I recently went to Elizabeth and Alexander's English Tea Room, where I fell in love with their currant scones and lemon curd. (First Picture). Since my first afternoon tea at the Empress in Victoria B.C., I've been smitten with tea parties and foods. Being in the baking mood recently, I wanted to add recipes for scones and curd to my tea party repetoire.
So, I went online to find some recipes. The lemon curd turned out good, though a bit runny. The scones, while flavorful, and fragrant, were not exactly what I wanted. (No kidding, right?) And they came out cracked and dry. Compare the scones in the second picture to the first. Probably not enough kneading and cream. After all the anticipation, everything tasted good. But did not satisfy my craving for E&A's scones. (Though I will keep that scone recipe.) However, I found out later that E&A's sell their currant scone mix and lemon curd online. So, should I develop another hankering for them, I'll be set, without the extra effort.
One thing I learned recently is what a "cream tea" is. It was on the menu at E&A's. A cream tea, as opposed to an afternoon or high tea, only consists of tea, scones, jam and clotted cream. It is only available in certain parts of England, like the north. Also, you'll probably only find it at English style tea houses in the U.S.
