75 Elegant Tea Party Recipes
These easy tea party recipes are perfect for hosting an elegant baby or wedding shower, a themed book club party, or a fun afternoon for your friends. Learn how to brew the perfect pot of tea and all the delicious tea time treats to serve on your tiered tower.
Maybe it's because I'm the mom to two darling girls and I've been hosting tea parties with them since they were tiny or maybe because afternoon tea in London was one of my favorite parts of our family trip, but in any case, I'm obsessed with the idea of hosting an elegant tea party for a ladies' afternoon.
If you're reading a book club book set in England, hosting a tea party for your book club party would be a perfect choice!
Hosting a wedding shower? Turn this into a champagne tea and offer plenty of savory bites alongside the sweet treats.
Hosting a baby shower? Skip the champagne and just focus on a variety of teas along with a mix of the sweet brunch items and a few savory finger sandwiches.
All the frills and traditions surrounding afternoon tea make it a natural fit for a ladies' luncheon when everyone is all dressed up for the day.
Tea for a Tea Party
Step 1: Learn how to brew the perfect tea for a tea party. You don't want to be making just one cup at a time, dig out that pretty tea pot and put it to work!
Condiments for Tea
You could brew a couple different kinds of tea: Earl Grey, English Breakfast, a decaf option, etc.
Then be sure to offer:
- Cream Pitcher: Filled with milk or cream
- Sugar Bowl: Filled with sugar cubes
- Honey
- Fresh Lemon Slices
- A Bowl of Fresh Mint
- Edible Flowers: For a truly elegant party, edible lavender or rose petals would be a stunning touch
How to Serve a Tiered Tray
Traditional afternoon tea in London is served with a pot of tea and a tiered tower of treats.
There is a very specific order for filling the tray:
- Bottom Tier: Finger Sandwiches
- Middle Tier: Scones
- Top Tier: Bite-Sized Desserts or Small Slices of Cake
An assortment of breakfast spreads like clotted cream and jams can be offered on the side.
I've got recipes for everything, just keep reading!
Bottom Tier: Sandwiches
The most surprising thing about our London tea was just how much food was involved! It is definitely a hearty meal made from bite-sized items for variety.
When planning your sandwich layers, be sure to pick 2 - 3 different options so your guests can mix and match their plates to meet their dietary preferences.
Finger Sandwiches
I love finger sandwich recipes for parties. They are so cute and yet so elegant.
Coronation Chicken Salad
I love Coronation chicken salad because it can be served as a scoop of chicken salad over a bed of greens or layered between slices of brioche for Coronation chicken sandwiches. A tea party just wouldn't be complete without this delicious dish.
Middle Tier: Scones
For the middle tier of the treat tower, offer smaller homemade scones or slices of quick bread and be sure to have bowls of lemon curd, clotted cream and an assortment of jams for spreading on top.
This is a great place to pair flavors with the season. I've got fun ideas for spring, summer, fall, and the holidays.
Mock Clotted Cream
Scones are an essential part of afternoon tea and it just wouldn't be the same without a little bowl of clotted cream for spreading on top. This is much harder for us to find here in the US so I figured out the perfect work around: my mock clotted cream is easy to make with things you'll be able to find at the store.
Chocolate Chip Scones
Easy chocolate chip scones can be made in small bite-sized rounds. Just adjust how you assemble them before baking!
Lemon Scones
For a springtime tea, try my lemon scones with poppy seeds and a sugary topping.
Blueberry Scones
I make my blueberry scones with dried blueberries, this would be an easy recipe to use and just swap dried currants or other dried fruits you love.
Peach Scones
Fresh peach scones are perfect for a summertime event, especially if you're doing a "Fresh Off the Market" wedding shower.
Almond Cherry Scones
I used a cookie cutter to shape my almond cherry scones in a heart shape. How cute would this be for a baby or wedding shower?
Easy Cruffins
A swirl of puff pastry coated in cinnamon sugar, these easy cruffins are an elegant but easy addition to your tea tray.
Lemon Curd
In addition to the mock clotted cream, bright and sunny lemon curd is an excellent partner to many of the scone recipes mentioned.
