Afternoon Tea News.....Chocolate Afternoon Tea, The Langham

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends....

So, as you know, its been Chocolate Week this past week....and we've already shared with you some of the fab chocolate things you can experience to celebrate and some scrummy chocolate recipes. Today, we have some seriously scrummy photos for you....from Cherish Finden, Executive Pastry Chef at The Langham.

To celebrate Chocolate Week Cherish has created this chocolate masterpiece....

Served from the 12th October – 1st November in celebration of Chocolate Week and using Langham N°150 Chocolate. 

Among other delights you will discover.....

Roasted pistachio and white chocolate mousseline with raspberry, 

Masala bubble tea with Langham chocolate agar agar and 

Langham N°150 opera slice with espresso reduction.

Cherish shared these photos on social media recently and they left me drooling ever so slightly....the shine on the chocolate is just amazing....

For more information about this tea please visit the Langham London website.

If you are lucky enough to try this afternoon tea in the next week or so we'd love to hear all about it - send us a photo on Twitter or Facebook!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Chocolate time! Recipes from Paul A Young

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - if you popped by over the weekend you'll know that this week is officially Chocolate Week!

We've already brought you a round up of some of chocolate experiences that you can indulge in this week....but today we thought we'd share some fab chocolate recipes from Paul A Young that you can try at home. So, if you haven't heard of Paul before he really knows his stuff when it comes to chocolate! Paul’s passion and creativity have won him numerous awards and led to him being ranked amongst the world’s best chocolatiers.

Paul A Young

Paul has several shops in London, where he and his team make all their creations completely by hand in the kitchens at each shop, in small batches and at every stage using fresh ingredients. If you haven't visited one of his shops and love chocolate you should definitely make a trip!

Now, in our eagerness to bring you these recipes we haven't actually tried them out at home yet...but they looked so good we wanted to share them with you straight away. Take a look...you'll see what we mean...

Chocolate bramble cocktail

From Paul A Young - I came up with this version of the classic bramble cocktail one evening when the air in the city changed from warm and balmy to the first cool breeze of autumn.

Chocolate bramble cocktail - Paul A Young

makes 2 cocktails

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LIQUOR

300g unrefined golden caster sugar

150g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

FOR THE REST

Juice of 1⁄2 lemon

100ml gin (I prefer Tanqueray or Plymouth Dry)

25ml Crème de Mûres (blackberry liqueur)

8 blackberries

Lots of crushed ice

2 squares of your favourite dark chocolate

First, make the chocolate liquor. Put 150ml water in a saucepan along with the sugar and bring to a simmer. Allow to rest for 2 minutes, then pour over the chocolate pieces in a bowl. Whisk well and leave to cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, place 2 martini glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to get the frosted effect.

In a cocktail shaker or jug, place the lemon juice, gin, Crème de Mûres and 6 of the blackberries. Muddle and mix well until the blackberries burst slightly.

Place a pyramid of crushed ice into each glass and pour over the blackberry mixture. Now top up each glass with the chocolate liquor, then place a blackberry and a piece of dark chocolate on top of each ice pyramid.

Venezuelan chocolate pancakes with chocolate maple syrup 

From Paul A Young - This recipe is my homage to Sunday-morning brunch, which is one of those occasions when anything goes; in other words, be as indulgent and naughty as you like because it is certainly not the time to count calories or grams of fat. 

Feel free to add blueberries, nuts and sultanas if the fancy takes you. The syrup can be made days or even weeks in advance and stored in the fridge. 

Venezuelan chocolate pancakes  - Paul A Young

Makes enough pancakes for 4 people 

FOR THE PANCAKES 

25g Venezuelan 100% dark chocolate, grated 

200g buckwheat flour, or spelt 

1 free-range egg 

45g light muscovado sugar 

350ml milk 

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

25g unsalted butter, for frying 

FOR THE SYRUP 

Pinch of sea salt

250ml dark maple syrup 

100g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces 

Place all the pancake ingredients (except the butter) in a blender or food processor and whizz until a smooth, thick batter is formed. Leave the batter to rest while you make the syrup. 

To make the syrup, dissolve the salt in 50ml water in a saucepan over a gentle heat, then add the maple syrup and bring to a simmer. Pour on to the chocolate in a bowl and whisk well until smooth. 

Heat a crêpe pan or non-stick frying pan until quite hot and melt a generous wedge of butter until it sizzles. Spoon a small or large amount of the batter into the pan, depending on whether you want to make American pancakes or crêpes. Leave to cook on a medium heat until you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake, then carefully turn over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Place the pancakes on a plate and cover with foil until you have cooked the entire batch. 

Serve the pancakes laced with the warm syrup – be generous as the pancakes soak up a lot! 

How wonderful do they both look?

