National Afternoon Tea Week

We drink 165 million cups of tea every day here in the UK. 165 million cups of tea people. 165 MILLION!

Mind. Blown.

So it seems only fair that we celebrate the glory of tea with National Afternoon Tea Week falling from 8 - 14th August. There are lots of lovely celebrations going on all week with over 100 venues giving 20% discount on afternoon tea so have a look at local spots to see if there are any events going on nearby.

Afternoon tea has always been a struggle for me. Don't get me wrong, it tastes great. But it never makes me feel great. I wanted to be able to celebrate the wonder of a quintessentially British afternoon tea so decided to put a healthy spin on this classic.

My light and fluffy sweet potato scones with chia seed jam and coconut cream served with Rooibos tea will definitely leave you wanting more...and more.

The scones are unbelievably good. I made them yesterday and have eaten them all (with the help of a few friends!) The sweet potato gives them a beautiful colour and they are so moist. They're lovely with nut butter and hummus too. They are just ideal for lunchboxes!

There are few things in life quite as decadent as an afternoon tea so celebrate in style!

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

200g spelt flour (or buckwheat flour)

1 egg

2 tbsps maple syrup

50g ground almonds

50g coconut sugar

60g butter

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake the sweet potatoes in the oven for 40 minutes until they're soft.

Remove from the oven and scoop out the skin. Let them cool down and put them in a food processor with the maple syrup and then mix in the egg.

In a bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Rub in the butter to make breadcrumbs. Add in the sweet potato mixture, stirring well until the dough is evenly moist and smooth. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and using a pastry cutter cut out scone shapes and put them on the baking tray.

Bake in oven for around 15-20 mins.

Let them cool down (if you can) before tucking in!

The recipe for the chia seed jam is here. I made a much smaller quantity than before. I used half a punnet of raspberries, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1/2 tbsp chia seeds.

The cream part of the recipe can be anything you want it to be! My favourite is whipped coconut cream. If you haven't got much time, then use some lovely coconut yoghurt (I always go for Coyo) But if you want to make this extra special then whip up some coconut cream!

How is it done? Take a can of coconut milk, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp raw honey. Drain out the watery coconut milk that has separated and put in a bowl (this can be used for lots of other recipes - smoothies, curries etc). Scoop the coconut cream that is left behind into a bowl and using an electric hand whisk, mix it up and add the honey and cinnamon.