Time for Tea - Ducky's Beach Cafe, Beer, Devon

Hello there,

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

I've realised that there was a disappointing amount of scones consumed and shared with you in June - only three blog posts! We must work harder this month to bring you more afternoon tea adventures!

Without further ado....I bring you scones on the beach! Last weekend Joe and I visited Honiton in  Devon for a wedding, as it was an overnight stay we decided to head to the closest beach the next morning and I was determined to enjoy a scone!

We stumbled upon the little fishing village of Beer by accident, but I'm glad we did. Despite it being a Sunday everything was open and there was even a local craft fair! Beer is such a pretty place to visit, with plenty of scenic walks to enjoy.....

We do like to be beside the seaside - Beer, Devon

Even better....on the beach we found Ducky's Beach Cafe! What could be better...enjoying a scone by the sea! Now, as you can tell from the photo above....the weather wasn't fabulous....but that didn't stop me (or long suffering Joe)....I was determined to enjoy my scone!

It's a very simple affair at Ducky's - lots of plastic tables and chairs and the front where you order your refreshments. There is no inside seating at all and the toilets are back up the hill...but the prices were incredibly reasonably, the choice of food was great and the views just wonderful (if you love the seaside like I do!).

Duckys Beach Cafe, Beer - Devon

As this was more brunch time than anything else Joe wanted a full English breakfast and I knew I probably needed something a little more than a cream tea (no afternoon teas on offer), so I opted to have a sausage sandwich with my scone! We both wanted tea...although Joe wished he'd ordered a mug of tea rather than a pot....as he was given a dainty teacup to drink his tea from.

The food arrived quickly, and the portions were great....

Sausage sandwich with your scones!

Everything was fresh and tasty, my sausage sandwich was hot and the tea was plentiful (we were given a pot of tea and a pot of hot water). As you can see my scones (yes there were two....I only ate one though) were served with lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam....

Cream tea - Duckys Beach Cafe, Beer - Devon

The scone was well baked, not at all claggy and despite the rain I really enjoyed my scone by the sea!

I didn't take a photo of Joe's breakfast, but I'll admit I had a little food envy - the portions were generous and everything looked (and tasted Joe assured me) amazing. What struck me the most about this scone adventure was the value - I can't remember the exact prices of everything but the final bill came in at around £15 and we were both well fed and watered!

If you happen to find yourself in Beer and fancy a scone, I'd definitely recommend you pop down to the beach to Ducky's Beach Cafe!

Rachel enjoying a scone - cream first!

Have you enjoyed a scone in an unusual place? We'd love to hear all about it - leave us a comment or better still.....send us a photo on Twitter!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for a spot of Easter 2016 afternoon tea....Part 1

Hello there,

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

With Easter weekend just a week away we thought we'd share with you some of the scrummy Easter themed afternoon teas that are on offer this March.

Let's start with the Langham London and the tea-riffic looking afternoon tea that Pastry Chef Cherish Finden has created for Easter....

Easter afternoon tea - Langham London

As well as sandwiches and scones, there is a wonderful selection of sweets on offer to guests:

Bunny See-saw, 64% chocolate, raspberry and lightly roasted pistachio financier

Chicken or the egg, English rose and lychee log

The Rabbits Warren, Milk chocolate Chantily

Sunny side up, Chocolate Easter egg

Bunny Show Jumping, White chocolate mousse and tropical jelly

Easter sweet treats - Langham London

This super cute Easter afternoon tea costs £49 per person and is available between the 21st – 28th March 2016. For more information pop by the Langham website.

If you happen to be in the Plymouth area you might want to visit Boringdon Hall for their traditional Easter afternoon tea...

Easter afternoon tea - Boringdon Hall, Devon

The sweet treats on this afternoon tea include White Chocolate and a Mango Egg, a Rhubarb and Custard Tartlet, a Lemon Balm Meringue Nest, and a cute little Warm Hot Cross Buns.

This afternoon tea costs £19 per person and is available throughout April. For more information please visit the Boringdon Hall website.

We hope you've enjoyed these Easter themed afternoon teas. Don't forget to pop back later this week to see more of the Easter afternoon teas we have discovered!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....Elsie May's, Tiverton

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea adventure from our recent trip to Devon. Yesterday we shared with you Homity pie and savoury scones from The Old Cream Shop in Croyd....today we have a traditional afternoon tea from Elsie May's in Tiverton.

We visited Elsie May's last weekend when they were celebrating their first anniversary with a lovely street party. As we stumbled upon this beautiful tearoom by accident we didn't get to enjoy the street party (which was a pre-booked event) but we did enjoy one of their marvellous afternoon teas....

Afternoon tea for two - Elsie May's, Tiverton

Elsie May's is a family run café located in Tiverton, named after the owners grandmother who was well known for her cake making and catering in the Tiverton area. I love the history of this cafe and I also love their cute decor.....as you can see I felt right at home.....

The cute interior of Elsie May's

Their is an extensive menu on offer at Elsie May's....but we were there for just one thing....the afternoon tea for two...

Afternoon tea - Elsie May's

Now as this is a cafe I wasn't expecting unlimited food and drink, and to be honest because of the size of the portions you didn't really need anymore food. It was a fairly traditional affair with sandwiches, scones and cakes....and of course a pot of tea!

So, lets begin with the sandwiches....

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Elsie May's

Now these might not be dainty finger sandwiches....in fact they were rather substantial and still had their crusts on....but they were made with really fresh, tasty ingredients. When you order the tea you are asked what filling you want in the sandwiches, so its a really personalised tea.

Joe ordered the food....so we had cheese and tomato and sliced ham....

Once we had finished our sandwiches we moved onto the scones, which were served with clotted cream and jam....

Afternoon tea scones - Elsie May's

The scones were rustic looking, just like they were fresh from someones kitchen. They were served warm, and had a lovely crumbly texture. I am pleased to report that there was plenty of cream and jam....

Scones consumed, we moved onto the selection of cake which included some small bite sized cakes and a piece of Victoria sponge each....

Afternoon tea cakes - Elsie May's

The bite sized pieces of cake included chocolate brownie (which was rich and gooey), bakewell tart, a berry slice with white chocolate icing, the most amazing flapjack with a caramel topping and a buttery piece of millionaires shortbread.

We both agreed that the flapjack was our favourite...it was buttery, rich and perfectly topped with the caramel (it might have been so good that we might have brought a whole slice to take home with us!).

The Victoria sponge was light in texture and a beautiful colour.

At £15 for both of us this is a really great value afternoon tea, which is varied and tickles the taste buds in all the right ways! The staff were all really friendly too, taking time to talk to diners as they served up cake and tea. If you happen to be in Tiverton I would definitely recommend a visit.

If you'd like to find out more about Elsie May's visit their Facebook page.

If you've already paid Elsie May's a visit we'd love to hear what you tried and what you thought...leave us a comment and let us know. Or do you have another favourite place in the Tiverton area?

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....The Old Cream Shop, Croyde

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends....if you popped by during the week you'll know that I recently stayed in the North Devon area where I enjoyed some lovely scones! This weekend I will be sharing some more photos of my afternoon tea adventures!

First stop is The Old Cream Shop which is in Croyde, and as well as being a shop has a lovely Tea Garden at the back where you can enjoy all kinds of local treats......

With a shop front like this and a sign declaring "tea garden open" of course I had to investigate further!

Once you have made your way through the shop you will find yourself in the multi-level garden which has a very relaxed feel. There is both covered and open seating, with plenty of seats.

I opted for something a little bit different, ordering a mixed cream tea (sweet and savoury) and Joe ordered a slice of Homity Pie. The portions were a good size and the food arrived quickly.

Let's start with Joe's Homity Pie which was served with a lovely chutney....

If you are not familiar with Homity Pie, its a bit like a flan I suppose....a pastry case filled with a potato, onion and leek mixture, topped with cheese. Its rather scrummy!

My sweet and savoury cream tea included one sweet scone served with cream and jam and one cheese scone served with cheese and chutney....

Look at the size of those scones!

They were served warm and were really fresh tasting. I started with the cheese scone, which is something that I don't usually go for....

I topped my scone with chutney and the sliced Cheddar cheese. The scone was light and tasty, I liked the texture which was slightly different to a standard sweet scone. I really enjoyed this!

