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......a tea-riffic celebration....today we're three years old!

Hello there,

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

At Tea With Me and Friends towers we're in a great mood.....because today our little blog is three years old! Little did we think when we started writing the blog three years ago that it would prove so popular and we'd eat sooooo many scones in the coming years!

In the short time we've been writing, we have enjoyed so many different afternoon teas in so many tearooms and restaurants. We've consumed rather a lot of finger sandwiches (mostly crustless) and drank gallons of tea (without milk). We've also been lucky enough to meet some tea-riffic people along the wait.

Best of all we've been able to share our afternoon tea adventures with such a lovely group of like-minded people, who all enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of cake!

To celebrate today we thought we'd share some tea-riffic photos with you...

Are you drooling yet....

We'd like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years - we've really enjoyed sharing our afternoon tea stories and photos with you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Let's Celebrate!

Did you know that this week is national afternoon tea week?  A week to celebrate the wonderful tradition that is afternoon tea!

We all enjoy the delights of tea, sandwiches and cake in the afternoon (well at any time really!), but where did this fabulous tradition begin?

Although we have been drinking tea in England since the 1660s, when it was made popular by King Charles II and his wife Catherine de Braganza, afternoon tea did not develop as a concept until much later.

It is believed that afternoon tea was first introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the 1840s. At this time dinner was traditionally served quite late, somewhere between 8-9pm, and due to the gap between lunch and dinner the Duchess would feel hungry at about 4pm.

To ease her hunger pangs the Duchess requested that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. As time went on she invited her friends to join her for this afternoon feast. As more people experienced this wonderful meal other hostesses picked up this tradition, inviting their friends to join them for afternoon tea.

 

Afternoon tea became a fashionable social event, with ladies dressing for the occasion. This is something that me and my friends still observe today – there is nothing better than enjoying a spot of afternoon tea with your friends, dressed in your best dress!

Traditional afternoon tea consists of dainty finger sandwiches (crustless of course!), followed by scones served with clotted cream and preserves (warm scones are the best!). Small cakes and pastries are next and not forgetting that this is all washed down with freshly brewed tea served in delicate bone china teacups.

 

 

So whether you've never sampled the delights of afternoon tea before, or you indulge (like us) on an alarmingly regular basis....lets all celebrate National Afternoon Tea week this week with a cup of tea and something yummy...whether in a fabulous hotel, a cosy tea room or at home!

 

Pop back again later this week to see more afternoon tea inspired posts!

 

Thanks for visiting us today,

Rachel and Lorna