Celebrating the moms in my life with mini sandwiches and glittery treats! # 343: Mother’s Day High Tea

Ingredients for afternoon tea joy: mismatched tea cups, edible glitter, homemade lemon curd, towers of tiny treats and a 4-month-old niece!

We decided to switch it up this year, hosting our moms for an early Mother’s Day tea instead of going out, and I think I may have to make it a tradition. I had altogether way too much fun coming up with the menu and picking out tea cups and dishes from my mom’s collection.

Peep my favorite tea cup – mint green with an opalescent interior? Swoon.

The menu consisted of:

• Cucumber sandwiches with salted butter and lemon zest
• Curry chicken salad sandwiches with green grapes
• Deviled egg salad sandwiches
• Ham, cheese and blackberry jam sandwiches on cinnamon swirl bread
• Cinnamon currant scones
• Lemon curd (made with lemons from my tree – go little tree go!)
• Russian tea cakes with edible glitter
• Chocolate cupcakes with mascarpone whipped cream
• Strawberry lemonade mascarpone mousse cups
• Mimosas, earl grey tea and pomegranate tisane (new favorite vocab word! Tisane is an ancient term for an infusion that doesn’t involve tea leaves; think mint tea or any non-caffeinated fruit teas)

The tea cakes are essentially little mounds of shortbread coated in powdered sugar. The recipe I use is from one of the lovely ladies at my parents’ church. While mine will never taste as good as hers, it’s a pretty fabulous cookie:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar (plus more for rolling)
• 2 1/4 cup flour (you might need less depending on the batch; withhold a quarter cup until you’re sure the dough isn’t too dry)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TB vanilla
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

I skipped the pecans this time due to nut allergies, but next time I want to try making them with pecans AND mini chocolate chips… Or maybe rolling them in a cocoa powder/powdered sugar mix? I can hear the siren call of the chocolate malt powder from the pantry.

Bake for 14-17 minutes at 400F. And don’t be me: actually wait until they’ve cooled a bit before rolling them in powdered sugar! Baking on autopilot at 11pm will cause a literal powdered sugar meltdown. Once fully cooled, roll them again for a more consistent coating.

I failed at taking process photos for most of the treats, but the mini cupcakes got a full mise en place and yes they feel superior about it.

Mini jam jars = cuteness overload. I mixed a strawberry lemon jam that refused to set with a half batch of mascarpone whipped cream and piped them into the bb jars. Top with a white chocolate squiggle and they’re pastry tower ready!

Little dollops of clouds floating over a dark void. Definitely less mysterious in person.

They sparkle when in motion, distracting from their patchy sugar coating job. Edible glitter to the rescue.

Happy munching!