Afternoon Tea

Posted bybrooklynwellnessnzPosted inRecipes, Tattler

Ah, doesn’t that sound old fashioned, maybe a little decadent? Definitely relaxing. Is there a place for afternoon tea in our frenetic modern world?

Maybe the tiered plate with tiny sandwiches, bite sized cakes and a chocolate or two, served alongside tea poured from a china teapot into dainty cups, can be saved for specials occasions. But a simpler, more robust and healthier break can be part of a daily routine.

  • I’m remembering Saturday afternoons at my grandmother’s kitchen table with Mum, my aunts, an everyday teapot in a cosy and Grandma’s jam tarts.
  • Saturday mornings spent baking with my mother so we always had home made goodies when we got home from school, hungry and with three hours to wait till dinnertime.
  • As adults, if we have stable blood sugar, we don’t need an afternoon snack, but sometimes a light morsel is appreciated if we’re going to eat dinner late or if we’re having an afternoon break to catch up with a friend.

Our featured recipe is a date and orange scone recipe, adapted to be low carb and gluten free. Can also be made dairy free.

  • 150gm (1 1/2 cups) almond flour
  • 50gm (1/3 cup) coconut flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
  • 3 Tbs granulated sweetener of your choice (eg sugar, erythritol, allulose)
  • 50gm mixed peel OR freshly grated zest of an orange
  • 100gm chopped dates, other dried fruit of choice, or fresh (or defrosted) berries for low carb
  • 1/3 cup cream, milk, almond milk, coconut milk or other plant milk
  • 3 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon orange essence

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large mixing bowl, mix together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sweetener. Stir in  the peel and fruit. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, coconut oil, eggs and orange essence. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Leave for a minute or 2 for the coconut flour to soak up the moisture. Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside and lightly dust a cutting board with almond flour.

If the dough is too sticky, add a little extra almond flour. If the dough is too thick, add some cream or milk. Form the dough into a ball. Transfer onto the board and gently knead, until mostly smooth.

Flatten into a thick disk, then using a sharp knife, cut 8-10 triangles. Or just form by hand into 8-10 scone shapes. Place onto the lined sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden around the edges.

A more standard version of this recipe made with wheat flour is on our Sweet baking page.

After school snacks

Hungry, growing children, probably need a more robust snack, especially if they are active. Think:

Catching up with family and friends over a cuppa

Both our wallets and our waistline would appreciate something home made. Bite sized versions of any of these can be made at the weekend, and stored in the freezer till required.

More recipe links

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