If you try these recipes at home we'd love to hear how you get on....send us a Tweet or leave a message on Facebook!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for......a little chocolate?

Hello there,

Welcome back to another sweet post from Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you are well today!

So....hands up....who loves a bit of chocolate? Well, you're in luck then because did you know that next week is Chocolate Week? The UK's biggest Chocolate celebration runs from 12th - 18th October 2015, culminating in The Chocolate Show, which runs at Olympia National Hall, London between 16th-18th October. This is actually the eleventh year that Chocolate Week has run and this year chocolatiers and chocolate companies, as well as hotels, bars and restaurants will be celebrating by hosting talks, tastings and demonstrations. Sounds scrummy to us!

So we thought we'd bring you a little round up of some of the things you will find next week.....

Paul A. Young Chocolate Afternoon Tea

Harvey Nichols have teamed up chocolatier Paul A. Young, to create a stunning Chocolate Afternoon Tea that treats the taste buds to a chocolatey dining experience.The tea includes delights such as Moroccan spiced chocolate pot, Rose crunch cake and a Chocolate and pecan tart.

Paul A Young Chocolate Afternoon Tea

This scrummy looking Afternoon Tea is priced at £20 per person or £28 per person to include a glass of Champagne. Available throughout October, Monday to Saturday.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand

A colourful and intriguing sweet plate is on offer at the Ampersand in South Kensington. The sweet elements of this Afternoon Tea menu consist of white truffle oil cremoso on an intense chocolate and pecan crunch tart, dark chocolate mixed spice crumble cake, mango milk chocolate mousse and white chocolate macaroon and milk chocolate flavoured jelly with raspberry and dark chocolate mousse.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea - The Ampersand

This menu is available 12th - 25th October 2015 and is priced at £32.50 Per Person

Chocolate Afternoon Tea at InterContinental London Park Lane

This limited edition Chocolate Afternoon Tea is available from the 28th September to the 21st November and will surprise even the most educated chocolate connoisseur. The mood boosting menu features chocolate marshmallow scones and a selection of indulgent cocoa desserts including Dark chocolate frangipane tart and Milk chocolate mousse .

Chocolate Afternoon Tea - InterContinental London Park Lane

This is priced at £42 per person including a Champagne Cocktail

Divine Chocolate Afternoon Tea and Desserts at Lancaster London

The chefs at Lancaster London have created an Afternoon Tea to indulge chocolate connoisseurs.

Guests can experience unusual flavour combinations such as: Chocolate and black olive tartlets; and Warm savoury feta cheese and dark chocolate chip tarts. Freshly baked Divine Chocolate scones will also be included, served with a chocolate praline spread. Other sweet treats will include: Honey and chocolate lolly pops; Coffee and chocolate opera; Milk chocolate brownies; as well a selection of finger sandwiches. The Afternoon Tea will be served with a selection of Novus teas or an indulgent Divine hot chocolate

Island Restaurant will be serving two delectable desserts to celebrate chocolate week: a Divine dark chocolate mousse with honey glazed pear and raspberry sorbet; and Divine white chocolate Crème brûlée with passion fruit and shortbread.

However, as well as chocolate afternoon teas we also discovered some other chocolate experiences that chocolate fans can indulge in this Chocolate Week.....

Chocolate & Cranberry Indulge Spa Package at K West Hotel

Chocoholics will be in sweet chocolate heaven at K West Hotel in Shepherds Bush. Cocoa bean connoisseurs can go one step further in indulging their obsession, by being wrapped up and massaged in the good stuff too.  Available only during Chocolate Week, the limited edition K Spa package is priced at £125 per person and includes a Cranberry Body Wrap, a deliciously aromatic Chocolate Balm Massage, and access to the hotel’s Wet Spa facilities.

K-Spa at K West Hotel

Ensuring that guests feel indulged both inside and out, the package finishes with an antioxidant cranberry drink served in the Relaks zone, plus a bar of Divine dark chocolate with cranberries.

Michelin Star Lobster & Divine White Chocolate Dish at Bohemia  

Steve Smith, Head Chef of Bohemia restaurant in Jersey, has created a sublime dish to celebrate National Chocolate Week. Forgo the usual chocolate puddings, tarts, and mousse in favour of an altogether more exciting flavour combination. Steve has created a white chocolate & lobster starter, made with Butter Poached Lobster, Cauliflower and Divine White Chocolate, with Sorrel & Caviar.

Lobster & Divine White Chocolate Dish at Bohemia

 The chocolate dish will be a special starter on the restaurant’s Classic Menu, priced at £59 for a three-course dinner, including the lobster dish.

We hope you've enjoyed our round up of chocolate treats....if you indulge in some treats to celebrate Chocolate Week we'd love to hear about them!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna