Vintage tea party - Carolyn Caldicott

Everyone loves an old-fashioned tea party. Mix-and-match crockery, bone-handled knives, lace and linen, teapots with cosies, sweet peas and roses, home baking and Victorian cocktails in tea cups - they're all back in vogue. Indoors by the fire in winter or outside in summer sunshine, hosts and guests can relax together with none of the stress or formality of a dinner party. Afternoon tea is the quintessential British tradition that has developed from its modest beginnings to become a much-loved celebration of indulgent pleasures.

With evocative photographs and mouth-watering recipes, Vintage Tea Party shows how you can re-create a nostalgic world of classic comfort, elegance and delicious treats. Try Carolyn Caldicott's perfect cucumber sandwich, Victoria sponge cake, rose petal jelly, English muffins, crumpets, Earl Grey tea with gin and lemon, 'the best chocolate cake you will ever taste' and much, much more.