Time for.....lots of Cupcakes from Bakehouse!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....home to all things sweet and delicious! We hope you are keeping safe and well wherever you are in the world. These are difficult times, but I hope these sweet treats will at least make you smile (and maybe even drool a little - you have been warned!). 

During the pandemic lockdown (which is easing slowly in England as I write this) I did a lot of home baking, but there were times when I also wanted a treat....a tasty treat baked by someone else. Sometimes there is nothing better than a delicious piece of cake that you haven't made yourself and living alone made that a bit difficult! I was lucky enough to discover Bakehouse, a local baker from Aldershot in Hampshire, via a Facebook recommendation, who offered all kinds of cakes and treats delivered to your door. A dream come true!

When lockdown struck, Ellie started a weekly BakeDrop menu of cupcakes, loaf cakes and biscuits which could be delivered or collected either on a Monday or Friday. The team also offer an afternoon tea menu, which can be delivered or collected on other days but needs to be pre-booked. The BakeDrop menu changes each week and includes a variety of bakes. I've ordered from Bakehouse several times now and wanted to share my experience and support this fabulous local business.

                                                   

Let's start with some of the treats from the BakeDrop menu...each week there will be two varieties of cupcakes, a loaf cake, a tray bake, cookies and some kind of savoury treat. Some weeks you can also buy cake cups too, which are amazing! The choice is really varied each week and you'll be hard pressed not to find something you like! You can order via Facebook or Instagram, its really easy....you just tell the team what you want, pay and then wait! You can opt to collect or they will deliver up to 6 miles from head quarters. 

You've already seen some of the wonderful cupcakes that I have tried over the last couple of months at the top of this article. Flavours offered have included chocolate, carrot cake, strawberry and cream (delicious vanilla sponge filled with strawberry jam), red velvet, mint choc chip, Biscoff biscuit (which comes with a chunk of biscuit), chocolate orange, salted caramel, custard cream, lemon, key lime pie, cinnamon caramel, coffee & walnut (which is a personal favourite) and gin and tonic! I bet you're drooling just reading that selection!

Each cupcake I have tried has been light and flavoursome, topped with a generous helping of butter icing. I really enjoyed the coffee and walnut that I tried recently (great coffee flavour and chucks of walnut), but to be honest there hasn't been a cupcake that I haven't enjoyed yet! The flavours are always well balanced and taste exactly how you think they should. The cakes last quite well too...although who wants to make your cupcakes last....you want to gobble them all up...or at least I do!

I was also impressed with the cake cup that I tried, which was jaffa cake flavour and included a combination of orange sponge, chocolate orange frosting, chocolate sauce, fresh cream and chunks of jaffa cake! Blooming amazing...all that jammed into one cup to enjoy with a spoon! Cake cups don't appear every week, but when they do they are always great combinations such as jammie dodger, millionaire shortbread, red velvet or chocolate peanut m&ms. The cake cup I tried was well thought through, with flavours and textures blending well - a real treat!

I haven't ordered any traybakes, cookies or loaf cakes yet, mainly because the cupcakes are always at the top of the menu and I usually get seduced by something amazing straight away! But if you make it further down the menu and are tempted by the bigger treats you could try lemon drizzle loaf cake, bakewell slice, white chocolate coconut cookies, ginger cake, Oreo cheesecake bar, chocolate raspberry brownie or choc chip cookies to name just a few! Next time I order I think I need to try something other than a cupcake!!

The menu also usually includes sausage rolls, some kind of pinwheel or pastry twist or cheese roll. My favourite is the sausage rolls, which are stuffed full of meat and rolled in flaky pastry - they really are lovely and again last well for a nice weekend treat if you order for a Friday delivery.

As well as all of this deliciousness available on a weekly basis you can also order afternoon teas - if you are lucky Ellie sometimes has spares which she makes into boxes that you can add to a Friday delivery. These are always advertised on Facebook or Instagram and are worth looking out for. Otherwise you need to get organised and order in advance. 

I got lucky one Friday night and got myself a spare box for one....

