Nanny's Honey Tea Sandwiches
Submitted by aprilmichele
Nanny’s honey tea sandwiches pair a soft honey-and-tea loaf with lemony banana filling, cut into flower shapes and dotted with chocolate sprinkles. A dainty treat for showers, birthdays, and tea parties.
YIELD
6 sandwichesPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
1 hrsNanny’s honey tea sandwiches are a proper occasion recipe. The bread itself is the magic trick. Hot strong tea gets split between two bowls, one dissolving the brown sugar, the other melting the honey, and each goes into the batter in order so the liquid stays warm enough to carry the sweeteners evenly through the crumb.
No butter, no eggs. Just flour, baking soda, and those two tea mixtures. The result is a dense, faintly amber loaf that slices clean without crumbling, which is exactly what you need for punched-out shapes.
The filling is simply ripe banana mashed with lemon juice to keep it from browning. Cut your cooled loaf into rounds or flowers, hollow half of them into doughnut shapes, spread the solid ones with banana, and sandwich. A pinch of chocolate sprinkles in the center hole finishes each one.
Kitchen Tips
- Brew the tea strong. Weak tea leaves the loaf tasting only of sugar. A strong black tea or Earl Grey gives real depth.
- Let the loaf cool completely before slicing, or it will tear under the cookie cutter. Overnight is even better for clean cuts.
- Assemble right before serving. The banana filling weeps if it sits more than an hour.
- A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best for the ½ inch slices.
Variations
- Swap the banana for lemon curd and a thin layer of mascarpone for a sharper, brighter bite.
- Use Earl Grey tea for a citrus-bergamot note that plays beautifully with banana.
- Dust the finished sandwiches with powdered sugar for a snowy look at a bridal or baby shower.
Ingredients
Directions
Honey Bread:
Butter and flour a 8 ½×4 ½×2½ inch loaf pan.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Divide tea between 2 small bowls.
Stir brown sugar into one until dissolved.
Stir honey into the other until blended.
Set both aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda.
Mix well.
Stir in sugar mixture until blended.
Quickly stir in honey mixture.
Pour into pan.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 40 to 45 minutes until skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan set on rack 10 minutes.
Remove from pan.
Cool on rack.
Filling:
In a medium bowl, mash banana with lemon juice.
To Assemble:
Trim off ends of bread.
Cut remaining loaf into slices ½ inch thick.
Cut each slice into a floral shap with a 1 ¾ inch to 2 inch cookie cutter.
With a sharp paring knife or very small round cookie cutter, cut a ½ inch round hole in the center of half the flowers, forming doughnut shapes.
Spread solid bread flowers with filling.
Top with doughnut slices.
Fill hole with chocolate sprinkles.
Serve at once.
Comments
