MOLINE, Ill. — Britain is bustling with pomp and pageantry this week as Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 70th year on the throne. Despite decades of changes within the royal family, the nation's 96-year-old figurehead still remains a cultural icon.
In honor of the queen's platinum anniversary in power, News 8's David Bohlman showed the Good Morning Quad Cities crew how to have an authentic English tea party at home with tea, scones and cucumber sandwiches.
Find the recipes below.
Strawberry Scones (based on this recipe from Jo Cooks)
Ingredients:
- 1 quart fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced into small pieces.
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour.
- 3 tablespoons sugar.
- 1 tablespoon baking powder.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- 2 large eggs, with 1 set aside for an egg wash.
- 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes.
- 2/3 cup milk.
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.
- 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice.
- 3 tablespoons raspberry liquor - We got ours from the Mississippi River Distilling Company.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450° Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment. Cut the strawberries into small pieces and doss them with a tablespoon of sugar.
In a large bowl, combine flour salt, baking powder and the remaining sugar. Add the cold butter and use two knives or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble small peas.
Add the sliced strawberries to the bowl and toss them with the flour mixture. In a small bowl, whisk an egg and the milk together and pour the wet mixture into the flour bowl. Use a spatula to mix everything together. Add more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape them into a round 10-inch disk.
Cut the dough into eight triangles and place them onto the baking sheet. Brush the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the scones for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
For the lemon raspberry icing, whisk icing sugar with lemon juice and raspberry liquor until smooth and driving over the scones.
Cucumber sandwiches (based on this recipe from Farm and Dairy)
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened.
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise.
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped.
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped.
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced.
- 1 loaf of sliced bread with crusts removed.
Directions:
Mix together softened cream cheese and mayonnaise in a bowl until smooth. Stir in herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread bread slices with the mixture and add a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers. Top with remaining bread slice, if desired - We served ours open-faced!
Cut each sandwich into three pieces and serve immediately. You can also cover the sandwiches and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Watch more segments like this 4:30-7 a.m. weekdays on WQAD's Good Morning Quad Cities.