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
