Tea and Crumpets

"Tea and Crumpets" will transport you to the legendary European tearooms and storied salons offering 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.