The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook

Book excerpt: A guide to this treasured English tradition with recipes, serving and decorum tips, and culinary history—as well as delightful photos from the series. Afternoon tea is a revered English tradition—and no one knows better how to prepare and enjoy a proper tea than the residents of Downton Abbey. With this alluring and vibrant cookbook, fans of the PBS series and anglophiles alike can stage every stylish element of this cultural staple of British society at home. Spanning sweet and savory classics—like Battenberg Cake, Bakewell Tart, toffee puddings, cream scones, and tea sandwiches—the recipes capture the quintessential delicacies of the time, and the proper way to serve them. This charming cookbook also features a detailed narrative history and extols the proper decorum for teatime service, from tea gowns and tearooms to preparing and serving tea. Gorgeous food photographs, lifestyle stills from the television series and recent movie, and quotes bring the characters of Downton Abbey—and this rich tradition—to life in contemporary times.