Homemade scones and creative sandwiches

Westminster serves up three types of vegan afternoon tea: Regal (which is a homemade scone with coconut cream, jam and vegan butter); Mayfair (vegan cheese on toast, with the scone mentioned above) and Duchess, which includes all the trimmings!

Naturally I went for the Duchess, and it was quite possibly one of the best meals I’ve ever had in a non-vegan restaurant.

I received four sandwiches, each one with a creative and unique filling, which I honestly didn’t expect. One of them was hummus and mediterranean veg (possibly one of my favourites) but after that they got more interesting – vegan cheese and grape; vegan luncheon meat with piccalilli, and vegan smoked salmon with watercress (I don’t know how they did it either).

Each sandwich was absolutely delicious, and it had me wishing they were larger than their delicate finger-size.

Next up was the scone. Perched on the top tier of the stand, it was covered with a curved dinner lid, which was intended to keep it warm.

Indeed, it seemed to work, as my scone was not just warm, but hot like it had just come from the oven. It had been years since I had this traditional baked treat (certainly not since becoming vegan) and so I was most looking forward to it. Next to the scone were two small pots containing coconut cream and strawberry jam. Combined with the vegan spread that had earlier been laid out on the table, I was able to fix myself a pretty delightful cream tea – no animals needed! I had never really been one for eating cream on a scone anyway, but the coconut cream was different. It felt cool and creamy and offered a pleasant flavour to accompany the fruitiness of the jam. I was in cream tea heaven.

Once we’d all polished off our sandwiches and scones, we were all getting rather full. But I still managed to delve into the fruit tart on my middle tier, whilst the others nibbled on their mini-cakes and french macaroons. The tart was lovely, but unfortunately its coconut cream filling had started to melt a little due to the heat (it was an incredibly hot day).

Luckily, I was able to wolf it down before it melted any further, but I would have been keen to see what it was like when still chilled.

The chocolate cake was the one thing I was not able to finish, but I did take it home with me. Later that night Christian and I shared it between us, so I can absolutely vouch for its moist richness and delicious fudgy topping.

Quaint and stylish

All of the afternoon teas were served on those adorable metal cake stands, where everything had its own tier.

Our loose leaf teas arrived in individual teapots with matching tea cups, accompanied with cute tea strainers through which to pour the tea. If we wanted more, all we had to do was ask for a top-up of hot water, but the teapots were quite sizeable, so I found I had plenty.