Tea and Crumpets

Tearooms, tea salons, and hotel dining rooms are, without question, places that residents hold dear and visitors place at the top of their 'must do' lists when traveling abroad. Tea and Crumpets will transport you to these legendary European tearooms and storied salons and offer simplified recipes for recreating at home the sandwiches, pastries, cakes, and confections that have made them famous. Savor the Ritz's recipe for cucumber sandwiches, the aristocrat of the tea table, and Claridge's raisin and apple scones. Learn how the chef at Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel creates the chocolate scones that grace its afternoon tea menu, and delight in making banana-chocolate charlottes like those served at London's Savoy. Be prepared to wow your guests by serving teatime specialties like Battenberg cake, a pink-and-white-checkered cake filled with apricot jam and covered with marzipan; Dundee cake, a Scottish fruitcake made famous in the city where marmalade got its start; and French temptations such as petits pains au chocolat, hazelnut pots de creme, macarons, and tea-infused madeleines. Perfect for armchair travelers, food tourists, intrepid gastronomes, and inventive hostesses, Tea and Crumpets will provide both a delicious culinary and cultural experience and a treasure trove of recipes for hosting your own special-occasion afternoon tea. Bon appetit and bon voyage!