Afternoon tea

And a dish of sweet pickled onions, and small tomatoes (bite size).

I would make a fruitcake, cut French stick into 1inch slices, put a small selection of cheeses and a dish of butter. And an endless pot of tea. Or if you don't want a fruitcake, make a fresh fruit salad, and cream. Let them self-service. And enjoy the company!

Decide how formal you want to be. It is your home and your rules and as it is friends, they will just be glad to see you. Informal: one or two big cakes - traditional favourites like Victoria Sandwich / Coffee and Walnut - or formal: as others have said go small - but you could make one cake batch of, say vanilla, then divvy it up and add some coffee / chocolate or cocoa powder to make 3 varieties.

If it were me, I would e a bit tongue in cheek (Sounds so clichéd, but I used to be a vicar's wife and loved having tea at four!) I would make dainty cucumber sandwiches - crusts off and drape them with a damp tea-towel once made to keep very fresh. I would probably have just one other choice such as ham.

Cake, sandwiches and some very chocolatey biscuits would be fine - and you will probably have tonnes left.

Might also be fun to have a few different flavoured teas - earl grey, peppermint, etc, - tea bag choices to keep it simple.

You have made me long to get out the best china! Have fun.

I have had two upmarket hotel teas and everything was miniature.Tiny crustless sandwiches using very thin bread, tiny scones using the smallest cutter in a round fluted cutter set and cakes like cocktail canopies.

Very fiddly for home preparation, but much easier when you are hotel with trained staff serving 100 teas a day.

The sandwiches and scones should not be too difficult to do at home but then I would do as others have suggested for the cake and just make a Victoria sponge and cut it into tiny slices.

Sat having afternoon tea in London -can't remember where but on the table next to us were a Japanese lady and her daughter, who had clearly never ever seen or eaten tea. I was fascinated by how they approached it trying to make sense of how to eat it and what to eat first.

I would go for egg mayo sandwiches and perhaps ham or chicken ones as a meat option. I find scones tend to be too big, perhaps some fairy cakes would be better. I used to make cheese scones using my smallest cutter and fill them with philadelphia, they were always popular. Finish of with a victoria sandwich.

Yes tiny very thin bread which needs buttering before you cut it - crustless sandwiches.

Tiny cakes which are a pain to make!

Dainty scones

Ear Grey tea.

Or champagne!

Finger sandwiches are always good for afternoon tea. For nibbles at a recent made bite size scones, about the size of a macaron. They went down a treat with cream and a halved strawberry on top.

Watermeadow
When you have afternoon tea at Claridges all the sandwiches and beautiful cakes are dainty. As you are an experienced baker ( unlike me [grin) I'm sure you could make a good selection, but make them half the size you normally would.

Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and maybe a light fruit cake or Victoria sponge.

Some sandwiches, maybe a meat filled and also a veggie option, such as egg mayo or cheese. A homemade cake, a selection of biscuits and a large pot of tea.