Cranberry Turkey Tea Sandwich for Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is an exquisite event that can be made easy to host, whether a cozy gathering or a themed party. Alongside tea, food is the main attraction at a tea party. Afternoon teas traditionally have three courses; a sweet, a savory, and a scone. Making each element as simple as can be is the key to an easy-to-pull-off event.

This turkey tea sandwich is a breeze to put together and would go perfectly with any selection of treats.

I imagine this turkey tea sandwich served on a warm summer day with cold-brewed Strawberry Honeysuckle black tea with plenty of ice cubes clinking in a glass.

Cold Brewing Makes It Simple

Have you tried cold brewing before? It's so easy and is done ahead of time. There are many ways to brew a cup (or pitcher) of iced tea, but I've really taken to cold brewing as a favorite. All you have to do to cold brew your tea is place two teaspoons per eight ounces of cold water into a vessel.

I swoon for a gorgeous colored mason jar but you can also check out this sweet iced tea pitcher bundle, and give it a little shake or stir to saturate the tea. Then you just let it sit overnight! Some tea blends can be ready in as little as four to six hours, but you'll get the best flavor with an overnight steep. Strain it the next day, and enjoy! I start a new tea every day so there's always iced tea on hand in the warmer months.

Not only is this method super simple, cold steeping your tea doesn't pull out as many tannins as hot brewing does. This means your black, green, oolong, and white teas won't have that bitter bite that comes with oversteeping. Cold brewing also works well with herbal teas. While there's less risk of herbal teas going bitter regardless, it can still change up their flavor profile quite a bit.

Plum Deluxe has plenty of teas that taste wonderful when cold brewed. Royal Assam black tea gives you a classic iced tea flavor. There is also a plethora of flavored teas to choose from.

Highlands Breakfast black tea has a hint of orange, which is a classic pairing with black tea for iced tea in my family. Strawberry Immunity is an herbal tea that combines berries with immune-boosting echinacea. This is my favorite blend to cold brew so far, as it has a strong, fruity taste without the caffeine.

Planning Your Savory Course

Once you have your tea all sorted, you'll want some tasty noshes to go with it. This turkey tea sandwich recipe is as easy as cold brewing, but much less time! A combination of turkey, gouda, apple, spinach, and cranberry mayonnaise come together in tiny sandwiches for the perfect savory course for an afternoon tea, or just a nice lunch sitting outside on a sunny day.

The cranberry mayonnaise is just a mix of cranberry sauce (whole or jellied both work) and mayo. Smear it on some bread with the crusts cut off, layer the ingredients, and cut into quarters for some tasty, tiny sandwiches. Adorable toothpicks are highly encouraged.

Scones and Sweets

If you are planning an afternoon tea party, the Plum Deluxe blog is full of delicious treats to inspire your culinary talents. These coconut mango scones are some of my favorite scones I've ever made, and I make a lot of scones!

At the bottom of this article, you'll also find a recipe for lavender white chocolate scones with lemon curd that I make every year for my birthday. Scones can be made a day or two ahead of time, or further in advance if you’re going to freeze them. Just be sure to give them time to defrost, or pop them in the oven for a few minutes to toast back up.

If you're looking for cake, we have no shortage of recipes to pick through. These icing-coated mini square cakes would be beautiful on a tablescape, and this Italian tea cake is moist and lemony and easily made in advance.

With all of these ideas and some planning, it really can be easy to throw your own afternoon tea. I highly recommend grabbing a few friends, cold brewing some tea, and making this tasty turkey tea sandwich to go with some sweets and scones and having a lovely afternoon together.