         

Afternoon tea boxes include finger sandwiches (with not a controversial crust in sight) with traditional fillings, scones with tubs of clotted cream and jam, fruit kebabs (so we can pretend to be healthy), a cupcake (as this was a spare I didn't have a cupcake this time), usually a chocolate honeycomb ganache pot or a raspberry jelly pot (as you can see I got both of these - the chocolate ganache is outrageous....so rich and creamy!). There are also luxury options, vegan options and gluten free options plus a children's version of each variety. Oh and there is a tea and coffee selection included! 

Its the perfect afternoon tea in a little white box! Everything was fresh and well packaged up, so the sandwiches didn't get soggy or stale and nothing leaked during the delivery.

I can confirm that the scones passed the taste test - not at all claggy, but light in texture. The perfect vessel for enjoying cream and jam! 

On top of all this, Ellie is really lovely and its a pleasure to order scrummy cakes from her. Communication is great and payment really easy. If you happen to be in the Aldershot / Farnham area in Surrey and are in need of cake (I'm sure this is a common problem for more people than just me!) then I would recommend taking a look at Bakehouse. 

Just to note that this is in no way a paid ad, I have paid for all the treats I have enjoyed from Bakehouse myself and just wanted to share them with you. For more information pop by the Bakehouse Facebook page. 

Do you have a favourite local baker who has been keeping you in cake during lockdown...if so we'd love to hear all about them - leave us a comment!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

Lockdown Baking

Hey There,

How are you today? Looking for a guilt free cake fix? If so, you've found the right place - grab a cup of tea and read on....

Banana and peanut butter cookies

For me baking is more than the act of making a cake or batch of biscuits. Of course I love the finished product as much as the next person....there is something wonderful about a cup of tea and freshly baked goods....but I also love the process of baking.

The combining of different ingredients, the stirring and mixing, folding and beating. Following a recipe or making it up as you go along (shock horror...I do that sometimes!). The smells as your bakes rise in the oven and the sight of the finished cake or biscuit. I love it all - it soothes my soul and makes me happy. Sharing the bakes with others is also pretty good, the widening smile when someone sees your cakes and sigh as they bite into a piece....alright, I'm a bit of a cake feeder!

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant we're all staying at home to slow the spread and I know we've all been coping with the social distancing in different ways. Some people are learning new skills via the internet, some cleaning their cupboards and garages from top to bottom. Some are making their way through their "to read" book pile and others are watching the whole of Netfix! For me I'm part of the baking tribe that is sharing their bakes on social media, although I have to say I haven't made a single banana loaf (I manage to eat all my bananas before they go brown). 

Easter Sunday pancakes!

I've tried lots of new recipes, enjoying taking the time to read my recipe books to pick bakes that I have the ingredients for (no longer having the luxury of nipping to the shops for missing items). I've also enjoyed a virtual baking session with a friend via video call - she baked banana brownies and I made a coffee crumb cake, it was great fun and we both had cake to enjoy at the end.

Since I've been so busy baking I thought I would share what I've made and why I've upped my exercise levels!

The coffee crumb cake I mentioned above was really good, a lovey light vanilla sponge topped with a coffee and mixed spice flavoured crumb. The crumb has a streusel-like quality to it, giving the bake a pleasing combination of textures. I also enjoyed how well the mixed spice paired with the coffee flavour. The cake was nice served with a dollop of clotted cream and a hot drink! 

I've tried my hand at several different biscuit recipes recently and found that I really enjoy biscuit making. Most of my bakes previously would be in cake form or using very basic biscuit recipes, so I enjoyed learning new techniques. 

I've made some delicious Viennese butter biscuits, dipped in chocolate and slightly fiery ginger custard creams. The butter biscuits are a pipped biscuit and incredibly light and buttery. The custard creams were a completely new bake for me and I struggled a little with the biscuit dough. I'm glad I finished them though because they were delicious.

I also made a batch of crunchy ginger biscuits which I enjoyed with a cup of super sweet Dalgona coffee (I felt like I was in a coffee shop with this luxurious homemade coffee!).

