Sipping Pretty

Some traditional and not so traditional ideas for a standout afternoon-tea ritual

30 Raspberry mini-cheesecakes
A three-bite morsel that’s as cute as a button. Good balance between creamy and dry. $2 each. Second Avenue Sweets, 151B Second Ave., 613-233-7277.

31 Bewitching baking from

The Scone Witch
Since the 1980s, Heather Matthews has bewitched our taste buds with the rich and flaky queen of Anglo-Saxon baking: the scone. The Scone Witch offers a daily selection of three savoury and five sweet scones. Pick them up baked, or bake them yourself and have your friends think they’re homemade. $1.90 each. 388 Albert St., 613-232-2173.

32 Lover’s Leap Ceylon tea
The fragrance of Lover’s Leap black tea hints of flowers. Its light, clean taste just picks you right up. From Sri Lanka. $5.50/50 g. Tea & Ginseng, 504 Bank St., 613-236-5524, www.teaandginseng.com.

33 Queen Elizabeth cake
An old-fashioned moist, dense cake filled with dates is topped with a toasted-coconut walnut icing. $2.25/square. Bread & Roses Bakery, 11 Beechwood Ave., 613-745-2087.

34 Shortbread La Gaillarde
These all-butter shortbread cookies, made in Wakefield, are the chewy antithesis of the industrial cookie. $6.95 for a box of 16 medium-sized cookies. Pastina, 355, boul. Greber, Gatineau, 819-243-0546, www.pastina.ca.

35 Lavender
Deep purple bunches of dried lavender — the real ones from France — can hold their perfume for years. Use sparingly to make delicate shortbread. $15. A.D.C. Fines Herbes, Byward Market, 613-527-2503.

36 Baklava filled with walnuts
Co-owner Jacqueline Jaber learned this recipe from her mother, who was taught by her mother, who was… you get the picture. $1.25/piece. Middle East Bakery, 605 Somerset St. W., 613-238-7342.