"The Afternoon Tea Collection"

In my day job I often get press releases and catalogs from book publishers, so I regularly scan them to see if any new tea-related titles are coming out. I also troll Amazon regularly to look for upcoming tea books, and I place them on my Wish List so I'll know when they're released. So I am rarely surprised by the discovery of a new tea book I've never heard of, but indeed that happened when I made a quick trip to Barnes and Noble earlier this week for a decorating magazine. After finding it, I scanned the bargain books up front and my eyes fell upon this lovely new tea book for just $7.98. "The Afternoon Tea Collection" from Metro Books is a 2012 release, but it doesn't come up on Amazon. Perhaps it was published exclusively for B&N? At any rate, isn't that cover pretty!

Inside, chapters focus on The Teatime Experience, Sandwiches, Scones, Friands, Little Tarts, Little Cakes, Big Cakes, Biscuits and Slices. Here's the intro to the chapter on Scones.

The photography in this book is exceptionally well-done (is it just me or is food photography simply getting better?), and the book includes lots of tempting recipes: Marinated Cucumber Sandwiches, Prawn and Lime Pepper Aioli Sandwiches, Date Scones with Whipped Caramel Butter, Rich Hazelnut Slice, and a darling little cookie I want to make just because of the name, Melting Moments. The pretty "slice" shown here, what I would call a "bar cookie," is Macadamia Caramel Slice.

These coconut and raspberry jam cookies are called Monte Carlos, and I absolutely love the idea of serving them in pretty stemware like this! Also in the book are several recipes for friands, those dainty little cakes you make in the small, fancy-shaped tart pans many of us like to collect. It was refreshing to see so many new recipes and ideas in a tea book, and I'm glad for the accidental discovery of this charming new title!