The Sunday Scone Review - The Good Taste Bakery

Hello there,

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

It's another Sunday....so it's time to sit back and read about the latest scone that we've been trying out! This week we have a scone from The Good Taste Bakery, which I bought recently from a local garden centre along with some Dorset clotted cream and a jar of pineapple jam....

The Sunday Scone review with The Good Taste Bakery

Not heard of The Good Taste Bakery before? Well, Good Taste is an independent business, celebrating its first 20 years next year, which is owner-managed by Master Baker, Dean Wilsher, and Head of Confectionery, Debbie Wilsher. They currently produce over 40 different breads and rolls, and are committed to combining high quality ingredients with traditional craft baking skills, and twenty first century technology.

They aim to produce bread that tastes good, lasts well, is as healthy as possible – and is good value. The Good Taste Bakery is a modern, high tech space near Camberley, Surrey that is home to an impressive array of talented and proud bakers, each with their own specialities. And an interesting fact is that every single item they produce is made by hand!

So....what's their scones like I hear you say?

Well, as you can see I bought the fruity ones and I was pleased to see they had been generous with their sultanas. The scones were a good size and cut easily. 

The cream spread easily too, giving me a good base for the jam ...

The flavour of the scones were sweet, but not overly sweet - they let the flavours of the cream and the jam shine through. The texture was great too - not at all claggy. There were also only two in the pack, which I thought was great as nothing went to waste.

I also wanted to give a mention to the jam....

This is my new favourite discovery....its sweet, fruity and very tropical! The flavour is a true pineapple flavour and despite being sweet, didn't taste artificial. It also has small, delicious chunks of pineapple in the jam. It went really well with the clotted cream.....and also tastes great swirled in plain yogurt. I think its safe to say that I love this jam!!

All in all I was very pleased with these discoveries, the scones were tasty and made a great base for the cream and jam. I also loved that you buy these in packs of two - great for smaller households or if you just fancy one or two scones. If you happen to see these in a local shop I'd definitely recommend giving them a try. 

If anyone else has tried this jam and has a different way of enjoying it please can you let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

Spooky treats from Sweetheart Cake& Bake Shop!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Sweetheart, Covent Garden’s newly opened Cake & Bake shop, is kicking off the autumn season with a spooktacular selection of cupcakes, biscuits and sweet treats during the run-up to Halloween. They are so cute we couldn't wait to share them with you.....

From 10th–30th October, the shop will be offering a line-up of devilishly delightful cupcake flavours, including Evil Pumpkin Oreo, Witchy Chocolate Orange, Trick or Treat Blueberry, RIP Chocolate Heaven, Ghostly Nutella and more. A spellbinding range of tasty cakes, biscuits, teas and beverages will be available for purchase as well.

Owner Polly Antoniadi said: “Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year, and we’re getting as creative as possible with our seasonal flavours and designs! Over 80% of our display will be Halloween-themed versions of our cupcakes, and the shop will be fully decorated, so be sure to visit us in Covent Garden to celebrate the occasion.”

Despite the supernatural theme, all of Sweetheart’s products are made from top quality, pure and natural ingredients such as British butter and fresh milk, handcrafted in-house with TLC and baked with a personal touch.

Cupcakes are available in-store or take-away for £3.80 each.

If you pop by the shop don't forget to take a photo - it sounds like a tea-riffic selection of bakes!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for.....a spot of porridge....with Piacha!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....I'm not sure about you but we're really feeling the cold in the autumn mornings! Well, the lovely Pia from Piacha is here to warm up your mornings! They've been taking their favourite tea blend and turning them into a porridge. Yes, really!

Tea infused porridges from Piacha

Piacha have been experimenting for their new menu and can now proudly present a colourful range of porridges to brighten up our mornings: a green coconut one based on Matcha Mint, a red berries version with Berry Mix and one for the traditionalists, with milk and English Breakfast.

Can't get to Piacha and want to try out a tea porridge at home? Piacha's top tip is to choose a strong blend and make your tea first, double strength. Add oats and then cook as usual. It's really very easy, and tastes marvellous!

This sounds like a tea-riffic idea to me - we can't wait to try this at Tea With Me and Friends towers! If you give this a go at home, send us a photo and let us know how you get on!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Let's celebrate Chocolate Week!

Hello there,

As you know.....it's currently Chocolate Week! Fuelling London’s love-affair with cocoa, a number of London venues have partnered with Divine to help chocoholics celebrate the occasion. During the week, cocoa bean connoisseurs will be able to indulge in an assortment of offerings across the capital.

Below, we have dipped into some of the capital’s sweet-toothed chocolate offerings:

Divine Chocolate ARTea at Lancaster London:

Having recently launched its hugely successful ARTea, Lancaster London will put a chocolate-y twist on the budding artists favourite with its Divine Chocolate ARTea. Inside the authentic painters box will lay an array of edible art, alongside tempting Divine chocolate treats.

State of the ‘Art’ Divine chocolate scones will be served alongside paint tubes filled with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam – giving you all the tools needed to devise a cocoa-creation. Lancaster London’s Divine Chocolate ARTea Afternoon Tea will be available from the hotel’s first floor Lounge Bar for £35.00 per person.

Chocolate Spa Treatment at K West:

K West Hotel & Spa has created a 'Good Enough to Eat’ Spa Treatment. The treatment will begin with a back exfoliation using a Mediterranean orange scrub, followed by a soothing sweet almond oil massage. A warm firming and hydrating chocolate mask will then be applied to the back, before moisturising it with a vanilla and cardamom oil. Available only during Chocolate Week, the limited edition K Spa treatment is priced at £90 per person, including access to the hotel’s award-winning Wet Spa facilities.

Guests will also be treated to the exclusive Chocolate Hopper Cocktail which will feature mint liqueur, white Mozart liqueur, double crème, Divine milk chocolate and dark chocolate Azteca bitters.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Chocolate Teapots!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....as you know we love tea and we also love chocolate....and since it's Chocolate Week we've found something that combines the two!

I Just Love It offers lots of chocolate goodies.....including a chocolate teapot!

Chocolate Teapot  £24.99

This product is about as much use as a Chocolate Teapot. Whether you’re using it to fuel puns or for its proper use, we won’t judge on either. It’s a life-size teapot featuring 600g of chocolate and can be eaten in two ways; piece-by-piece or fill it with hot water to create a gorgeous fondue.

Don't fancy a teapot.....never fear they have a whole range of beautifully crafted chocolates in range of designs including Handcuffs £16.99, Spanner £12.99, Horseshoe £11.99, Bottle Opener and Cap £10.99,Nut and Bolt £12.99, Shears £13.99, Secateurs £12.99, Padlock £12.99, Wing Corkscrew £16.99, Twist Corkscrew £14.99 and Key £12.99. 

For those with food intolerances, they’re also gluten free!

Chocolate Golf Iron and Ball £15.99

To see more of the chocolate goodies on offer take a peek at the I Just Love It website!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna