An Autumn Afternoon Tea: Celebrating a Glorious Season
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An Autumn Afternoon Tea Party is a perfect time to treat yourself, friends, and family to a beautiful respite during the busy fall season.
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Autumn and tea go hand in hand with the stormy weather, gorgeous fall colors, seasonal occasions to gather, creating a warm and memorable gathering that will be remembered throughout the cold days of winter.
To learn the differences between Afternoon Tea and High Tea, Visit our British Tea Primer.
Hosting an Autumn Tea.
We’ve gathered some easy yet beautiful ideas to host your own Autumn Tea.
1. Create An Autumn Afternoon Tea Menu
From the first warming cup of tea to the last, your guests will be delighted with our flavorful autumn tea menu.
The menu is redolent with fall’s favorite spices—rich vanilla beans, silky cinnamon, fragrant cloves, and crunchy peppercorns— the perfect complement to ripe pears, creamy pumpkin, and salted caramel.
2. Polish the Silver
Get a jumpstart on the season by polishing your silver and celebrating with an Autumn Tea Party. This set is a stunning sterling silver Gorham Strasbourg teapot.
3. Use Autumn Themed China
If you’re fortunate to have autumn china, serve with seasonal elements, and tiny goodies.
4. Afternoon Tea Courses
Make a selection of autumn-flavored recipes guests will love. Here are some delicious and easy ideas.
Afternoon tea generally consists of three courses, though some teas serve many more.
Chloe Hemery, head pastry chef at London’s Milestone Hotel, has served tea to Queen Elizabeth. She says, “There’s the savoury course with tea sandwiches, the scones course served with clotted cream and jam, and, finally, the third course of sweet pastries.”
An Autumn Afternoon Tea Recipes
Cider Bundt Cake
A beautiful statement piece for an Autumn Afternoon Tea.
Ginger Cake with Wine-Poached Pears
Robust on its own, deftly spiced Ginger Cake with Wine-Poached Pears reaches new heights with chocolate-covered walnuts and drizzles of butterscotch sauce.
Abraham Lincoln Pumpkin Puddings
"Abraham Lincoln Pumpkin Puddings pay homage to our forefather’s role in preserving Thanksgiving as a cherished American custom."
Pumpkin Tarts with Salted Caramel Nuts
These Pumpkin Tarts with Salted Caramel Nuts are a decadent fall treat for guests at an afternoon tea.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake: Easy Fall Cake
This Pumpkin Bundt Cake is tender and rich with the flavors of fall. An incredibly easy cake to make, beautiful to serve, and delicious with a velvety vanilla Cream Cheese Icing.
Gingerbread-Pear Loaf
“Gingerbread-Pear Loaf holds a surprise: tart Bosc pears that reveal their shapely forms when the bread is sliced.”
Rosemary Shortbread with Pear Preserves
"Guests discover an intriguing herbal note in Rosemary Shortbread with Pear Preserves. The golden mellow fruit offers a pleasant contrast to the hint of fragrant woodsy character in these delightful cookie sandwiches."
Toasted Pecan Shortbread Cookies with Buttercream Filling
“Buttercream frosting sandwiched between traditional pecan shortbread halves is a welcome update to the classic cookie.”
Pumpkin Cakes
“Filled with Cream Cheese Frosting, these Pumpkin Cakes are a rich fall dessert.” And perfect for an Autumn Afternoon Tea.
Pumpkin Mousse Tartlets
Filled with rich spices and topped with Sweetened Whipped Cream, these Pumpkin Mousse Tartlets will be the star of your afternoon tea.
Pork and Mushroom Puff Pastry Swirls
“Ground pork, mushrooms, and a honey-mustard sauce combine to make Pork and Mushroom Puff Pastry Swirls a delicious teatime savory.”
Sweet Potato Crostini With Brie, Pear, & Honey
A beautiful savory finger food filled with fall flavors.
Cranberry Brie Bites
A quick and easy finger food for afternoon tea. It comes together in seconds and always a favorite.
Mini Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Balls Appetizer
Mini Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Balls, a festive, delicious appetizer or snack for the holidays, that's so simple and easy it will become your go-to recipe. Packed with cranberries, pecans, fresh parsley and seasoned with cinnamon and honey. It's incredibly delicious.
Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
This Sweet Potato Soup is an incredibly delicious vegetable soup that's naturally vegan, velvety in texture, and fragrant with herbs and spices. And quick to make in 30 minutes or less.
Butternut SquashPear Soup
“Butternut Squash-Pear Soup — Delight in the complexity of our Butternut Squash–Pear Soup. The popular harvest gourd—roasted with garlic until tender—joins the succulent Bartlett variety in a velvety purée that includes onion, shallot, and chicken broth. Rosemary and ginger lend woodsy, Asian flair, and shaved Parmesan crowns the flavorful bisque.”
Curried Squash Soup
“A bowl of velvety Curried Squash Soup is a perfect addition to any fall tea.”
Salmon-Cucumber Canapes with Wasabi Aioli
“These scrumptious salmon canapés are perfect any time of day.”
Apple-Chicken Sausage Crostini with Apple-Kale Slaw
“Crisp apples, chicken, sausage, kale, and tangy vinaigrette slaw combine to make savory teatime crostini bites.”
Bacon Dip and Sweet Potato Canapes
"Make your own sweet potato chips in the microwave for these Bacon Dip and Sweet Potato Canapés… or a bag of store-bought chips works too!"
Roasted Butternut Squash Tart with Cinnamon-Molasses Crust
"Culminate the celebration with Roasted Butternut Squash Tart, where a thick cinnamon-molasses crust is crowned with a whipped cream-cheese filling, slices of the vibrant gourd, and walnuts."
Pumpkin-Leek Tarts
Prosciutto, leeks, and fresh thyme add a savory flavor to pumpkin in these Pumpkin-Leek Tarts.
HEIRLOOM-TOMATO CROSTINI
"This Heirloom-Tomato Crostini is a flavorful bite of Campari tomato, fresh basil, and Boursin cheese."
Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches
"You will fall in love with these delectable Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches. Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches pictured with Olive-Cheese Puff-Pastry Flowers and Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks."
Goat Cheese-Pecan Finger Sandwiches
“Instead of pimiento cheese for your party sandwiches, try this filling of creamy goat cheese and crunchy pecans.”
Kale-Pecan Pesto and Turkey Tea Sandwiches
“Turkey and a kale-pecan pesto are layered in these Kale-Pecan Pesto and Turkey Tea Sandwiches.”
Turkey Cranberry Pinwheels
Mix it up with these Turkey Cranberry Pinwheels… “It doesn’t get any easier than this 5 ingredient pinwheel! Chive and Onion cream cheese, deli turkey meat, spinach, a few dried cranberries and a large tortilla!”
Parmesan-Rosemary Scones
Fresh rosemary adds a taste of fall to these Parmesan-Rosemary Scones.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones are an incredible, tender, delicious fall scone perfect for breakfast or brunch, with coffee, or for tea. Simple to make in minutes, they are addictively yummy!
Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Brown Butter Glaze
"Almost like a soft pumpkin cookie, this scone is a perfect addition to any fall Afternoon Tea. The brown butter adds a nice nutty taste to the glaze."
Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Icing
These easy pumpkin scones are the first thing I bake when fall leaves begin to color. Filled with warm autumn spices, moist and tender, and drizzled with cinnamon icing. They're coffee shop perfect, especially with a morning latte. Or incredibly wonderful with afternoon tea.
Apple Cinnamon Scones Recipe
These Apple Cinnamon Scones are flaky, tender, and utterly delicious. Topped with maple cinnamon glaze, they are easy and perfect for fall.
Vanilla Bean Scones
“These vanilla bean scones have just a hint of vanilla and taste even better served with a spiced pear compote.”
Royal Currant Scones Recipe
A Royal Currant Scones Recipe, from the archives of Queen Elizabeth, to serve with afternoon tea, or anytime you're craving an authentic British style scone.
Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones
A melt-in-your-mouth scone, perfect to welcome fall.
Perfectly Spiced Pumpkin Scones
Inspired by Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Scones, these are packed with pumpkin and delicious fall spices.
Fresh Apple Cinnamon Scones
"What are you making? It smells like a fall day..." That was the reaction the first time we baked these moist, flavorful scones. Fresh diced apple and cinnamon chips complement each other beautifully, flavor-wise; and a topping of crunchy, cinnamon-enhanced coarse sugar is the perfect foil to the scones' tender texture.
Scottish Oat Maple Scones
These Scottish Oat Maple Scones are crumbly and robust with that favorite maple flavor we all love. Perfect with a cup of tea and a dab of Irish butter.
Honey Drizzled Scottish Oat Scones
These tender, flaky scones have delicate buttery layers, moistened with buttermilk, and sweetened with raisins. Truly, it’s a hearty scone you won’t soon forget.
15-Minute Easy Pumpkin Scones
With 3 simple ingredients… and 15 minutes, these pumpkin scones are incredibly easy. Almost not a recipe at all.
Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Maple Glaze
Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Maple Glaze is a healthier apple cake recipe made with yogurt and grated apple. Warm spices permeate this delicious and easy cake and an unforgettable brown sugar maple glaze is drizzled just before serving.
Afternoon Tea at 31Daily
For ideas and recipes on scones, savory courses, sweets, and more, visit our Afternoon Tea link here.
More Afternoon Tea posts you will enjoy!
Hi Stephanie,
Just wondering if you have the recipe for the turkey apple goat cheese tea sandwiches image #24 on this site. When I click on the link the recipe does not load. Any ideas on where to find this recipe?
Hi Corrie– I am so disappointed. This is a great recipe and I had it printed and in my autumn tea file but for some reason, it’s gone missing. Thank you for letting me know. I can’t find the recipe online anywhere. This recipe is close but not exact. For the herbed goat cheese, I would plan on rolling the log of goat cheese in about 1/3 cup of chopped fresh herbs like dill, rosemary, or parsley. I will remove the link tomorrow so If you want to save the image for inspiration– If the recipe ever pops back up, I’ll add it back. They are really good!
Stephanie,
Thank you so very much for your quick reply. Sorry to bother you so much I have been on all your tea sites this week planning for my festive tea and so appreciate your responses. I have tried to search for this as well. I did take a screen shot of the sandwich for reference and have looked at the other link you sent. So much content on your tea sites, can’t make up my mind on what to actually make. Thank you again for your time and help. I am sure you will probably hear from me again. Have a super day.
Anytime! I love hearing from you, and planning teas. I’d love to hear what you decide on. Happy planning!
Hi Stephanie. I belong to an eight-member Tea Ladies group. We take turns hosting each month at our respective homes. I just hosted in June- my theme was “Cats in Teacups!” I host again in October- looking forward to trying some of the delicious sounding recipes you provided as I plan a fall menu. Our founding member (now in a different state) wrote about 18 plays/skits to be presented during each part of a tea. We have done several. I have the last one-“The Case of the Missing Quilt Caper.” So I will provide the ladies with the scripts! Decorations will be a combination of Fall and quilts! I’m the only quilter, but that doesn’t matter!
Hi Phyllis! We are kindred spirits– tea and cozy mysteries! Your theme was darling and I’m sure all of your members loved it. I so wish we had a forum to upload photos of our teas as I would have loved to see yours. You’re fortunate to be able to close out your season with a fall tea. Thank you for sharing and for reading the autumn tea post. I hope you find some inspiring ideas– I’d love to hear how your fall tea turns out!
This afternoon fall tea looks amazing! My sister, daughter and nieces do tea frequently and this looks better than most we have attended. I will make recipes from this post. Now I can’t wait till fall (my favorite season) to get here! Thank you !!
Hi Barb! I absolutely love an autumn tea. I’m so glad you liked the post! Have fun with your tea! I’m already thinking about pumpkins too!
The autumn teapot and cups were beautiful! What is the name of the China?
Isn’t is gorgeous? It is Richard Ginori’s Siena-Rust. Here is a link to Replacements.com – https://www.replacements.com/webquote/ginsie.htm
And the second teapot is Indian Tree by Spode — https://www.replacements.com/p/spode-indian-tree-orange-rustscallopred-trim-teapot-lid/sp-intor/59998011
Fabulous website, joyous & easy to read…I’m telling a bunch of my teatime lady friends. Thx!
Thank you, Jayne! There’s nothing more enjoyable than teatime and friends!
This post will be a resource for years to come. However, the link for the “15 Minute Pumpkin Scone” recipe is actually a duplicate of the “Apple Cinnamon Scone” recipe above it. I’d really like the Pumpkin Scone recipe, so if you update that, please let me know. Thanks.
Thank you so much, Karen! I hadn’t caught that — so appreciate you’re bringing it to my attention. Have updated the link!
This post will be a resource for years to come! However, the link for the “15 Minute Pumpkin Scones” recipe is incorrect. It is actually a duplicate of the link for the “Apple Cinnamon Scone” recipe above it. Please let me know if you update to provide the correct link, as that pumpkin scone recipe is what I wanted most (although I am saving several others, too). Thank you.
Now THIS is a blog post! My goodness, I don’t even know where to start. Beautiful pictures and delicious recipes. Lovely experience just reading this and I hope to actually make several of these recipes for a fall baby shower. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Donna! It was such a pleasure to write! Have fun with your baby shower. Those are special times!