Baby Shower Tea Food Ideas

It almost seems like a cliche to write about a shower in April, but I had to share a few details from a recent celebration that was a long time coming.

This afternoon tea is also another chapter in my sister's story, and since you've already joined us virtually for the winter engagement, the West Coast wedding, and the backyard reception here on the homestead, it's only fitting we tie things up with a baby shower.

Now this joyous event had originally been planned to take place back in November, when my sister, Miranda, was six months pregnant, a comfortable stage of the pregnancy to travel from her Halifax home.

The invites had been sent, Miranda had purchased a plane ticket  – and then my nephew was born early. Almost 2 months early.

Since he weighted a mere 3lbs, 4 oz and was making his home in the NICU, all baby shower plans were postponed – until now. Of course every baby shower and every new life is incredibly special, but we had extra reason to celebrate Alfred (Alfie) James considering his adventurous start.

{Side note. Why do people have to give their opinion on such matters? I had more than one person tell me that they never heard of a baby shower after the baby is born – as in who does that? Let there be no right or wrong, black or white for celebrating life, be it the first baby or the fifth, pre or postpartum.}

So celebrate we did! With tea and scones, sandwiches and pickles, Pimm's Cup punch and a tableful of sweets shared among friends and family. Read on for details on the full spread, then be inspired to host your own tea! Mother's Day is on the way, after all…

Some time after serving that famous outdoor buffet in a canoe, I decided the baby shower must be considerably more civilized. A while back Miranda and I had spent some time in London together, including a most memorable Wolseley afternoon tea, and the charms of that occasion inspired this present day event. We're also half British (my dad is from Lancashire), so spending the afternoon chatting over Eccles cakes and scones feels perfectly natural to us.

We started with Pimm's Cups, because it is the spring cocktail in the UK, and very complementary to finger sandwiches. I served it up in punch form for practical reasons (no need to stand by and play bartender). I played around with my recipe a bit, but based it off of this version from Serious Eats. If it's good enough for J. Kenji, it's good enough for me!

While guests arrived, found a glass of punch and made little Alfie's introduction, my two shower co-hosts (Alfie's grandmothers) and I piled hot scones and sandwiches onto tiered trays.

I am currently enamoured with finger sandwiches, cut into lengths rather than triangles, and with the crusts removed, of course. They are ever so dainty and a perfect three-bite accompaniment to a cup of tea or a glass of Pimm's punch.

We served:

• Chicken salad, which my mother-in-law cleverly assembled with one side of each white and wheat bread.
• Cucumber & cream cheese – a classic!
• Smoked salmon & radish on rye – which I served open face, with a sprig of dill and a smear of creme fraiche.
• Cream cheese & red pepper jelly – tangy cheese and hot/sweet jelly make for an unexpected and delicious bite.
• Herbed avocado egg salad & onion sprouts – another classic, dressed up for tea.

I could have added even more to this list, as my Sandwich board on Pinterest hints (avocado! radish & butter! pickled carrot & Brie!) but I restrained myself. I almost always go overboard in the food department and I wasn't sure how enthusiastic our guests would feel about, well, plain old sandwiches.

As it turns out, I shouldn't have worried; the sandwiches disappeared in a twinkling, along with several pots of tea.

Oh hey, look for my egg salad recipe to make an appearance here on the blog next week. I made it without mayonnaise, and instead I used smashed avocado for a creamy binder, which worked out really well. Update >> it's HERE!

We need to talk about scones. I may have obsessed over finding the perfect British-style recipe, testing variations from Jane Hornby, Pippa Middleton's book, Celebrate, and many more. We ate a lot of scones, but there was no complaining from the kids!

The absolute best recipe I found was from cookbook author, Claire Ptak, who owns the Violet Bakery in Hackney, East London. Her sweet cream scones graced the cover of Saveur magazine a few months ago; fortunately you can also find the recipe over at Saveur along with the story of their evolution.

It's worth noting that I was hunting for a classic scone, with no additions whatsoever. I do love my Triple Berry Scones in the summertime, Cranberry Orange Scones for the winter holiday months and Cheesy Irish Soda Scones to accompany a pot of soup any day of the week. But for afternoon tea, the scones had to be inspired by London tea rooms: the classic cream.

After nibbling on all the scones and sandwiches we could, we took a bit of a break for – you guessed it! Games. And gifts, too. And Clara took the opportunity to break away from the festivities and rip around the sopping wet yard in her party dress and stocking feet. Gracious me. Apparently she can only behave like a lady for a few hours before the tomboy urges take over.

When we had wrapped up an intensely competitive game of Nursery Rhymes Jeopardy, it was time for sweets. I kept most everything bite-sized, so guests could sample one of each.

• Eccles cakes, in tiny, two-bite servings.
• Buttermilk pound cake, my mother-in-law's excellent recipe.
• Vanilla and toasted coconut marshmallows.
• Cream cheese cut-out sugar cookies, in little teddy bear shapes and dressed up with royal icing and sprinkles.
• Strawberry cream puffs. Janice's recipe, with strawberry jam swirled into the cream and a strawberry slice, too.
• Lemon-glazed lemon madeleines. A basic version of these beauties.
• Chocolate truffles, because chocolate is essential.

I boiled the kettle yet again and made a fresh pot of each English Breakfast and Earl Grey tea. Everyone lingered over the sweets for some time as the sun slanted through the trees and the afternoon slipped away.

Guest of honour Baby Alfie seemed unruffled by the attention; a handsome little man in a room full of women.

Motherhood certainly suits my sister, who is a glowing new mama. Her sweet boy is now triple his birthweight and has just started laughing out loud. Their whole little family has relocated to the Greater Montreal area, so we're going to get to see Alfie grow up.

Here's to many more special occasions shared between our two families and our wider extended family. Here's to babies, and here's to afternoon tea!

Baby Shower Tea Food Ideas

Source: https://simplebites.net/an-afternoon-tea-baby-shower/

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