English Tea Sandwiches

Recipe from England! Tea Sandwiches filled with cream cheese and cucumber, apples and Nutella and let's not forget the ham and cheese. A special Valentines Day for afternoon tea with your loved one.

My husband (Jeff)  and I had our first tea time experience in Bermuda which is a British island territory. Every afternoon around 4:00 we had  tea time full of tea sandwiches, scones, fruit, cookies and chocolate. 

We thought it was the best thing ever invented and how could we not have this in America. Where is tea time for us to take a little break in the afternoon with some yummy to hold you over until dinner? Then Jeffs says,`most Americans have dinner at 6 where in England they eat around 8 for dinner.”

History of English Tea Time

In 1840 Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, would become hungry around 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon. She decided that before dinner to have tea with a tray of  bread and butter. Later on the Earl of Sandwich had the idea of filling two slices of bread with some meat in the middle and the mini-sandwich were added. By the 1880’s the upper class would dress up to meet in the drawing room around 4 to 5 o'clock for tea and a tray of goodies. As this idea of tea time became more popular, tea rooms opened up for this afternoon treat. Today you can find Tea rooms around the United States that have taken on this English tradition. 

While living in DC and Miami and now in the Tampa Bay Area, Jeff and I  still love to explore a Tea Room because we loved tea time so much in Bermuda. The only thing is, we have tea time and then just skip dinner because neither one of us are  hungry for dinner but then again we do not eat at 8 o’clock at night.

Places in Washington DC for Tea Time

• Empress
• Peacock Alley Tea
• Ching Ching Cha

Places in Miami for Tea Time

• Lily and Rose Tearoom
• Tea Room at Cauley Square

Places in Tampa Bay Area for Tea Time

• The Empress Tea Room & Divine Menu Catering
• The Boba House
• Joseph's Tea

Ingredients Needed for Recipe

• Brioche bread
• Cream cheese
• Nutella
• Almond Butter
• Apple
• Cucumber
• Gouda Cheese
• Ham

How I Made My English Tea Sandwiches

Apples & Nutella Tea Sandwiches

1. Slice the apples thin and place them aside.
2. Take the two slices of bread and smear a thin layer of Nutella on one side.
3. Place the apples on one side and close the two bread slices together.
4. Cut the crust off on all 4 sides, then cut in half.

Apples & Almond Butter Tea Sandwiches

1. Slice the apples thin and place them aside.
2. Take the two slices of bread and smear a thin layer of almond butter on one side.
3. Place the apples on one side and close the two bread slices together.
4. Cut the crust off on all 4 sides, then cut in half.

Cucumber & Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

1. First thing to do is to slice the cucumbers thin and place them aside.
2. Mix the cream cheese with chives or herbs de provence.
3. Take the two slices of bread and smear a thin layer of cream cheese.
4. Place the cucumber on one side and close the 2 bread slices together.
5. Cut the crust off on all 4 sides, then cut in half.

Ham & Gouda Tea Sandwiches

1. Take the two slices of bread and smear a thin layer of mayonnaise.on one side
2. Place 2 slices of ham and 1 slice of gouda cheese and close the 2 slices together.
3. Cut the crust off on all 4 sides, then cut in half.

Variations

Tea sandwiches can be made in so many ways. The trick is not to over do it. They are not overstuffed and really Tea Time is really just a snack to hold you over until dinner. Here are some different types of tea sandwiches that I have had in the past.

• Egg Salad + Asparagus
• Roast Beef + Mustard
• Radishes + Cream Cheese
• Mortdale + Swiss Cheese

How to Serve Tea Time 

Tea Time is great for a Sunday Brunch or for special occasions such as a birthday or gathering with friends for an afternoon. It’s so simple to do and everyone always seems to love how special it makes them feel. Here are a few things that I always add to my tea time to make it extra special.

• Fruit, such as grapes or strawberries
• Butter cookies covered with chocolate
• Different pieces of chocolate
• Scones with Jam
• Macaron 
• Different types of tea to pick
• I always make ice tea incase people prefer something cold

Storage

I only make my sandwiches a couple of hours before serving so the bread is nice and fresh. I have stored my ham and cheese and cucumber sandwich and they keep for a day. Anything that I used fruit with left the bread soggy.

Top Tip

When cutting the sandwich's crust, wipe your knife off so it doesn’t get stick and prevents a clean cut. I keep a damp rag so wipe after every cut.

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