Tea at the Palace: A Cookbook (Royal Family Cookbook) by Carolyn Robb

Tea at the Palace: A Cookbook (Royal Family Cookbook)

by Carolyn Robb

Carolyn Robb presents sumptuous recipes for delectable sweet and savory tea-time treats, which are tied to twelve of Britain’s best-loved royal palaces and castles.

Recipes include gingerbread sentry boxes and soldiers; the ultimate child’s afternoon tea treat. There are miniature clotted cream and raspberry scones; fit for a royal garden party and an elegant lemon and elderflower cake – echoing the one served at Harry and Meghan’s wedding at Windsor Castle. Each recipe has a story of its own and offers a taste of the traditions surrounding British afternoon tea.

Recipes rely on seasonal ingredients and have easy-to-follow instructions so that cooks of all ages and skill levels can create something spectacular.

The cookbook is filled with beautiful food imagery and inspiration for serving an afternoon tea fit for a Queen.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Tea at the Palace is a beautifully illustrated collection of tea cakes, recipes, and small dishes by Carolyn Robb. Released 3rd May 2022 by Quarto on their White Lion imprint, it's 160 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is such a charming and well presented book full of lovely recipes. The collection is arranged thematically around 12 iconic castles and stately homes from Buckingham Palace to Caernarfon Castle. Each chapter contains a selection of cakes and savory bites.

Recipes contain a title and background description followed by ingredients in a bullet list. Recipe measurements are given in metric measures. Ingredients are referenced in UK terms: caster sugar, cake flour, bread flour, demerara sugar, sultana, and so forth. Ingredients will be readily available to readers in other areas of the world, but might require a bit of adjustment or investigation to find proxies for listed ingredients.

Despite being full of really quite fancy cakes and goodies, the step by step instructions are accessible and easy to follow. Tea is such a wonderfully civilised pause in the day and this book is full of beautifully presented choices.

The photography, both of the castle locations and of the dishes themselves, are gorgeous and clear.

Five stars. This is definitely one for tea lovers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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  • 11 May, 2022: Reviewed