Valentines Tea

For Valentines day I like to try to make something a little more special than what we have everyday. My kids and I really enjoy going to tea. We love the sandwiches, scones and pots of tea. We don't love the cost of going to tea (I have seen places charge 32 dollars per person, yikes) For Valentines day we thought it would be fun to make our own tea at home. I originally planned to make everything from scratch but as the day got closer decided to do a mix of homemade and store bought.

Our Tea Menu:
Assorted fruits and clotted cream
Hummus and pita bread
Pumpkin cranberry cream cheese sandwiches
Ham sandwiches with herb butter
Scones with jelly
Cookies

Tea time

Clotted Cream

4 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients together until mixture resembles softly whipped cream.
Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ham Sandwiches with Herb Butter

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons mint, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt

8 slices of whole wheat bread (or white bread if you prefer)
1 package (6 ounces) of your favorite deli ham

For the herb butter: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well
For the sandwiches: Lay out the slices of the bread and spread them all with a thin layer of herb butter. Place two pieces of ham on each sandwich. Top with the remaining bread slices. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board and cut off the crusts. Cut each sandwich in half crosswise and then cut each half diagonally to make triangles.
Makes 16 sandwiches

Basil, mint, lemon zest and garlic.

Herb butter

Raisin Scones

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup raisins (you can use cranberries if you prefer)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and rub it into the mixture until combined. Stir in the raisins. Mix together the buttermilk and sour cream and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir, but not too much or your scones will turn out tough.
Pat the dough into balls 2 inches across. Place onto a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon milk. Brush the top of the scones with your egg mixture.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Raisin scone with clotted cream and jelly.

This was a lot of fun for the kids and not too much work for me. My husband is not a huge fan of tea, but was a good sport and helped me with the prep work. This was a really nice affordable way to celebrate with my family.

Till tomorrow...