I also made slightly bizarre millionaire shortbread....the reason they were a bit bizarre in the flavour department was because I had run out of normal milk chocolate for the topping and only had Cadburys limited edition Christmas gingerbread chocolate to melt! Slightly odd flavour to mix with the dreamy caramel, but I enjoyed them anyway! Millionaire shortbread always hits the spot with its combination of shortbread, caramel and chocolate.

I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek at my latest baking creations. As our government has announced that the lock down will last at least another three weeks I'm sure there will be lots more bakes to follow so watch this space! If you have any recipes you think I should try, leave me a message in the comments below!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Birthday Cake in Lock Down!

Hello there cake lovers!

I hope you are all keeping well.

It's been a while hasn't it....all my blog posts seem to start like that at the moment! Well, it's now April 2020 and the UK has been social distancing and staying at home for three weeks now as part of the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Wow, it's like I'm writing a novel or horror movie, who would have thought that 2020 would start like this!

Personally I've worked from home for five weeks now and because I live alone, I've not seen any of my friends or family in five weeks too....its been an odd time, full of ups and downs. But I haven't started talking to my plants yet, which is always a bonus! But that's not what you're here for....you're here for the cake!

So, in the middle of all this I turned 41...

Yep....I decorated my house with balloons!

….those of you that know me, know that I love my Birthday. Its time to celebrate with friends and family, and have a good time. I had been dreading the day if I am honest, but on reflection it wasn't that bad at all and I managed to enjoy the day. I took the day off wort time crafting and talking to friends, I received lots of Birthday love.....plus there was cake!

Isn't that the most beautiful cake!

It comes from the BakeHouse Surrey a local baker called Rachel who is based in the Guildford area. I contacted Rachel via Instagram on a whim because I decided last minute that I wanted to enjoy some fresh cake on my birthday to cheer myself up and I'm so glad that I did.

Rachel talked to me about my cake requirements....size of cake, favourite flavours etc. I opted for vanilla cake with fresh berries and then sat back and waited for the big day. Rachel's cakes on Instagram all looked really pretty and so I was excited for the delivery.

When the cake arrived I was slightly overwhelmed, it was taller than I expected and so pretty. It was topped with fresh strawberries, pieces of fresh chocolate brownie and homemade passionfruit macarons. It also featured a drip finish and had tiny hearts around the bottom

The sponge itself was fresh and light, with a good vanilla flavour and the cake was filled with buttercream and jam. The perfect combination!

The Brownie pieces on the top are super delicious - they have the right gooey, dense texture and a great chocolatey taste.... I wish I had more! Rachel also makes traybakes and cupcakes as well as big celebration cakes. Information on getting in touch are all on the Instagram page (link above).

I had already decided to make myself an afternoon tea for lunch on the day and the cake took pride of place.....

I am so pleased that I reached out to Bakehouse Surrey, everything about the transaction and delivery was easy and efficient and the cake really made my day. 

I'm probably going to be living off cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a while now! 

I hope anyone else who is celebrating their Birthday at the moment has a lovely day....don't forget to eat cake!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel 

Time for Tea....London at Ten Trinity Square

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're well today.

Last weekend Sheree and I visited London at Ten Trinity Square, a Four Seasons hotel, for a spot of afternoon tea. Situated near the Tower of London, this hotel is impressive from the outside and has a glamorous interior. Afternoon tea is served in the Rotunda Lounge, which has a 1920s feel to it with a beautiful art deco domed ceiling - a nod towards the buildings history (it was the 1922 headquarters of the Port of London Authority).

The afternoon tea is also a glamorous affair with a 1920s theme - the menu is called The Bright Young Things and is served on elegant china and a rather unusual stand...

If I am honest I'm not sure I like this presentation, although it's not tall and imposing it does create a wall between you and your fellow tea friends....just look at Sheree over the other side of the food! However, as you can see all the food was easily accessible and we had enough room on the table.

The savouries were served on individual slates and included five different items....

