Mother's Day Afternoon Tea Series

The allotment gave a bounty of beautiful plums on my last visit and you will also see in the greengrocers and supermarkets big punnets of the deep red and purple fruits. I wanted to make the most of them whilst they are in season and also wanted to make something that the kids can help with whilst they are on school holidays - which has been the theme of this blog this month. Please don’t be put off making your own shortcrust pastry; it is simply a matter of whizzing all the

I have been completely glued to Wimbledon over the past couple of weeks, it has been a really good year - I can’t think about Wimbledon without thinking about strawberries and cream. So this weeks inspiration comes in the form of Swiss Roll, partly to honour the glorious strawberry, but also I am backing Roger Federer in the final…and he is Swiss! A Swiss Roll has no fats in, by this I mean no butter or oil. It gets it’s lovely even rise and bouncy texture from whipped eggs

On the allotment, hidden amongst the mess of straw, the berries have turned red - hooray it’s strawberry season, what a great time of the year. I am lucky enough to live 2 minutes from a beautiful French pâtisserie, which I can often be found in, choosing bread or daydreaming about all the eclairs... they also make very beautiful strawberry tarts. I always imagined they would be tricky to make, but actually it turned out to be simple and I get to use up our strawberry bounty

This weekend is yet another bank holiday here in England - hooray. I am sure that whatever the weather, many people will be digging out their BBQ’s and enjoying the outdoors...well that’s my plan at least! I am going for a walk in the South Downs National Park this weekend, I am looking forward to seeing the springtime waking up all the plants, wildflowers and trees. There are a lot of hills and with this in mind I have planned this week’s blog to tie in with a long walk sn

I am enjoying the amount of light first thing in the morning when I wake up, it lifts my soul and it makes me feel like it’s going to be a good day. I have loved seeing all the floral posts on Instagram of people stopping to enjoy and capture photos of blossoms and blooms, I can never get enough. After a very chocolatey weekend of egg hunting and chocolate spread making from last week’s blog, I felt like baking something fruity and non chocolatey. I have mentioned before in

We are here! Week four of the afternoon tea series. This is where you get to pull all your delicious recipes together to make, along with a few other key elements, a very tasty afternoon tea – just in time for Mother’s Day (phew!) When I say other ‘key elements’ I am of course talking about sandwiches, clotted cream and tea, as it just wouldn’t be afternoon tea without them. If you are wishing to make the whole affair extra special, then it is worth taking a little bit of ti

The afternoon tea ideas are continuing today with a pastry element. Dreamy, light, golden, crispy, airy choux pastry; topped with a crackled effect and filled with Chantilly cream and fresh strawberries – what is not to love!? These look amazing and are a perfect addition to your afternoon tea party. Please don’t be scared that this involves making pastry, or even that with this pastry you make it on the hob – it is just a matter of beating with a wooden spoon – it’s as sim

You might have spotted the arrival of blood oranges in the shops and green grocers; they look like normal oranges on the outside but with a slight deep red speckle. I have seen them every year and never thought to try something with them, until now - this year is the year! I love to make lemon curd and I use it in my cakes at Sky Meadow Bakery, so I thought I would adapt the recipe and try blood orange curd. What a success! It can be used in buttercream, spread into layer

Every Friday this month, I will be sharing a recipe for a treat you might see at an afternoon tea. I LOVE afternoon tea, hooray for Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford. Like any decent human being, Anna would get hungry around 4pm and need dainty sandwiches and tea. One of my best afternoon tea places is Fortnum and Mason’s in London; it is such a treat. The store alone is worth a visit if you are in the city, but if you have the time and can splash out a bit, then book i