Time for.....Hot Chocolate!

Hello there!

We hope you're well today. Here at Tea With Me and Friends Towers we love a great cup of tea with our afternoon tea and are partial to a cup of coffee in the morning....but we also love a really good hot chocolate! There is something so comforting about hot chocolate, like a lovely warm hug in a mug!

So when Natasha at Pretty Patisserie told me that they were launching a new hot chocolate menu I just had to check it out! Then when I saw the menu.....yes they have a hot chocolate menu....I knew I had to pop back to Pretty Patisserie really soon to try  of the hot chocolates!

Each hot chocolate is made to order, using real chocolate. There is also a dairy free option.

In total there are nine different hot chocolates to sample....I think I'm going to be visiting rather a lot in the near future! From a classic hot chocolate to a chocolate orange, a chocolate mint and a wonderful creation called The Unicorn (which is white chocolate and raspberry, complete with lots of marshmallows and a unicorn horn!).

I popped by Pretty Patisserie to try my first hot chocolate last week, opting for the chocolate orange variety (I love Terrys Chocolate Oranges!) and of course I had to sample another cake while I was there. This time I picked a rather wonderful looking lemon cupcake (the lemon drizzle that I love so much had already sold out). I took my seat in Squires and waited for my treats to be brought over.....

I decided to have a lemon cupcake because surely that's two of my five a day right there! 

To start with just feast your eyes on that hot chocolate...it truly is magnificent! Classic hot chocolate, spiked with orange oil and topped with whipped cream! Now cast your eyes on the cake...just look at that perfect icing!

The hot chocolate was scrummy - served at the perfect temperature and the balance of the chocolate and orange flavours is great. Not too sweet, not too bitter. I really enjoyed it and probably consumed it far too quickly!

The cake was also delicious - the sponge was light and flavoursome and there was a great lemon filling in the middle. The icing on the top also has a great flavour and the texture is lovely too. All in all a lovely cake!

If you live near Farnham in Surrey or happen to be visiting the area and fancy a lovely hot chocolate and a great piece of cake you can't beat Pretty Patisserie! While you're there you can also take a look at the wonderful cakes and biscuits on display in Squires.

On this occasion I'd like to thank Pretty Patisserie for their hospitality as they treated me to my hot chocolate. Don't worry though - the sweet treat didn't go to my head and all opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

I'll definitely be popping back to work my way through the rest of the hot chocolate menu! If you visit Pretty Patisserie we'd love to know what you enjoyed! Leave us a comment and let us know!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea.....Squire's Garden Centre, Badshot Lea

Hello there,

Happy Saturday! Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.

I have officially "broken up" for Christmas now (yes, I'm aware I sound about 8 years old right now) and to celebrate my friend Kirtsy and I went to Squire's Garden Centre in Badshot Lea for a spot of afternoon tea. A bit of an odd choice of location for an afternoon tea adventure maybe, but we had seen the teas advertised previously and decided to try one. Squires is a family-owned garden centre group with 15 centres across West London, Surrey, Berkshire and Sussex.

We opted for the standard Champagne afternoon tea rather than the festive option which is currently available. We had to pick the sandwiches we wanted and whether we wanted a fruit or plain scone when we booked our afternoon tea, we also had to pay a deposit of £5 per person.

When we arrived at our table, it was dressed with a red table cloth and we had crackers and plain white china waiting for us. Each table also had a reservation sign....

Once we had our 1/4bottle of Laurent-Perrier champagne and choice of tea from the menu, the afternoon tea stand was served....

Champagne afternoon tea
Squires Garden Centre

When we booked our tea we had to each choose a sandwich filling from the following choice....

Coronation Chicken

Egg Mayo & Cucumber

Gammon Ham & Dijon Mayo

Smoked Salmon & Dill Crème Fraîche

We were told we could pick one filling each and we would get four finger sandwiches. We decided to be a bit clever and pick the coronation chicken and the egg mayo between us and then we would share....this plan of action worked very well and gave us some savoury variety....

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Squires

Both sets of sandwiches were served on soft, fresh bread and were filled generously. There was the odd bit of crust still on the bread, but generally these were great sandwiches. The egg mayonnaise and cucumber was a little odd served together...I would have preferred just egg if I am honest, but it was still enjoyable. The coronation chicken was so good - big chunks of chicken combined with a creamy, curry sauce....perfect!

Next we moved onto the scones....take a look at the size of these....

Afternoon tea scones - Squires 

We got one each....but you wouldn't have wanted anymore!

The scones were served with Roddas clotted cream (one mini tub each) and a pot of strawberry preserve each. The scones weren't warm, but they were fresh and a lovely consistency. 

On the top tier of the cake stand we had two pieces of cake each....

Afternoon tea cakes - Squires

The cherry bakewell was nice, but it was the chocolate and cherry cake that really stole the show. It was a little gooey and really chocolately......really, really scrummy!

It's worth noting that you receive one 1/4 bottle of champagne between the two people, this gives you a glass each. 

You will also not be given any extras with this afternoon tea...what you see is what you get....however at £29.95 for two people I couldn't fault the value. The food is a good quality and very fresh and the service was professional and friendly. All in all a great afternoon tea, in a relaxed environment....perfect for catching up with friends.

Afternoon tea - Squires

For more information about this afternoon tea please visit the Squire's website. 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel