Star baker worthy tips

Want to give your Afternoon Tea that star quality? Here are our top tips to help you wow your guests with your bakes. No professional skills required!

1. Elevate your bakes 

You don’t need to be a baking pro to impress your guests! With a few extra touches, you can level up your bakes. Why not try:

• Decorating your bakes with the cake flags in your fundraising pack (Need more? Just head over to our extra order site and pop them in your basket)
• Adding a cake topper to the top of your bakes
• Using fun, colourful cupcake cases
• Displaying your bakes on a cake stand
• Putting the cherry on top – literally! Adding fresh fruit is a great way to brighten up your bakes

2. Think about food allergies, labelling & hygiene

• Before planning your Afternoon Tea menu, check if your guests have any dietary requirements or allergies. That way you can be sure that there’s something on the menu for everyone!
• Use the handy cake labels in your fundraising kit to list any potential allergens in your bakes (nuts, dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, etc.). Remember to ask any other bakers to do the same.
• Make sure to keep food areas clean to avoid any contamination.
• If you’re having your Afternoon Tea outside, remember to keep food covered and out of direct sunlight where possible.

Take a look at the Gov.uk website for more information.

3. Plan a “Showstopper” bake

Take inspiration from The Great British Bake Off and impress your guests with an iconic showstopper! There are plenty of amazing recipes for you to choose from, or why not give Great British Bake Off winner Matty Edgell’s caramelised onion sausage roll recipe a go? They’d make a great savoury snack for your Afternoon Tea!

You could also try Great British Bake Off finalist Sandro Farmhouse’s delicious orange crème brûlèe cupcakes.

4. Bake your cakes in advance and pop them in the freezer

Bake in advance, freeze, and then defrost and decorate closer to the event. You’ll thank yourself later!

Great options for freezing include:

• Traybakes e.g. brownies, blondies, flapjacks
• Sponge cakes e.g. carrot cake, Victoria sponge, chocolate cake
• Cookie dough
• Cheesecake

5. Use your own bake for guess the weight of the cake

Play the guess the weight of the cake game in your fundraising kit using your own bake. Before anyone digs in, make sure to weigh it and keep the weight a secret!

We suggest players donate £2 to play. But if they can’t, that’s OK too.

6. Fit your menu to your crowd

You don’t have to stick to finger sandwiches and scones at your Afternoon Tea! You can do it your way.

Take a look at Valeries delicious homemade callaloo and lentil pasties.

7. Create a list of bakes

Ask your guests what they’re planning to bring to your tea and keep a note. Or you could make a list of the bakes you need for your event and share it with your helpers, so they can pick something from the list. We tried this at our office Afternoon Tea and found it worked really well!

It’s an easy way to keep your spread balanced and means you won’t end up with three different banana breads!

8. Don’t worry about matching plates!

Your Afternoon Tea doesn’t need to be big. And it doesn’t need to be fancy.  It can be small. It can be simple. 

You don’t need matching china teacups and plates to make your Afternoon Tea a smashing success. It’s the taste that counts!

9. Buy the cake and decorate it yourself

Don’t have much time to bake? Why not buy a plain cake and decorate it at home! That way you’ll save some time but still have fun in the kitchen.

10. If you find yourself having any leftovers – get creative to avoid food waste

You could:

• Put together some goody bags for guests to bring home
• Drop off slices of cake to your neighbours
• Bring leftovers in for colleagues (you could ask for a suggested donation and raise some extra pennies)
• Freeze for a later date (if you can!)