KING HENRY'S MAIDS OF HONOR

It's believed that King Henry VIII named these lovely tarts over 300 years ago.  Legend has it that when he saw Anne Boleyn and other "maids of honor" eating them, he decided that  the recipe be kept a secret.  Most all secrets have a way of escaping and by the early 1700's they were being sold at a bakery in Richmond, England.  Robert Newens opened the Maids of Honor Tea Room in l850 and relatives from the same family continue to bake and run the tea room today. 

 This information and the recipes were taken from "The Great Tea Rooms of Britain" by Bruce Richardson (now in it's 5th edition) which is sold at Bernideen's.