Welcome to my Valentine Tea Party … come on in!
I love Valentine’s Day.
And, I love afternoon tea …
from children’s make-believe tea parties to frou-frou teas in swanky hotels …
and everything in between.
Tea, tea and more tea, please.
And scones, obviously.
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If you read about my Valentine’s Day front porch ideas you know
I’m not really hosting a tea party.
Not this year.
But I went ahead and set the tea table, and baked scones.
Because I’m a blogger now!
The Table Setting
I needed a tablecloth but failed to plan ahead.
I fell in love with this floral tablecloth from William Sonoma, but it’s on backorder. Darn.
I ordered it anyway. As one does.
Then I found this cute hot pink and green cactus flower tablecloth on Wayfair
and it was available. Whew.
I got out my mom’s china. It’s Royal Doulton’s Coronet pattern.
Can I tell you a secret? It’s embarrassing.
I inherited the china 22 years ago and have never used it.
I also inherited my grandmother’s silver.
It’s Lunt’s American Victorian pattern. I’ve never used it either.
I’m ashamed.
But, there’s a first time for everything and that includes polishing the silver. Ugh.
Good news on that front, Jim volunteered to do it.
He ironed the blush colored napkins too.
While watching football (he told me to add that).
The Flowers
Our local grocery store, Diablo Foods, has a wonderful floral department.
They helped me pull together a combination of pink peonies and white hydrangeas to fit in my
Tiffany crystal bowl.
The Food
When hosting any type of gathering I follow Ina Garten’s advice.
Make two or three things and buy-or-assemble the rest. If it works for Ina …
I made the tea sandwiches, scones and mini-quiches.
The tea sandwiches are so easy. Deli ham, sliced brie with strawberry jam
on sliced sourdough and marbled rye.
I made full sandwiches and used a small, heart shaped cookie cutter to get tea-sized servings.
Full disclosure. I used Williams-Sonoma Cranberry Orange scone mix.
I planned to make my favorite Currant Scone recipe, but … quelle horreur …
I was out of currants.
Thankfully, I had the scone mix in my pantry.
And heart shaped cookie cutters.
They are every bit as delicious as from-scratch scones.
I ordered another package of cranberry orange mix as well as blueberry, raspberry,
lemon poppyseed, and chocolate chip …
to have on hand in the event of future emergency.
I’ll include my Currant Scone recipe at the end of this post if you’d like to try it.
To accompany the scones … I served raspberry jam, lemon curd and made faux clotted cream, a Pioneer Woman recipe.
I didn’t think it was sweet enough and added 1/8 to 1/4 cups sugar. Perfection.
Then there’s the bacon and spinach mini-quiches. It’s a gray area.
Technically I baked them. But, this may fall under the buy-or-assemble category.
And, Finally The Desserts
Clearly bought and assembled.
We’re blessed with the most fabulous local bakery … Le Gateau Elegant.
They make beautiful and delicious Petit Fours.
While there I spotted these amazing Mexican Wedding cookies and macarons …
there’s plenty of room on my 3-tier tray.
And, the piece de resistance … the cake.
Decorated with a pink ombre buttercream frosting, the filling is their legendary
Swedish Princess cake.
It’s a vanilla genoise cake with custard and raspberry filling. Ou la la!
The Tea
I brewed Fortnum & Mason English Breakfast Tea.
Accompanied by cream, sugar and lemon slices.
I’ve had these cute, heart shaped sugar cubes since my last tea party …
to celebrate Princess Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.
Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Doesn’t that seem like a lifetime ago?
I think they came from Williams-Sonoma, but I couldn’t find them, or anything similar, anywhere.
This cake plate was my mother’s as well.
I love the heart shape in the stem.
Want to kick the party up a notch?
Add sparkling wine to your menu or my favorite holiday cocktail, the Raspberry Kir Royale.
It’s a workhorse cocktail that’s perfect from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day!
Tea Party Inspiration
What brought on my desire to host a Valentine’s Day Tea Party?
The inspiration came out of the cancellation of a holiday tea.
The Historical Society of a neighboring town, hosts an annual Holiday Victorian Tea and craft faire. It’s a fundraiser for the museum housed in a historic home where the tea is held.
Last year, a good friend and I attended and it was so delightful
we decided to make it an annual thing.
Then the pandemic came along and the fundraiser was cancelled.
Not to be deterred from raising much needed funds for the museum, the society put together a Tea for Two Box to be enjoyed at home.
We planned to turn our Tea for Two into a Valentine’s Day Tea Party.
But some things have come up, plus the pandemic, and our tea date is TBD.
I decided to do a practice run …
so when we do have our tea I’ll appear to be an effortless hostess and she’ll be impressed.
Just kidding.
PIN THIS POST TO SAVE FOR LATER
As promised, here’s my Currant Scone recipe …
Currant Scones
Ingredients
- 2-1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Half & Half Cream
- 1/2 cup Chilled Butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large Egg, beaten
- 1/3 cup Currants
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375. Grease baking sheet.
- Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut-in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles large crumbs.
- Combine cream, currants and egg in small bowl.
- Stir currant mixture into dry ingredients using a fork.
- On floured surface, knead dough 5-6 turns. Pat dough into 3/4" thick round. Cut into wedges or use biscuit or cookie cutters. Place scones onto greased baking sheet.
- Brush tops of scones with cream (1-2 tbsp). Bake 15-20 minutes, until light, golden brown.
So, there you have it …
Snowberry’s Valentine’s Day Tea Party!
Jim and I sipped tea and gobbled up the sandwiches, quiches and scones.
I sent the cake home with Monica, of Monica Vargas Photography,
who takes my beautiful photos.
I hope she enjoyed it!
Need Valentine gift ideas … for yourself (yes, you!) or your Galentine’s … here are a few cute things I found around the inter-webs.
As always, I appreciate your visit and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Next week I’ll be joining a group of amazing bloggers to share our kitchen styling ideas!
You can read all about Snowberry’s kitchen renovation here.
Until then, cheers from Snowberry!
SHOP THE POST
Photos in this post by Monica Vargas Photography
i had a friend come for lunch yesterday and I served the same two quiches. They were in the same package. Delicious!
Aren’t they good … and you cooked?!!! How are you settling into your new place? Still waiting for photos! xo
Wow I wish I was at this tea party
Those heart shaped sugars might be the cutest things I’ve seen!
And I think I might need to try that scone recipe… I’ve never tried scones before- thought they’d be too hard.
Aren’t those sugars cute? I’m so disappointed I can’t find them again. Think of all the tea parties we’ll enjoy with H and M (haha H&M) … and the boys too! With all Granny’s things! xo
Juliet it looks beautiful! How wonderful to have the spirit of your family with you while using their cherished china and silver. Everything looks delicious.
Thanks, Elizabeth. It was so fun to finally get these pieces out of the drawers and onto the table … even if it was just for fun. Better days are ahead and I hope to have our daily around the table eating from Granny’s china before the end of the year. Fingers crossed. Hope you have something fun planned this weekend … I need to stop by your blog and see what you’re up to! xo
I would love to be a guest here! I am on a diet but I am going to pin that scone recipe. I adore scones!
Scones, scones, scones … how do we love thee. They don’t factor into my diet right now either. Sigh. But, next Valentine’s Day … when I host a real tea party … you’ll be on the list and we’ll eat scones! xo
Everything looks PERFECT!!!! The china and silver are gorgeous, and what wonderful memories I’m sure they bring. Have a fantastic weekend!!
Hi Robbin! Thank you … it was so much fun to get my mom’s china out and use it for the first time. Even if it was just Jim and I … and our dogs! We felt very fancy. Hope you have something fun on your weekend agenda. Do you have snow? xo
Juliet so wonderful you are using your mom’s china and flatware- and pretty cake stand. I am sure she would be so happy to know they are being loved! We all get so used to the everyday dishes and these girls need to come out and have fun too. I love your tiered tray. We all need more tea parties. Last time I had one for Harry and Meghan and what fun we had. Let’s hope we are all headed back to gatherings soon because the best gift you can give others is to have them be a guest in your home for a meal. I truly believe that. It can even be for a cup of tea. It’s the gesture of opening up the home right? At least we can do this for our families right now. My boys loved tea parties when they were small too. Thank you for the pretty inspiration!
xo Kim
P.S. That tea is my favorite! Have you been to Fortnum & Mason in London? One of my most favorite stores on the planet!
OK you are KILLING me with those desserts!! Everything is so beautiful and “so Juliet”. xo Susan http://www.themidlifefashionista.com
A truly elegant Valentine tea party, how fun! Everything looked delicious and beautifully set up!
YES!
YOU ARE A DAM GOOD BLOGGER NOW!!!!
I ADORE YOUR HUMOR!
WHAT A GOOD HUSBAND…..silver and ironing!!!
HE IS A KEEPER!
XXX
WOW, it’s a lot of work being a blogger. Your Valentine Tea looks fabulous.
I love afternoon tea too but I have never found anyone who appreciates it as much as I do. Tiny cakes and sandwiches and drinking tea from your best china all sounds so wonderful. I love everything about this!
You reeled me in at tea party! I lost count of how many images I pinned from this! Planning a tea party with nieces and great nieces in the spring—Thanks for more inspiration!!
I loved this so much Juliet! Especially the part about setting te table and baking scones because you’re a blogger now. This is one of my very favorite blogs for Valentine’s Day. I would like to feature it on my weekly blog post tomorrow. Thank you for sharing at Charming Homes and Gardens.
OOps my comment was deleted! So pretty. Loved the comment about “now I am a blogger…” True!
Hi Laura … yes, now that I’m a blogger ‘everything is copy!’ I think that’s either a book title or quote from Nora Ephron! xo
Hi Juliet,
Everything looks so pretty! Your tea party table is very inviting. It’s so nice that you are using your mom’s china and silver and that lovely cake plate! It’s all meant to be used and enjoyed, if not now then when?
Petit fours remind me of my birthday parties. My mom was a great baker and made us so many wonderful treats, but she also used to always pick up a box of petit fours as an additional sweet for our parties, they seemed so elegant and special! I loved them, and still do.
What a nice treat for you and Jim to have enjoyed! I’m looking forward to the day when we can have parties like this for real again, with all our dearest people around!
Xo Heidi
What a lovely St. Valentine’s Day afternoon tea! You nailed it.
I love you used your mother’s beautiful china, and your grandmother’s silver. That’s great.
Everything is so beautiful and delicious looking. Wish I could’ve been a guest at that lovely table!
What a wonderful tea party! Love that you finally used the china and silver. Absolutely beautiful!
Thanks, Linda … now that I used it once I’m going to be using it all the time! xo
What were the little squares next to the macarons?? They look DELICIOUS!
Hi Jewel! Those are petite fours from a local bakery, Le Gateau Elegant. And, there were delicious!!! xo