How to Create an English Tea Party Charcuterie Board

It’s tea time and we’ve got a fun board for you today.

This English high tea charcuterie board is the perfect way to serve up al lthe dainties for tea time. You can serve this tea party charcuterie board for afternoon tea or snack, a garden party, or anytime you’ve looking for an excuse for something fun!

Below you can see a recipe to create your own tea party charcuterie board as well as substitution suggestions and ideas on how to serve this board.

Looking for more ideas? You can find suggestion on how to make a more traditional British Charcuterie Board or search for some our favorite charcuterie board ideas.

What is an English Tea Party Charcuterie Board?

A tea party charcuterie board is an assorment of the foods typically served for afternoon tea all assembled together on a board. It’s the perfect way to serve up a tea that is visually appealing and delicious. It’s also easy to carry, so if you are looking to serve tea in the garden or want to carry all the goodies out onto a patio you can do it in one easy trip.

While a traditional charcuterie board is made up of meats and cheese, modern charcuterie boards can be assembled with any ingredients you choose. You can even make entire charcuterie boards from candy or fruit!

What to Put on a High Tea Charcuterie Board?

If you’ve never been to afternoon tea in England, you’re in for a treat. Traditional high tea food include baked goods, jams, clotted cream and some small sandwiches. You can get creative with what to add to your board or what you can find locally.

For this tea sandwich charcuterie board you can either make your own baked good or purchase them pre-made. For this, board we did a combination of the two and made most of our own baked goods.

Here is a list of everything we included in this tea party charcuterie board:

• Scones
• Popovers
• Strawberry and Fig Tarts
• Cream Tart
• Strawberry Jam
• Clotthed Cream
• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Apples
• Buscuits
• Blackberries
• Garnish (flowers and oregano)

In addition to the food we used in our tea time charcuterie board, here is a more complete list of items you may want to serve on your board:

Assorted Teas (e.g., Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, or flavored teas like Jasmine or Fruit Tea)

Savory Items: 2. Finger Sandwiches (varieties may include):

• Cucumber sandwiches
• Egg salad sandwiches
• Smoked salmon sandwiches
• Coronation chicken sandwiches
• Ham and mustard sandwiches
• Watercress sandwiches

Scones:

• Plain scones
• Fruit scones

3. Clotted Cream
4. Strawberry Jam or Preserve

Sweet Items:

Pastries and Cakes (varieties may include):

• Victoria sponge cake
• Battenberg cake
• Lemon drizzle cake
• Madeleines
• Fruitcake

Mini Tarts and Pastries (varieties may include):

• Strawberry tarts
• Bakewell tarts
• Fruit-filled pastries

Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Curd and Chocolate Truffles

How to Arrange your Tea Party Charcuterie Board

Arranging your items on your board is fun and easy. Unlike a more traditional board where you will want to cut the food to bite-sized pieces, on this charcuterie board, you will leave everying as is and serve the board with small plates (napkins can also work). You may want to provide tongs and small spoons so people can gently lift their food off the tray.

Lay out the food on the board in large piles starting with the bowls or jam and clotted cream. Save the fruit for the end and fill in any hole or gaps. Try to place the food to break up colors and textures. For this board some berry add a nice element and can be a colorful addition.

Finish off with some edible flowers and garnish and serve alongside tea.

Serving Your High Tea English Charcuterie Board

Once you’ve put your board together, it’s time to serve it up to your guests (or eat it all yourself).

Tea time should be special, so make an afternoon of it in your dining room, or consider serving your tea party charcuterie board on the patio or right in the garden. While the traditional drink is to serve this with – well – tea, you may also want to consider serving your board in the late afternoon with a cocktail or even serve it at breakfast with a cup of coffee.

English Tea Party Charcuterie Board Recipe