Summer Dairy-Free Afternoon Tea with Recipes
Anyone for vegan high tea and tennis? The Wimbledon Championships are about to start, and if you haven’t scored a ticket this year, what better way to watch than with a summer afternoon tea. These dairy-free afternoon tea recipes are perfect for any guests that are vegan, have lactose intolerance or just aren’t eating dairy right now. These delicious recipes are all free of dairy and eggs. So invite your guests over, pop open the Champagne, and sit back and watch an inspirational game of tennis as the legends descend on Wimbledon. It’s an ace way to celebrate the summer and the perfect excuse to enjoy an array of sweet and savoury treats.
How to make afternoon tea at home
The key to a sumptuous afternoon tea is to get prepped before your guests arrive and prepare your menu in advance. Traditionally the menu will include finger sandwiches, fluffy scones with jam and cream and a tiered selection of small cakes. You can mix things up if you want to and add a small individual quiche, biscuits or petit fours. And of course, you’ll need drinks.
Time for tea
No afternoon tea is complete without the tea. So, of course, you will need a collection of tea – usually English Breakfast and Earl Grey along with Plenish Almond Milk or Plenish Oat Milk to serve. You can also include herbal teas like peppermint, camomile or green tea. Now is also the time to dig out your finest china tea set and tiered caked stand. Make sure that sugar and milk are also set out on the table for your guests for authenticity. If you haven’t got a tea set or any fine china squirrelled away, ask a friend or relative – you’ll be amazed what your friends and family are saving for a special occasion.
If you’re feeling fancy, add a flute of Champagne or a themed drink such as Wimbledon favourite, a glass of Pimm’s. You can set the scene with a tablecloth, place settings and bunting for extra elegance.
Dairy-free vegan sandwiches for afternoon tea
It’s fairly easy to make vegan sandwiches for an afternoon tea. Just make sure you choose a loaf that doesn’t contain milk and use a dairy-free vegan spread instead of butter. When you have added your spread and fillings to the bread, remove the crusts and cut them into perfect rectangles.
It’s best not to serve the sandwiches until your guests arrive to prevent the dreaded dry and curly-edged effect, so keep wrapped for a couple of hours and serve when guests are ready to eat. For vegan filling ideas, the obvious choice is the quintessentially British sliced cucumber sandwich, and no afternoon tea is complete without it. Other ideas include roasted red peppers with hummus, or try this beautiful carrot lox recipe from Love & Lemons and serve it with vegan cream cheese. The Vegan Society have a long list of vegan sandwich filling ideas too.
Dairy-free and vegan scones for afternoon tea
Cream on top of jam or jam on top of cream? That is the question. Apparently, the Queen herself likes to go jam first – so that settles it. You’ll need a good recipe for vegan cream for your afternoon tea and either make your own strawberry jam or buy a vegan-friendly ready-made jam. For the scones themselves – head on over to the team at Bosh along with Anna Jones for a super simple recipe for vegan scones. You could just serve the scones, vegan cream, jam and tea if you wanted to opt for a simple vegan cream tea.
Dairy-free and vegan cakes and pastries for afternoon tea
Next up is the cakes for your top tier and your chance to create some real showstoppers. You can really use your imagination when creating cakes for an afternoon tea. Throughout London, the large hotels, restaurants and bakeries have already started creating their awe-inspiring Wimbledon themed afternoon teas. Claridge’s are including handmade tennis-inspired pastries in their Wimbledon afternoon tea, and Brigit’s Bakery has a tennis-themed bus tour complete with mini tennis balls and racquets. Here are some ideas for cakes from the Plenish blog to get you started.
This Chocolate and Hazelnut Cheesecake serves five if made as individual mini cheesecakes using a ramekin or similar. It feels uber-indulgent and is made using vegan chocolate and Plenish Hazelnut Milk to make the Hazelnut Ganache and Hazelnut Cream.
This Strawberries and Nice Cream recipe offers a real twist on the classic Wimbledon strawberries and cream. Serve it in small shot glasses or similar topped with a strawberry for a little tennis-themed wow factor.
These Almond Nougat and Salted Caramel Chocolate Bombs are unapologetically naughty but nice. This recipe makes about 10-12 caramel oozing treats.
A spot of afternoon tea at home with friends is a great way to enjoy the tennis if you aren’t travelling to the Championships – oh how we love the British summertime. Head over to Wimbledon.com to see the order of play.