Afternoon Tea

We asked a few of our favourite cafes to share their most delicious recipes suitable for an Afternoon Tea, complete with a cocktail or two. A few delicate little cucumber sandwiches and a fancy cake stand and you’re all set…

If you don’t fancy tackling the recipes yourself, then you can place an order for delivery with any of our choices. You’ll find the details about times and delivery zones under each recipe…

---

Teacake’s rhubarb & blueberry friands

Bob Miller, the award-winning chef at Teacake in Chapleton, is equally renowned for this charming café’s cakes and coffee as the weekend bistro menu. Here’s his recipe for Rhubarb and Blueberry Friands, fabulous light little cakes from Australia and New Zealand. 

Pre-heat your oven to 180^oC (160^oC for a fan oven) and lightly grease a silicone mould tray. You can use a baking tray or a loaf tin lined with grease proof paper instead. Melt the butter. Add the milk and the vanilla seeds, scraped from the pod, which has been split lengthwise. Place the egg whites in a medium or mixer bowl and whip to soft peaks. Fold in the melted butter, milk and vanilla mixture, then the ground almonds, sift in the icing sugar and the flour and stir until combined. Try to keep the air in the mixture. Pour the mixture into your mould, tray or tin. Top each cake with the rhubarb and blueberries. Bake for ten minutes, then remove from the oven and sprinkle with the almonds. Bake a further 25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Cool, turn out and dust with extra icing sugar. 

Teakcake is delivering coffee, cake and afternoon teas on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11-3pm. There’s a small delivery charge beyond the Chapelton and Newtonhill areas. Teacake’s bistro menu is available for delivery or contactless collection on Saturdays from 5-8.30pm and 4-8pm on Sundays. Check out the latest menu featuring local produce and including veggie and vegan options and order via teacakebistro@gmail.com or teacake.chapelton

---

ORKA’s Scones

ORKA on St. Swithin Street offer a range of lunches, afternoon teas, weekend treats and cakes for delivery. There’s always something fresh on the menu at this artisan café and coffee shop. Check in orkacafe to see what’s on the menu or try making their gorgeous scones at home. Spoil yourself by making both the blueberry scones and the lemon drizzle version.

Preheat your oven to 220^oC and grease a baking tray.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, rub in butter or margarine until it’s like breadcrumbs, and then stir in sugar. Add egg and milk mixture, reserving a little for brushing tops of scones. Bring it all together to form a dough. Handle as little as possible. 

Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out to 2cm thickness and use a cutter to cut into rounds.

Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more rounds.

Place scones on greased tray, brush the tops with the remaining egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10/12 minutes until golden brown.

Cool on a wire tray.

For blueberry scones: add 30g of blueberries after rubbing in butter and roll out and cut into eight triangles instead of using a round cutter.

For lemon drizzle scones: add the zest of a small lemon after rubbing in butter. When the scones have cooled, pierce tops of scones and spread with thin glacé icing made by mixing icing sugar with fresh lemon juice.

---

Foodstory’s Sweet Potato Pancakes

Foodstory is a well-established favourite on Thistle Street, with a fine reputation for interesting veggie and vegan food, a great little food shop upstairs and some rather good cinnamon buns. They are currently delivering lunch and dinner dishes, as well as veg boxes, organic products breads and spices. You’ll find the full list at their online shop at foodstorycafe.co.uk. They’ve shared their gluten-free vegan sweet potato pancake recipe. The almond milk meansit’s not suitable for people with nut allergies. It’s a good one for making with kids since it’s really quick. The recipe should serve six people. Enjoy them with a little butter, vegan spread or cream and some jam as part of your afternoon tea, or use them as the base of a fruitily indulgent breakfast. 

Combine the plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Once mixed add the sweet potato puree, rice malt extract (agave or maple syrup will also work) and vanilla extract to the mix. Add gradually the almond milk until the mixture forms a thick, syrup-like texture. Add a pinch of salt to the mix to flavour.

Heat a large frying pan with the coconut oil and melt in a pan (olive oil or butter will also work). Once hot add large spoonfuls of the mix to make pancakes that are 2-3 inches in diameter. Cook for a few minutes before turning over. Serve immediately.

For a breakfast version, try them with home-made granola and fresh fruit or berries. 

---

Orchid’s Always Dreaming cocktail

And to drink? How about a cocktail from Orchid?

Always Dreaming is a rework of a cocktail originally made by one of Orchid’s mixologists back in 2017. Inspiration came from a classic julep cocktail, a favourite in the American South. The introduction of tea and peach makes this perfect for afternoon tea, and it’s especially good outdoors.

Orchid use their own Glasshouse Whisky for this. It’s described as tangy, crisp apple, with Sugar Puffs and a hint of banana. If you don’t have Glasshouse available, then a light blended whisky is more pleasing than anything heavily peated.

Shake with crushed ice and serve in a tall glass with a twist of lemon. 

Since visiting the bar is off-limits, Orchid offer a delivery menu for
selected cocktails from Thursday to Saturday, within a ten mile radius of Orchid’s Langstane Place base.  You can check out the menu here orchidaberdeen.com. They’ll also deliver beer, ice or hand sanitiser!