Strawberry Jam
Traditional English teas usually ofter a variety of jams to go with the scones, too. I love my easy strawberry freezer jam since it is a little thinner than store bought jams and easier to spread.
Blackberry Jam
For a stunning pop of color, add a bowl of blackberry freezer jam to the scone platter. It looks gorgeous with a spread of mock clotted cream.
Peach Bread with Almond Glaze
Sweet quick breads are an excellent addition to the scone tier. I love that you can bake them all at once in a pan and slice them for serving. My fresh peach bread with almond glaze almost doubles as a cake!
Almond Poppy Seed Bread
Almond poppy seed bread is a more neutral quick bread that could be served during any season of the year. It pairs really well with lemon, chocolate, and a variety of fruit jams.
Pumpkin Bread
Hosting a fall tea party? Try adding my pumpkin bread recipe with a maple glaze drizzle over the top to make it extra special.
Cranberry Bread
Sparkly sugar dusted cranberry bread is the perfect choice for a holiday season tea party paired with a Christmas tea.
Top Tier: Desserts
For the very top tier of your treat tower, you could choose to offer a variety of cookies, dessert bars cut into small squares, or even individual slices of cake.
I love to add 2 - 3 dessert options for a party so guests have plenty to choose from.
Here are a few of my favorite tea time dessert recipes:
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Irish Shortbread Cookies
Skip the tins of shortbread cookies from the store and bake up a batch of my easy Irish shortbread cookies. They can be made in advance and they will utterly ruin you for the dry packaged alternative.
Easy Chocolate Croissants
With just 3 ingredients you can have the most darling twee chocolate croissants for your treat tower.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
These iced lemon poppy seed cookies have a fresh lemon glaze drizzled on top.
Swedish Chocolate Balls
Last Christmas, my girls and I fell in love with these rich and fudgy Swedish chocolate balls. They are a traditional Swedish tea time treat for excellent reason.
Lemon Doodles
Bright and zesty lemon doodles are a spin on holiday snickerdoodles and are perfect for spring!
Lemon Bars
My Meyer lemon bars are a perfect dessert bar that could be sliced in bite-sized squares for tea time.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
My Christmas sugar cookie bars could easily be decorated to match the colors of your special event. You don't need to call them "Christmas" and could just label them as "cookie bars."
Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
Scoop these pumpkin butterscotch cookies with a smaller spoon and you'll get plenty of bite-sized cookies for your dessert tier. This is a delicious recipe for any time in fall.
Frosted Sugar Cookies
Frosted sugar cookies are another easy recipe for color-matching your party theme. You can see how I decorated them for Valentine's day sugar cookies here!
Fantasy Fudge
Small squares of fudge are more common during the Christmas season but I wouldn't turn down a bite of this original Fantasy fudge any time of year!
Pecan Pie Bars
Slice these shortbread pecan pie bars into bite-sized squares. They work in the fall but also for any Southern-themed party you've got too.
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Want a copycat Starbucks treat? Try my easy cranberry bliss bars during the wintertime.
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Bars
You can bake a batch of pumpkin gooey butter cake bars in advance and slice them into these cute short fingers for the tea tower just before serving.
Saltine Cracker Toffee
During the holidays when time is short, you can whip up a batch of saltine cracker toffee in no time and keep it in an airtight container for tea time.
Mint Oreo Truffles
With or without the festive sprinkles, friends always love my easy mint OREO truffles!
Almond Cake
If you want to offer a more traditional cake slice for tea, this easy almond cake is baked on a sheet pan and could be sliced into small squares for feeding a crowd. I top mine with almond icing and then fresh berries for color but you could leave it a plain and elegant white if you prefer.
Treacle Tart
A super-traditional English dessert, this easy treacle tart also happens to be one of my husband's favorites!
Gingerbread Cookies
For the holidays, use mini cookie cutters in the guest of honor's initials and make cut out gingerbread cookies.
Mini Cupcakes with Vanilla Glaze
Another cute way to serve cake for tea time would be to bake a boxed cake mix into mini cupcakes and use my easy vanilla glaze to ice them and coat in color-coordinated sprinkles for your party.
More Party Ideas
Looking for more fun and fresh party ideas for your next special event? Here are a few of my favorites:
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