On first inspection I liked the variety on offer, it's always nice to see more than just a finger sandwich on the menu. The fillings were all very different too:

Chicken coronation Curry mayonnaise & allysum flowers

Heritage beetroot Hazelnut, chives & goat cheese mousse

Salmon rillettes Lime mayonnaise, egg roe & lemon balm leaves

Roasted beef Pink peppercorn sauce, rocket & parmesan

Egg & truffle Watercress & soft cooked quail egg

There were two items that I was really looking forward to trying on the menu....the coronation chicken (my guilty pleasure) and the egg sandwich. Unfortunately, although the flavours were good and there were no crusts, the bread itself had started to go a bit crusty.

The rest of the savouries tasted fresh, but these two sandwiches had the air of a crustless sandwich which had been waiting for us to arrive rather than one that was freshly made. It was a real shame as I really enjoyed the coronation chicken filling, probably one of the best I have enjoyed.

Moving on, we turned our attention to the scones....

Do not adjust your screen.......there are two very pink scones there! 

The scones included two plain and two cranberry scones, served with clotted cream, apricot preserve and strawberry preserve.

As you can see there was fruit in the cranberry scones, but I couldn't really taste the flavour. The scones themselves had a great texture though and were served warm.

Finally we moved onto the 1920s themed sweet treats, which included hats, lips and an ashtray complete with cigar!

As well as being some of the most unusual looking afternoon tea treats that I've seen in a while, the sweets were also diverse in flavour and we couldn't wait to tuck in!

Rubi grapefruit cheese cake Cream cheese mousse, pink grapefruit confit

Mango, coconut & ginger Citrus mousse, mango jelly, coconut & ginger dacquoise

Pistachio, blackcurrant & violet Pistachio chantilly, blackcurrant & violet jelly

Chocolate & salted caramel Salted butterscotch, Guanaja chocolate mousse

Lime & raspberry pannacotta Lime pannacotta, raspberry jelly

We both thoroughly enjoyed the sweets that accompanied this tea. It's not often that a menu contains so many flavours that all appeal to me....I'll usually really like one or two and the rest are just ok. These however, were nearly all wonderful ....I wasn't a fan of the pistachio and violet, but that was purely a flavour preference (Sheree really enjoyed it).

All the rest were delicious!

I think my favourite was the ashtray....

Don't let the blue colour put you off....the chocolate and salted caramel were very well balanced and the biscuit base was amazing! 

We also both loved the raspberry and lime pannacotta - again, really well balanced, fresh flavours and a beautiful consistency. I'm not usually a pannacotta fan and so this really surprised me.

Although our tea was topped up throughout our afternoon we weren't offered anymore food. I probably couldn't have eaten anymore, but as this is a more expensive afternoon tea it would be preferably to have the option if we wanted seconds of anything. 

This afternoon tea costs £45 each or if you fancy a glass of champagne with your tea it costs £55. For more information pop by the London at Ten Trinity Square website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Amba Charing Cross

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're having a tea-riffic day!

I am pleased to share with you our first afternoon tea of 2018 - recently Lorna and I went on an afternoon tea adventure in London with Alex and Becca, visiting Amba Hotel Charing Cross for some tea and cakes!

Afternoon tea at Amba Charing Cross is served in an area called The Terrace, which is a light and airy space at the front of the hotel, above The Strand. The Terrace has high ceilings and lots of natural daylight, it is a lovely spot for a catch up over afternoon tea.

The afternoon tea was served on a traditional stand, with pretty floral china plates and teacups. It's modern, but very floral!

As there were four of us we had two stands for the group and we were told we could have more items if we wanted them - so no fighting over the cakes on the top tier! It was a very traditional afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones served with clotted cream and strawberry jam and then a selection of cakes.

There were four different finger sandwiches to enjoy...

The varieties included:
Free range egg & watercress on white bread (v)

Oak smoked salmon & cream cheese on granary bread

English ham & sweet mustard on brown bloomer bread

Aged Keens farmhouse Cheddar & onion chutney (v)

The sandwiches were fresh, and cut into easy to eat finger sandwiches. I particularly enjoyed the cheese and chutney sandwich although there could have been a bit more filling. I was a bit disappointed with the egg sandwich as it had an extra filling....

Yep....that's quite chunky cucumber in with my egg! I've encountered this once before and I'm still not sure I'm convinced that this is a good conversation. I love an egg sandwich and I feel the cucumber compromises both the flavour and the texture!

