Three recipes for National Afternoon Tea Week

Monday sees the start of national afternoon tea week, so put your scales and whisks to good use and get baking these perfect accompaniments for the great British tradition

No afternoon tea is complete without smoked salmon and cream cheese

Cheddar and smoked salmon scones

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes to 12 minutes

Serves 12

225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1tsp baking powder
50g salted butter, diced
100g seriously strong extra mature cheddar, finely grated
150ml milk, plus extra for brushing
150g soft cheese
100g Waitrose Scottish smoked salmon, torn into 12 pieces
Salad cress
Lemon wedges, to serve 

Preheat the oven to 220C. Stir together the flour and baking powder, then using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in three quarters of the cheddar and then the milk to make a fairly soft dough.

On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough out to a thickness of 2cm and stamp out 5cm-wide rounds. Reuse the trimmings to make a total of 12 scones. Transfer to a non-stick baking sheet, brush lightly with milk and scatter over the reserved cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

Split each scone in half, spread the base with soft cheese, top with a piece of smoked salmon and sprinkle over some cress before replacing the top. Serve with small wedges of lemon for squeezing over the salmon.

Add texture to these scones with the inclusion of pumpkin seeds. Mix a handful in with the ingredients at the end of step one.

Blueberry Victoria sponge

Make this the centrepiece of your high tea. The hint of zesty lemon, and floral and fruity blueberry jam make a delicious flavour combination.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes + cooling

Serves: 10

250g golden caster sugar
250g Stork with butter 
4 medium Waitrose British blacktail free range eggs 
250g self-raising flour 
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1tsp vanilla extract
170ml pot essential Waitrose double cream
4-5tbsp blueberry jam or conserve
Icing sugar, to decorate 

Preheat the oven to 180C, and grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Place the sugar and Stork in a large mixing bowl. With an electric whisk or wooden spoon, beat together until pale and creamy. Next add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition.

Fold in the flour in two additions, then lastly fold through the lemon zest and vanilla. Pour into the prepared tins and place in the oven for 22-25 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cakes are completely cool, pour the double cream into a mixing bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Spread the cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, spread the other sponge with jam, and sandwich them together. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar just before serving.

Cook’s tip: instead of whipped cream, a vanilla-scented buttercream is a lovely alternative and is great if you want your cake to keep until the next day. Simply cream together 150g Stork with butter with 150g icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Devonshire splits

These little buns, split and filled with jam and cream make a great alternative to scones for afternoon tea. If making more than a day in advance, it’s better to freeze them, then thaw and warm through in the oven before serving.

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus proving and cooling
Cooking time: 10 minutes to 15 minutes

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
25g caster sugar
10g easy-blend yeast
25g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease
300ml hand hot milk

To serve

Whipped or clotted cream
Strawberry or raspberry jam
Icing sugar, for dusting

Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Add the butter and milk. Mix with a round bladed knife to make a fairly soft dough, adding a dash more hot milk or water if the dough feels dry. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes to make a smooth, elastic dough. Alternatively knead for 5 minutes using a free-standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it and turn out onto a floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces and shape each into a ball. Space well apart on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with greased cling film and leave for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Bake the buns for 10-15 minutes until risen and pale golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Make a deep diagonal slit through the top of each bun. Ease open with a knife and fill with the cream and jam. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

For more baking recipes, visit Waitrose