 more slices, scatter chopped fresh chives over the cream cheese, top with cucumber, sandwich together and trim crusts. Cut each sandwich into three fingers.

11. 11

    Make egg mayonnaise sandwiches: place 4 eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 9 minutes for hard-boiled yolks. Drain, cool briefly under cold running water, peel and chop. Mix chopped eggs with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. Spread on bread, add watercress to two slices, sandwich, trim crusts and cut into three fingers.

12. 12

    Make cheddar and chutney sandwiches: spread a thin layer of fruity chutney on 8 slices of bread, top with thin slices of mature cheddar, sandwich together, trim crusts and cut into three fingers.

13. 13

    Warm the scones briefly (if made ahead) in a 160°C fan / 180°C conventional oven for 4–5 minutes or serve at room temperature. Split and serve with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

14. 14

    Arrange sandwiches, warm scones and slices of lemon drizzle loaf on a cake stand or large platter. Garnish the platter with a few extra sprigs of watercress or chives, and brew a pot of strong tea to serve.

Tips

• Keep butter and equipment cold when making scones — cold butter gives steam in the oven and taller scones.
• Pat cucumber slices dry on kitchen paper before assembling to prevent soggy sandwiches.
• If you need to make the loaf ahead, slice only when cold and keep wrapped; drizzle can be rehydrated with a squeeze of lemon if it dries.
• Hard-boil eggs on the day for freshest egg mayonnaise; peel under running cold water to make it easier.
• Use a 5 cm cutter for classic scone size; re-roll trimmings only once to avoid tough scones.

Substitutions

• full-fat cream cheese → goat's curd, same weight (distinct tangy flavour)

  Noticeably different

• mature cheddar → a good vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer a milder flavour, same weight

  Stays close

• clotted cream → thick double cream whipped lightly, same weight (less authentic but similar richness)

  Stays close

• white bread → wholemeal or malted loaf, same number of slices (more robust flavour and colour)

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

1500

Calories

28 g

Protein

185 g

Carbs

72 g

Fat

6 g

Fibre

60 g

Sugar

900 mg

Sodium

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