How to make traditional English afternoon tea finger sandwiches

First up in our Afternoon Tea Series is our afternoon tea finger sandwiches. We’re focusing on easy and elegant recipes. Grab our tips, tricks and simple recipes for the five most common traditional English afternoon tea finger sandwiches.

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Short & sweet

Taste: Like the Dowager Duchess of Downton Abbey sharing a good slice of gossip

Ease: Very – they’re sandwiches!

Pros: A simple start to the perfect afternoon tea

Cons: Too many sandwiches leave no room for cake

Again: When are we having afternoon tea next?

What types of sandwich are traditionally served for afternoon tea?

As we explained last week, the first “course” for afternoon tea is traditionally finger sandwiches. Five types of afternoon tea finger sandwiches which are traditionally served for afternoon tea. Most of the large hotels still serve a version of these sandwiches:

1. Cured ham and mustard
2. Cucumber with mint cream cheese
3. Smoked salmon with lemon butter
4. Egg salad with cress
5. Coronation chicken.

How many sandwiches to I allow per person for afternoon tea?

I allow one finger of each type of sandwich per person. Each sandwich makes three fingers.

For our recent afternoon tea for three adults (we’re on lockdown!), we made one of of each type of sandwich. Effectively, we had about one and half sandwiches each.

We also had caramelised onion and goat’s cheese tarts (recipe coming soon) and featherlight scones. We finished off with banana cupcakes – baked because we had some overripe bananas – but nobody apart from Miss M had any space left to eat any of the cupcakes.

How far ahead can you make these finger sandwiches?

You can make these afternoon tea finger sandwiches in advance. How far depends on personal preference.

I like to make mine the morning of the afternoon tea (providing I have time). I might prepare the coronation chicken and egg salad the night before, or at least cook the chicken and the egg.

As I explained, I hate it when the sandwiches have been made too far in advance and refrigerated and are still quite cold when served. If you are going to make the sandwiches in advance:

1. Keep the crusts on and don’t cut them into fingers in order to prevent them from drying out on the edges.
2. Wrap the sandwiches well in plastic foil so that they don’t start to taste like the fridge.
3. Think of allergies and food preferences: in our case, I would wrap the salmon sandwiches separately (allergies) and make sure the vegetarian sandwiches are wrapped separately from those with meat.
4. Remove them from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving so that they can reach a nice temperature.

What is the best bread to use for afternoon tea finger sandwiches?

The type of bread is a matter of personal preference. You can use as many or as few different types of bread as you wish. For example:

• White bread
• Sourdough
• Brioche
• Rye
• Multigrain
• Soy and linseed
• Wholemeal
• Sundried tomato loaf
• Pumpernickel

It’s best(and easiest) if you use bread that is already sliced, rather than making a lovely homemade loaf and having the slices all uneven.

Of course, there is nothing to stop you from switching some of these up for little bread rounds (use a cookie cutter to cut them out) or little rolls. But we’ll be showcasing some more modern options in the weeks to come.

How do you perfectly cut the sandwiches into fingers?

The trick to getting the perfect afternoon tea finger sandwiches is to use the right knife.

You don’t want a chef’s knife, a santoku knife or a cleaver. They will squash the bread and leave dents in your sandwiches.

You definitely don’t want a butter knife, even a serrated one. It will rip your bread.

You want a good serrated knife, preferably a good bread knife.

Hold the sandwich down firmly, but not so firmly that you squash it. Take the knife and line it put to cut off the crusts on one side. Move the knife back and forth, letting the serrations do the work. This should cut the crusts off cleanly without squashing or tearing the bread or catching on the filling and pulling it out.

Once you’re done one side, rotate the sandwich 90° and repeat until the crusts are cut off all four sides.

Use this same technique to cut the sandwich into three fingers.

Visually divide the sandwich into thirds. Hold the sandwich still with one hand (without squashing it) and cut, running the knife back and forth, along the first line you drew visually to cut a third, the first finger sandwich.

Repeat to cut the remaining two thirds.

Tips for the perfect afternoon tea finger sandwiches

These recipes are so simple that the quality of the ingredients is important. However, you don’t need a lot of any one ingredient. If you have a choice, choose the better quality ingredient, even if it is a little more expensive.

Ham and mustard finger sandwiches

• Use good cured ham, not air dried (no parma ham) and not too fatty. We prefer honey wholegrain mustard (known in Germany as süßer Senf). If you don’t have it use wholegrain mustard. If you are using normal mustard, use a little less so that the ham is prominent.
• You can use any bread type for these afternoon tea finger sandwiches.

Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches

• You need to use white bread for these cucumber afternoon tea finger sandwiches.
• Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so before you need it. This will make it easier to mix in the herbs. Make sure the herbs are very finely chopped – no one wants bits of herb getting stuck between their teeth.
• If you can, use an English cucumber. They are often wrapped in plastic when they are sold. Any cucumber will work, but English cucumbers have few seeds, which normally makes them less watery.
• Use a mandoline slicer or just a potato peeler to cut the cucumber. I prefer to cut them lengthwise to make longer pieces of cucumber rather than small rounds. The longer pieces make it less likely that the cucumber will fall out when eating the finger sandwich.
• Make sure you add the salt to the sandwich. Even if you normally have a low sodium diet, do add some salt. It prevents the cucumber from making the sandwich soggy.

Smoked salmon finger sandwiches

• As the smoked salmon is the star here, it pays to get a better brand, if available. You don’t need a lot, so the price is probably quite reasonable.
• Remove the butter from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before using to make it easier to mix in the butter and butter the bread without making holes in the bread. Take your time when mixing the lemon juice into the butter, it will not look like it is going to combine at first.
• We used a simple brioche for this recipe, but you can use any bread you like.

Egg and cress finger sandwiches

• The egg you use for these egg salad and cress afternoon tea finger sandwiches should be hard-boiled, but not for too long. I’d recommend cooking the egg for about 8 minutes, so that it is just set but not dry yet. I used a large egg, which was definitely enough for one sandwich. If you have a medium egg, you might need to use two.
• You can use any type of mayonnaise you like, but I prefer an egg mayonnaise. Just use whatever you have. Make sure the chives are chopped finely and adjust the amount of mustard to taste.
• You can use garden cress or water cress, whatever is available. If the pieces are a little big, give them a rough chop before using.
• I prefer white bread for these sandwiches, but it a personal preference.

Coronation chicken finger sandwiches

• If you can, save time and buy your chicken pre-cooked. I couldn’t get any from the Aldi we visited, so I just briefly cooked a few chicken strips in a frypan, removing then when they were cooked through but before they started to brown. Make sure you cut or shred the chicken into small pieces so that there are no big lumps in the afternoon tea finger sandwiches.
• I couldn’t get any mango chutney at the supermarket. If you can’t get any either, use any fruit chutney you can find. I think mine was pineapple, fig and chili.
• Again, you can use any type of mayonnaise that you have on hand. Add just a little yoghurt to start, so that the mixture is not too runny.
• You can use garden cress or water cress, whatever is available. If the pieces are a little big, give them a rough chop before using.
• You can use any bread you prefer for these afternoon tea finger sandwiches.

Make these finger sandwiches for your next afternoon tea

Simplicity and elegance: what more could you want? If you are looking for traditional finger sandwiches for your next afternoon tea, these five recipes are all that you need. Follow our tips and tricks for perfect finger sandwiches, without the stress for your need afternoon tea.

Be sure to check out the other recipes in our Afternoon Tea Series too!

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