Tea and Crumpets

After much browsing I decided to order this book as well as Victoria's tea book. I am not sure about the latter but Tea and Crumpets is a great book. Almost all recipes have an edge to them that makes them a little bit different from what you'd expect. Each recipe comes from a tea house or other and it was a pleasure to be introduced to the Irish Dromoland Castle (now a hotel) or the work of Charles Mackinstosh, the Scottish architect. I very much enjoyed making the Cup of Tea Cake from London's Ritz. It's aroma invaded the kitchen and it was difficult to keep little fingers away from the hot fruit cake. With the weather turning cooler I look forward to more baking ideas coming from this little book. The book is a good investment if you like tea and certainly if you like baking.

I enjoyed reading this lovely book with recipes for so many kinds of cake to be served with tea--and here in America--with coffee as well. When I went through this book, I had the idea to have several of these cakes on the table, along with roast beef, ham and chicken salad on fresh bread for sandwiches, and let the freshly baked breads and cakes create the feast for Christmas Eve. I've chosen Dundee cake, Victoria Sponge and Madeleines from this book at this point. There may be others. They all look delicious and easy to make. I like the book so much that I'm already looking at Margaret Johnson's other books. You can't go wrong with this one!

This is a most wonderful book that had me drooling! The stories and recipes are really wonderful. It made me want to jump on the next plane to England and "get cracking", sipping my way across that beautiful countryside. The pastries are simply to die for. My 3 daughters,2 granddaughters, and I love to do tea parties together. I am currently gathering supplies to test as many lovely recipes as I can before our next party. I can hardly wait!!

If you are one of those people who really savour a good cup of tea during the right time of day, complemented with the right snack, then you will hit the jackpot with this book.I am one of those people who really enjoy their tea time and like to go the extra mile with right snacks which complete the entire experience. I love the fact that the book discusses the different types of teas, which surprisingly a lot of people are not aware of and think that tea is just tea, and both the sweet and savoury snacks that go with a good cup of tea.The pictures in the book really go well with the content, I think it is a bit hard to get really capturing images when the subject is `tea'.One thing I'm not sure that the book touches on is certain traditions revolving around tea in different cultures (it might from a European point of view), but for example, in the Middle East, red tea must not be served in china or ceramic mugs, it has to be served in translucent cups. It is believed that the china or ceramic tends to affect both the colour and the flavour of the tea.Overall a great book for tea connoisseurs or people who enjoy tea in general and wish to enhance their tea time experience.

"Tea and Crumpets" is a delightful review of tea shops, tea history, and recipies for all manor of items to be served at High Tea. I purchased four copies - one for me, one for my sister, one for my daughter, and one for my BFF. Brew a cup of tea and sit down and read "Tea and Crumpets" all the way through.

I got this book as a gift for a friend of mine who is obsessed with Tea and Crumpets. This book has fantastic detail and excellent easy to follow recipes for a successful tea time anywhere! So glad I got this for her!

I have not made crumpets yet but I am more familiar with what they are and how to make them. I'm hoping to makedelicious crumpets so I can share them.

I want to like this book; British Afternoon Tea cookbooks are hard to come by. But many of the recipes take typically complicated recipes and over simplifies them to a point that compromises quality, taste and integrity. The macarons is the prime example. I'm not sure why she titled them "Pierre Hermé's" because his name shouldn't be anywhere near these imposter macarons. In fact he already has a macaron cookbook. If you get a copy you'll see instantly what I mean by over simplified. Besides if you've ever been to his patisserie in Paris than you'll easily spot the difference. Her recipe for clotted cream is also grossly simplified. She even says the recipe is a "substitute" in the text prior to the recipe. But then why not call it "mock clotted cream" instead of selling it as "clotted cream"? Homemade clotted cream is an overnight process btw and I'd rather have that recipe. Also her crumpets. What's it mean to have an "adapted" crumpet recipe? It's a recipe as basic as pancakes do why the adaptation? Little things like this make me question all of her recipes. Each time i pick it up i get excited because the beautiful photography sucks me in. But then I'm quickly disappointed. I give it a two because at the very least it is inspiring (I'll find better recipes elsewhere), I like the photography and her sandwich recipes are rightfully simple.