Next came the sweet scone...

My scones were loaded with clotted cream and topped with strawberry jam. Again, I really enjoyed the sweet scone....so much so that I got a little arty with my photos....

I can't remember exactly how much we paid but I remember it being reasonable - my cream tea with a good sized pot of tea was under £7.00.

Once we had enjoyed our scones and the views we made our way back into the shop for a nose around. Inside we found all kinds of delights.....more things to eat there and then (ice-creams and take away cream teas) but also local produce such as fudge and the gorgeous chutneys we had enjoyed with our meals.

We might have taken some of the chutneys home with us....

If you happen to be near Croyde and fancy a sweet (or savoury) treat, I'd highly recommend a visit to The Old Cream Shop! As well as great food everyone we talked to was super friendly and you can't beat the views!

Don't forget to pop back tomorrow and take a peek at my post about the gorgeous Elsie May's in Tiverton.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for a spot of adventuring in Devon!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends....you might have noticed it's been a little quiet at Tea With Me and Friends Towers over the last week...that's because I've been on a little adventure!

I headed off to North Devon, to a little town called Bideford, for a couple of nights....

It was such a lovely mini break, full of beautiful scenery, sandy beaches, antique shops.....and of course some cream teas! It was so lovely that I thought I would share it with you.

We stayed at The Royal Hotel which dates back to the 17th century and has views across the River Torridge. The hotel is traditional and elegant and offers guests free parking and wi-fi as well as the Regency Restaurant and bar.

When we arrived we were delighted to discover that we'd been upgraded....no room numbers for us...we were staying in the Kingsley Bedroom...

You can imagine how excited I was when we made it to our door! 

Inside the room was beautiful.....

Enough about the hotel though.... we were only away for two nights and so we had to make the most of this mini break. Here are some of the highlights....

Paddling in the sea

Wandering around the shops in Bideford

Enjoying a wonderful afternoon tea at Elsie May's in Tiverton

Visiting Croyde....where we enjoyed more scones....

...of the savoury variety! 

This was at The Old Cream Shop.

It really was a lovely minibreak and I would highly recommend a trip to North Devon to anyone looking for a relaxing break with beautiful views....

On the blog this weekend I'll be sharing more about our afternoon tea adventures at Elsie May's and The Old Cream Shop.....I hope you pop back then!

Have you enjoyed a cream tea in the North Devon area? Where did you visit - we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

The Great Scone Debate Rumbles On!

Hello there....

So, there are just two days left to vote in our Great Scone debate and we've seen it swing both ways so far. As I write we've had 35 lovely voters - and "cream first" is currently in the lead with 57% of the votes!

Now with all this talk of scones I decided to do a little bit of digging around (thanks Wikipedia) this lovely sweet treat....and try and find out a little bit more about the different ways of dressing your scone.

The Devonshire (Devon) way of doing it is the preferred way of Lorna and myself.....the scone is split down the middle and slathered with clotted cream and topped by some sticky sweet jam! Traditionally scones should be served warm (preferably fresh from the oven) and butter is not used at all.

Now interestingly enough in Cornwall...apparently they used a sweet white roll in the beginning instead of scones - known as a Cornish Split. These sweet rolls would have been buttered first, then the jam would have been added and finally a dollop of clotted cream piled on top. Commercially you will probably not find these sweet white rolls anymore.....instead you will find scones but they will be dressed in the same way.

So, have I got your mouth watering with all this sweet talk? When I got home from work earlier I really wanted some scones....so I got baking! Now there are so many different scone recipes out there its often hard to know which one to try, but I've recently come across the Scone Advisor website....which I have to say is fabulous...anything you want to know about scones they can probably help you with (including where you can find the best scones when out and about!). So I decided to try their fruit scone recipe this evening and this is the end result....

 

Now please don't judge how flat they look (I think I handled the dough a little bit too much before baking), but I did manage to split them in half and smoother them in cream and jam (see photo above). I would definitely recommend their fruit scone recipe, its very scrummy!

 

So......we hope you've enjoyed our great scone debate so far...you still have a little longer to vote in the poll if you fancy joining in...which way do you dress your scone?

 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel