When Catherine of Braganza in Portugal came to England in 1661 to marry King Charles II, she brought with her a casket of tea becoming the first tea-drinking queen of England. Surely Catherine, who invited ladies to her bed chamber to have tea, never dreamed of what paths her favorite drink would take over four centuries later. From that start, the afternoon tea party was born between 1830 and 1840.

Tea came to this country with the Dutch settlers but not until after the Civil War did afternoon tea truly became popular and for the most part held in the British tradition. Today tea parties are still popular and presented in various forms and for various reasons.

Recently in Gloucester and Mathews, before this present age of social isolation, two afternoon teas were held, one by members of the Abingdon Woman’s Club (organized in 1927) and the second by the Central Village Homemakers (originating in 1974).

For the Abingdon ladies the idea of holding an afternoon tea was to “encourage membership and of course have a fun afternoon together. Each member was to invite a guest and hopefully these guests would be interested in joining our club,” said president Linda DeTurk. The tea ladies committee put together some real homemade English specialties—clotted cream to mention one—and many other delicacies which were the makings of a beautiful tea table.

The Central Village Homemakers decided to have a fun meeting giving themselves a break from their normal activities of supporting Mathews County and its residents in so many helpful ways. Chaired by Nancy Reno, invitations were sent out reading in part, “An Invitation for Tea. There will be approximately 40 hats (Nancy’s collection) from which you will make a choice to wear that day and something for around your neck so that you each will look very special for your photo shoot.” What a difference hats made. As each lady entered the room she was ushered to the hat table; with hats on smiles were aglow. When seated and drinking their tea and enjoying the culinary treats, a scene from the late 1890s to the 1920s was in view.

Abingdon Tea Reception Recipes

HAM SANDWICHES

Loaf of thinly sliced, white sandwich bread
2 cans deviled ham
Dollop of mayonnaise

Cut crust off loaf of thinly sliced, white sandwich bread. Cover one side with soft butter. Moisten canned deviled ham with mayonnaise. Spread over buttered slices of bread, place non-buttered slice on top, and cut bread diagonally.

ENGLISH SCONES

2 c. flour
½ tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar
¾ c. golden raisins or Craisins cut in half
¾ c. low-fat buttermilk
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

Preheat oven 425°F. Line a 9×13-inch nonstick baking sheet with parchment paper for a crisp bottom or use an air-bake sheet for a tender bottom. Stir together in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Cut butter into flour mix until resembles coarse meal; stir in cut raisins or Craisins. Make well in center of mix and add buttermilk, stirring just until combined (don’t over-mix). Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Knead five times. Pat into 8-inch disk.

Cut out 12 wedges with a floured knife (or rounds with a floured 2½-inch cutter). Transfer wedges (or rounds) to the baking sheet about 1½ inches apart. (Option: put in freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking.) Brush wedges with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until scones are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm with strawberry or raspberry preserves and clotted cream. Makes about a dozen scones.

Clotted Cream

1 c. heavy whipping cream
Scant 1/3 c. sour cream
1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar, sifted

In large mixing bowl, pour in the cream and whisk for 2-3 minutes or until the cream has stiff peaks. Sift in the sugar, then add the sour cream. Continue whisking until well incorporated. Keep covered and chilled until ready to serve.

EASY LEMON CURD

¾ stick of butter
1 c, sugar
3 large lemons or 5-6 smaller ones
3 beaten eggs (room temperature)

Wash and dry the lemons. Zest lemons and then squeeze the juice to have about 1/3 c. fresh lemon juice and plenty of lemon zest. Microwave the butter in a glass bowl on high for 30 seconds. Stir until butter is smooth and completely melted. Add the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs. Stir together gently. Cook in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until the sugar has dissolved. (You’ll know the sugar has dissolved when you can’t hear its grainy texture as you mix.) A whisk works well; also, a spoon or spatula. Fill two 8-oz. jars with lemon curd and let it cool. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Refrigerate for no more than 7-10 days.

COCONUT MACAROONS

14 oz. sweet shredded coconut
14 oz. sweet condensed milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (plus few drops of almond extract)
2 extra large egg whites (room temp)
¼ tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla (and almond extract) in large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold egg whites into coconut mixture. Drop batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using 1¾-inch diameter ice cream scoop or 2 teaspoons (per macaroon). Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool and serve. Makes about 25 cookies.

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

Loaf of thin, white sandwich bread
2 cucumbers, sliced paper thin and laid between paper towels
½ c. mayonnaise
1 Tbs. vinegar
Pinch of seasoned salt
Pinch of sugar

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Cut out center of each bread slice with round cookie cutter and drop a spot of mayonnaise on center of bread round. Place a sliced cucumber on bread and sprinkle with paprika.

LEMON SUNSHINE TARTS

Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare two sticks of Betty Crocker Instant Mixing Pie Crust. Mix according to package directions. Roll out dough, half at a time, to 1/8-inch thick on lightly floured pastry cloth. Cut out circles 3½ inch across. Fit into small tart or muffin cups; flute edges and prick with a fork. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool. Just before serving, fill each cup with 2 Tbs. Lemon Sunshine Filling. Makes 18-24 tarts.

Lemon Sunshine Filling

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
½ c. lemon juice
2 Tbs. butter
Grated rind of 3 lemons (about 5 tsp.)

Beat eggs in saucepan with rotary beater; stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely before filling tarts.

Recipes from the Homemakers

ORANGE DELIGHTS

11 oz. pkg. orange candy slices
1 c. pecans, chopped
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. coconut
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. orange extract
1¾ c. confectioners’ sugar

Combine all ingredients, except the confectioners’ sugar; pour into a greased 7×9-inch baking dish. Bake 275°F. for 30 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix well. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper. Let sit 2-4 hrs. Could store with more powdered sugar sprinkled on. Serves 75.

STRAWBERRIES

2 lg. or 4 sm. pkg. strawberry Jell-O
1 c. pecans (chopped)
1 c. coconut (chopped)
1 can Eagle Brand milk

Mix well. Put in refrigerator to chill 1 hr. When cool, use teaspoon size and shape with hands into strawberries and roll into small pkg. of Jell-O. Decorate with green icing for stem.

RASPBERRY CREAM SCONES

2 c. flour
¼ c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. chilled butter (cut into pieces)
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. cream plus 2 Tbs. cream
Berries
1 c. raspberries
Egg wash for tops
1 large egg (slightly beaten)
1 Tbs. cream

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange raspberries in a single layer; freeze for one hour. Now line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter pieces and mix well with fingers. Add egg. Combine vanilla extract with cream and drizzle mixture over flour mixture and fold just until flour is incorporated. Add raspberries and gently fold in just until a shaggy dough forms. If needed, more cream can be added. Divide dough in half and turn out on a lightly floured surface. Use lightly floured hands to pat each half into 6-inch circles. Place the two circles of dough on prepared baking sheets and cut each circle into 7 wedges. Chill baking sheets in freezer for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425°F. Pull the wedges slightly apart, leaving an inch between them. Mix egg wash of egg and cream and brush the top of each scone. Bake 25 to 26 minutes rotating baking sheets halfway through until edges are set (edges turning golden and when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Let sit 5 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks.

CRANBERRY SCONES

¼ c. granulated sugar 2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch salt
¼ c. plus 1 Tbs. cold salted butter, grated
¾ c. whole milk
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1 Tbs. whole cream
¼ c. dried cranberries
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, add milk and vinegar; mix and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, add sugar, then sift flour, baking powder and salt together and add to sugar mixture. Add the butter and toss together with your fingers. Add cream and slowly add milk. Mix with a fork until the dough comes together and forms into a ball. It’s slightly sticky. Wrap dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place dough on a slightly floured surface (may need to add a little flour to the dough ball if it’s real sticky) and fold the dough over 2-3 times; add half of cranberries and fold over; add remaining cranberries and fold the dough again 2-3 times. Pat the dough down to ½-inch thickness and cut out with a small round circle. Place scones on cookie sheet, brush with beaten egg and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes.

TEA SANDWICHES

Sliced cucumber on wheat bread, crust removed with a slight spread of butter; tuna and chicken salad on various breads, crust removed, cut in four small sections; white bread, crust removed, with mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, pickle, with edges dipped in parsley.