Moving up the cake stand we next turned our attention to the scones, we had two scones each....but not enough cream and jam (a pet hate when you need to ask for more scone dressings!).

The scones were a generous size - probably a little two big as one was enough to enjoy with a full afternoon tea. I also found the texture a little claggy, but not claggy enough not to enjoy the scone.

The jam that was served with the scone was ok - bog standard strawberry jam!

Finally we made our way to the top tier and the selection of cakes, which were rather appealing to look at because of the different colours...

The cakes were small and there were six different varieties to try, which was nice to see. We had already established that we could have additional cakes if we wanted which was nice to know (nothing worse than having to share the cakes so everyone tries everything!).

This selection wasn't to everyone's taste, and they weren't the most delicate sweets I have tried. But the flavours were at least interesting - there is a dense Brownie in there, a mango cheesecake (with a strong emphasis on the cheese), a red velvet cake, a green tea cake and another piece of brownie which was spiked with raspberry and peach . We liked the addition of peach pipette, which meant you could add as much or little peach as you liked. 

Overall it was a good tea, the service was friendly and the food was all fresh. There was a good selection of teas, which catered for most tastes from black and green to herbal and fruit. The Terrace is also a lovely space to be in - you wouldn't think you were so close to a train station!

The afternoon tea starts at £29.95 for a standard tea, which for central London I think represents a good price. 

For more information pop by the Amba Hotel Charing Cross' website

Have you enjoyed an afternoon tea recently? We'd love to hear all about it, leave us a comment or send us a photo on Twitter!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

New Year ..... New Project .....Introducing Tea With Me Designs

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're well today.

As you know we love a spot of afternoon tea here at Tea With Me and Friends Towers and drink rather a lot of tea every week, but did you know we also love a spot of crafting? From sewing and jewellery making to card making and painting, I'll give nearly any craft a go. I also gather my lovely friends together for crafternoon teas, where we enjoy an afternoon tea and then try a craft. 

This year I have decided to combine these two passions and have launched a little Etsy shop called Tea With Me Designs

I am very excited to share this with everyone - my shop sells handmade cards and gifts which are inspired by my love of tea. I make all the items by hand, including a range of cards which feature tea puns.....everyone loves a tea pun! From cards for your "best-tea" to cards declaring a loved ones position in your affections.....after tea!

My little tea people have been created to make you smile and I hope you love them as much as I do.

As the year progresses I hope to expand Tea With Me Designs, but at the moment if you would like to see my tea inspired greetings cards just pop by my Etsy shop!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

What a Tea-riffic Year!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - sorry it's been such a long time since we last posted! We lost all concept of time in the last couple of months of 2017....but never fear....we're back feeling tea-riffic and looking forward to lots of afternoon tea adventures in 2018!

Looking back over 2017 we enjoyed some wonderful teas - we visited Lancaster London for their clever black and white themed Halloween afternoon tea, where every item was either black or white. It made for such an elegant afternoon tea....

We also enjoyed rather controversial triple-decker, triangular sandwiches at The Balcon at Sofitel St James....which Lorna didn't approve of....

In the summer we visited the rather beautiful Coworth Park to celebrate Alex's Birthday. We enjoyed walking around the grounds of the house and eating the cutest sweet treats (almost too cute to eat!)....

We enjoyed German and Austrian themed afternoon teas at the German Gymnasium in April, which included a rather magnificent Opera cake...

Sheree visited Cannizaro House Hotel in Wimbledon and shared her afternoon tea adventure with us, this tea included a variety of different savoury elements...

We began the year by visiting Jumeirah Carlton Tower, where we enjoyed a champagne afternoon tea which included some beautiful tarts and pastries...

And this is just some of the afternoon teas we've enjoyed! We also drank rather a lot of tea and discovered lots of new tea companies and blends.

Now we're looking forward to 2018 and all the sweet treats that are in store for us. We're looking forward to visiting some of the places we've already discovered and trying some new ones too! If you enjoy an afternoon tea or have a favourite tea blend please get in touch - we'd love to hear all about your afternoon tea adventures too!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna