Time for....some reading....Eric Lanlard Afternoon Tea - Part 2

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're having a great day!

Remember at the beginning of the month we shared with you the fab new afternoon tea book from Eric Lanlard and the biscuit bakes we tried from the book.....well today we're back with some savoury offerings!

Eric's book covers everything you'd need to create your own afternoon tea at home, from individual recipes to how to create an afternoon tea menu. This weekend we have a family party and I offered to make some savoury canapes, having picked some recipes from Eric's book.

I opted to make:

Pear, Roquefort and walnut tarts

Brie and red onion marmalade Gruyere eclairs

Tartes flambees

Yes.....I like cheese!!

The recipes in Eric's book are simple and easy to follow, and I am fairly pleased with how each savoury treat turned out...

I particularly liked the brie and red onion marmalade eclairs, which were crisp and smooth all at the same time. The onion marmalade is very tasty and simple to make. The ingredients all work so well together - imagine creamy brie, peppery rocket and sweet onions all on a crisp base.....amazing!

I'm not entirely sure what happened with my pear and blue cheese tarts.....they kind of exploded out of the cases and made a bit of a mess. They tasted good though, and I love that the walnuts look like brains! 

As my bakes were for a family party....I made quite a few....

The recipes were very easy to double.

If you fancy trying some of the recipes for yourself, Afternoon Tea is available to buy now.....don't forget to let us know how you get on!

Thank you for popping by today.

Rachel

Time for Tea....The Royal Horseguards

Hello There,

So, it's that time of the year....everything is tinged in pink and red and there are hearts, flowers and chocolates everywhere! Yes, its Valentines...the day to celebrate love. Whether you love this day or believe its a commercially driven celebration it's here and I think we might as well enjoy it!

This year I decided to indulge in a Valentine's themed afternoon tea with my lovely friend Becca....so yesterday we headed off to The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London to enjoy their Naughtea Afternoon Tea. The hotel offers a range of different afternoon teas, including their limited edition teas such as this Valentines afternoon tea.

Once seated in the comfortable lounge we were shown the tea menu, which offered a good selection of teas. I opted for the Royal Horseguards speciality tea, which is flavoured with strawberries and cream and Becca went for a flowering tea.

 These were served to us in large teapots, which were topped up regularly....

Tea is served! Royal Horseguards Hotel

Next the cake stand full of delightful treats was brought out to us. Becca cannot eat butter and I had notified the hotel of this when booking. They accommodated our request perfectly, preparing Becca a separate plate of non-butter sandwiches.

Afternoon tea
Royal Horseguards

Before I talk about the food, I want to mention the beautiful bespoke china that everything was served on. Perfectly girlie, without being too chintzy, it was pink and delicate. We also really liked the cutlery!

Right....onto those savoury items....

Afternoon tea sandwiches
Royal Horseguards

There was a lovely variety of sandwiches on offer and we were pleased to see some of our favourites feature...including coronation chicken and egg mayonnaise. The bread was soft and the sandwiches were freshly made, we were also asked if we wanted more sandwiches once we finished the initial plates (and we might have asked for one or two more coronation chicken sandwiches!).

Once we had finished the savouries, scones fresh from the oven were brought out...

Scones hot from the oven!

We had two scones each, one plain and one with raisins. They were a nice size (not too big and not too small), most importantly they were fresh and light inside.

The scones were served with thick clotted cream and strawberry preserve. We asked whether there were any other preserves available as well, as Becca cannot eat strawberries, and they brought us a dish of blackcurrant preserve too.

The Tea With Me and Friends way of
dressing scones!

Once we had finished our first two scones we were asked by the attentive waiting staff whether we wanted more scones (we declined this time!).

Finally we made it to the themed part of the tea....all those sweet treats on the top tier! Now this is where pastry chef Joanne Todd showed off her creativity....

Afternoon tea at Royal Horseguards

Our sweet treats included a beautiful mini lace cupcake which was flavoured with lemons, a scrummy corset cookie and mini macaroons topped with strawberry lips! We also indulged in decadent passionate fruit fools, red rose scented chocolate heels and a dark chocolate lipstick!

Everything was very tasty and fresh, I particularly enjoyed the cookie. It was definitely not a case of style over substance - everything looked brilliant, but tasted good too.

Throughout our afternoon at The Royal Horseguards the waiters were friendly and very attentive, despite the lounge being very busy. We never ran out of tea, we had our photo taken and we left full and happy!

Tea With Me and Friends at afternoon tea!

At the end of the tea we were presented with one last gift to take away with us.....

Tea and chocolates - what more could a lady want?

No....unfortunately not the pretty teacup....but that lovely bag of chocolate hearts! I thought this was a lovely touch to end the afternoon tea.

This particular afternoon tea cost £45.00 each and also included a glass of Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne. The other teas range in price from £30.00 for their signature tea, and also include a traditional cream tea for £16.95. 

Although this limited edition tea was higher in price, I think it was good value as there was plenty of good quality food and tea. The lounge itself is a lovely environment and the service was brilliant. We would definitely return to try one of the traditional afternoon teas on offer.

A display within the Lounge at Royal Horseguards

If you enjoyed a Valentines afternoon tea this weekend we'd love to hear from!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....St Martins Lane

Hello there!

I hope you're having a tea-riffic day!

Yesterday Lorna and I indulged in an afternoon tea with a difference at St Martins Lane hotel, London. We were there to try the Cafecito afternoon tea at Asia de Cuba, a sweet and savoury feast with both Asian and Cuban influences.

In the modern surroundings of Asia de Cuba, with Cuban music playing in the background, our tea was served on wonderfully quirky bespoke china. 

Quirky china at Asia di Cuba's afternoon tea

 As you arrive each diner is presented with a cigar box full of the utensils required for your tea, and you are told that you will need to make just four choices during your whole experience....and all of these are drink related!

Inside the box is your knife and fork, a beautiful tea strainer and your menu.....

Inside the cigar box......

Afternoon tea is served in two parts, with the savoury items being served first and the sweet only served when you are finished with the savoury. Each "course" comes with a different tea.

Our first decision of the afternoon was whether or not we wanted a cocktail to begin our experience. There were three different cocktails on offer, and our waiter gave a recommendation of which one he liked best. 

Of course we decided it would be rude not to try a beautifully crafted cocktail to compliment our afternoon tea! I opted for the fruity "Passionate About Tea" (a rum based cocktail) and Lorna went with the recommendation of the waiter and enjoyed an "Old Cuban Martini". Both were very tasty!

We also had to decide which of three teas to enjoy with our savoury course. There was an Iron Buddha, a Dragon Well and a smokey Lapsang. Lorna went with the Dragon Well and I tried the Lapsang. The teas were served in modern, glass teapots.

A fruity cocktail and a pot of smokey tea!

The first course was then served....a fruity smoothie to begin and then a wonderful selection of savoury items all served on a very quirky stand.......

The first course at Asia de Cuba
- the savoury selection!

As regular readers will know, both Lorna and I have quite sweet teeth and so you might be surprised to know how much we enjoyed this first course. Among the delicious items were a BBQ pulled pork and Swiss cheese pressed sandwich, a chicken and avocado spring roll and savoury scones served with Mojito butter.

A closer look at some of those savoury afternoon tea items!

The flavours were all rather delicious, and there was a great selection of items. It was also rather nice to enjoy the smokey tea with these savoury items.

The scones that we were served may have looked small, but they were light inside and full of flavour. One was flavoured with onion and the other with herbs. Both went very well with the Mojito butter.

Once we had finished the savoury items, the china was cleared and we were asked to pick the next tea to go with our sweet treats. This time the teas were lighter and included a caramel Oolong, a Lychee Red and a Vanilla Black tea.

The sweet selection was then brought out on a cute little platter......

The sweet treats!

The platter included the most amazing Mexican doughnuts which were filled with a butterscotch sauce. They were served warm, and melted in your mouth - completely scrummy! We also enjoyed a mini key lime pie topped with a light meringue, warm banana spring rolls and a delicious chili chocolate cream (the waiter recommended dipping the banana into the chocolate cream and I can confirm that this was a wonderful combination!).

Although there was only a small selection of sweet treats, everything was perfectly proportioned and you weren't left feeling hungry.

I had originally made this reservation for myself, Lorna and a friend as we were celebrating our friend's Birthday. The Birthday girl had to cancel, but rather embarrassingly I forgot to tell the restaurant and we were presented with two more scrummy doughnuts and a Birthday message! 

Wonderful service at Asia de Cuba
afternoon tea

We owned up straight away, and luckily the waiter found it quite funny! Secretly we were quite pleased to be able to indulge in another one of those doughnuts each!

You finally end your afternoon tea experience with one last decision as you are offered either a sweet espresso shot or one of two fruity palate cleaners.

This afternoon tea experience costs £25.00 per person, or if like us you fancy a cocktail too, it will cost you £35.00 each. I think this is great value for the selection of food and drink on offer.

The waiting staff were all very friendly, and knowledgeable - offering advice where appropriate. The surroundings were modern, but comfortable. 

All in all this was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and we really enjoyed this afternoon tea.

Have you tried an afternoon tea with a difference? If so we'd love to hear about!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Let's talk sandwiches.....

Hello there!

Afternoon tea often divides people...there are some people out there who believe its all about the cakes and pastries...they're not sure why the sandwiches are there getting in the way. For others they don't mind what they are eating as long as there is lots of tea to be drunk and some (like our friend Becca) are real fans of the savoury items and shy away from the sweet treats!

For me a good afternoon tea offers a tasty combination of all three elements...tea is a must...and there should be a good selection on offer. It goes without saying that I enjoy the sweet selection....but as I've discovered over the last year I really enjoy the savoury items too and its a fine balance to make sure I don't fill up too much on the sandwiches before I start on the cakes and pastries!

Afternoon tea - a fine balancing act!

So this month we decided to dedicate some posts to the savoury items included with an afternoon tea - give them the exposure they deserve! Lets begin with a little history lesson...as I don't want you confusing a traditional Afternoon Tea with its savoury cousin the High Tea! Served later in the evening, High Tea included tea and savoury items (rather than cakes and pastries) and this was a preserve of the lower working classes.

Originally, Afternoon Tea was only enjoyed by the upper classes as tea was very expensive and the working class could not afford to waste it on meals that weren't necessary. Instead they drank it after the working day with bread, cheese, vegetables and meat...thus the High Tea was born!

Traditional afternoon tea sandwiches

Traditionally afternoon tea sandwiches were very dainty creations....brown or white bread was served without crusts, cut into small fingers...easily eaten by ladies enjoying a natter and a cup of tea! The sandwiches served with afternoon tea have evolved as the pass time of afternoon tea has developed and today you will find all kinds of sandwiches on offer....however one thing that Lorna and I are sure of is that the bread must definitely be crustless, avoiding a controversial hint of crust!

Just look at this sandwich that Lorna found on her tea plate.....

At Tea With Me and Friends we believe
that sandwiches should be crust free!

So just how have sandwiches evolved? Well today they can be found in all shapes and sizes, I myself have experimented with shaped sandwiches at our themed afternoon teas....

Tombstone sandwiches and rolled "snail" wraps at our Halloween tea!

One Aldwych offers a wonderful selection of savoury items with their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea...

Fingers, triangles, open - all sorts of sandwiches at One Aldwych!

At W Hotel recently we were presented with triple decker sandwiches....most definitely not ladylike!....

Not particularly ladylike, but very tasty!

The Ampersand take it a step further with their filled Gougeres....

(savoury choux to you and me!)

However the sandwiches appear within the tea, they must be fresh.....hard tops and soggy bottoms where they have been hanging around all morning is a big no in our books! Fresh, soft bread and lots of tasty fillings...that's the way to our hearts in the savoury part of afternoon tea.

Later this month we will be looking at other savoury items on the afternoon tea menu....did you know that Lorna once ate snail at the gentleman's afternoon tea! We will also be looking at sandwich fillings....do you have a favourite? If you do we'd love to hear from you....why not leave us a comment or take part in our poll on the side-bar!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Time for Tea.....The Ampersand

Hello fellow tea lovers!

We hope you are well.

Today we want to share with you the wonderful afternoon tea experience that we enjoyed at the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington today. This fabulous, quirky hotel offers a traditional afternoon tea all year round, plus a themed chef's afternoon tea at various times throughout the year. Recently they have featured a chocolate afternoon tea and a tea to celebrate London fashion week....but the one we wanted to sample was their Halloween afternoon tea.

We love a themed afternoon tea...when its done right!

The tea is served in The Drawing Room at the hotel, which is a wonderful light and airy space punctuated by an amazing cake table in the middle of the room and lots of brightly coloured, comfy furniture.

 

Isn't that a cool table? So very tempting!

 

Once you have decided whether to have a traditional afternoon tea or a Chef's afternoon tea, your next decision to make is which tea to enjoy. There is a good tea menu on offer, with something for everyone...from traditional breakfast tea to a zingy lemon tea and a refreshing green tea.

 

I had seen a couple of photos on Twitter of this afternoon tea when it was being developed, thanks to Head Chef Chris Golding and his fab photos on Twitter, but I wasn't prepared for the amazing tea that was served to us....

 

Yes, that's dry ice adding to the spookiness of the tea! Isn't it brilliant?? It definitely was a stylish afternoon tea...but what did it taste like?

 

On the bottom tier of the afternoon tea we had the savoury items. These were traditional afternoon tea sandwich fillings served in wonderful Gougeres (savoury choux buns), they were light in texture and extremely tasty. I haven't tried this type of savoury before, but I really liked it and it made a nice change to the usual finger sandwiches that normally accompany afternoon tea. The fillings we enjoyed were Gloucester Old Spot ham, smoked salmon, coronation chicken and cheese with fruit chutney. My favourite filling was the coronation chicken which was light and creamy and extremely tasty.

 

Next we moved onto the scones - each person had one plain and one white chocolate scone which was studded with white chocolate chips. The scones were warm and served with clotted cream and an amazing strawberry, chocolate and balsamic vinegar jam (which was made at the hotel).

 

 

The scones were wonderfully fresh and a good size. The jam was full of flavour and topped off our scones and cream really well.

 

Finally we made it to the top tier....and what a brilliant top tier it was! We had a cute little pumpkin cake, a green apple jelly skull, a wonderful vanilla mouse and a bloodied chocolate Tonka cupcake. Each sweet treat was fresh and extremely full of flavour....in fact I'm hard pushed to tell you which was my favourite one!

 

That jelly skull melted in the mouth and was extremely refreshing in flavour. The mousse was light and creamy and the chocolate cupcake had a really rich flavour, topped with cream and raspberry - a great combo!

 

The little pumpkin cake had a wonderful flavour too and was very moist, it was complemented with a light cream filling. The detail on the icing was wonderful, and everything was made in house.

Once we had finished our afternoon tea, Chef Chris invited us to see the kitchen where everything was prepared and to meet the team who made everything. What a brilliant experience and a lovely surprise!

 

 

We were all surprised at how small the kitchen space was! Here I am with Becca and the team who were preparing afternoon tea today. From the left we have Hedieh, Josh and then on the far right Christof - everyone was so friendly and happy to let us see their workspace.

 

Unfortunately we didn't meet Ji Sun, Head Pastry Chef who creates all the afternoon teas as it was her day off...but Chris showed us around and explained how everything is made in-house and how orders are put together as they are ordered in the restaurant. Nothing sits around waiting to be served, meaning it really is freshly prepared when it gets to your table! Scones are also baked three times a day - ensuring everyone has warm scones with their tea!

 

It was a brilliant experience to see a professional kitchen first hand and to meet the team who had put together such a wonderful afternoon tea. Thank you

 

Chris for inviting us into your kitchen!

 

For more photos from the kitchen take a peek at Chris' blog.

 

While in the kitchen we also saw a traditional afternoon tea, which looked wonderful too. In the traditional tea you have open sandwiches with traditional sandwich fillings. Scones served with clotted cream and jam. Currently the sweet treats served include a chocolate brownie, a mini lemon meringue tart, Victoria sponge, fruit cake and an English breakfast tea chocolate bonbon.

 

 

Afternoon tea is served everyday in the Drawing Room between 2:30pm-5:30pm. The traditional afternoon tea is £25 per person (£37 with a glass of bubbles) and the Chef's afternoon tea is £27.50 per person (£39.50 with a glass of bubbles). If you want any extras all you have to do is ask!

 

In my opinion this is a wonderful afternoon tea, freshly prepared and served in a quirky environment. We'll definitely be going back for another afternoon tea soon!

 

Thank you for popping by today,

we hope to see you again soon!

 

Rachel & Lorna