In the heart of London there is a eccentric experience waiting for you, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the Sanderson Hotel. I went for J's birthday as a cream tea treat.
The outside of the hotel belittles the long bar, outdoor court yard and eating area that await you once you go throught the diaphanous muslin entrance. Recently themed cream tea have become the thing to do for various celebrations from hen do's to birthday parties, to a simple but pricey catch up and the mad hatters tea is something a little bit more quirky than the average.
We arrived to find the hotel packed with various groups of revellers dressed in splashes of colour and bright summery prints, unfortunately this meant we had to wait for a while before being escorted to our seats.
The table was set up with a sugar cube containing music box, a copy of withering heights and tea sets that when placed together created a disconnected picture.
We all ordered champagne with our tea and the waitress brought over purfume bottles of their special blended tea to determine which one we wanted to have. They were strawberry and cream, mint chocolate, rubbarb and apple pie.
I went for the coffee option but I am informed that the strawberry and cream tasted a little like warm juice.
We then found the table laden with all variety of delicacies and treats. Ranging from rolled sandwiches of egg cress, cucumber and cream cheese, salmon and ham.
There were little quiches and an olive scone with herby butter to round off the savoury dishes. It was however the deserts than made this meal. There was a drink me potion of passion fruit and pannacotta to consume through a straw.
A chocolate tea cup with mouse containing popping candy (my favourite item).
A Victoria sponge and white chocolate cheese cake with a mango yolk. The cheese cake was probably my least favourite dish.
This was then topped off with strawberry and cream mashmellow and a carrot shaped confection with ginger filling.
As J summed it up it was a posher more expensive version of man versus food.
We then headed to the Westbury Hotel for another drink before heading off into the night.
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Artisan chocolate Brownies
Lets be honest after a few days of promising sun the weather has reverted to being a bit grey and yuck. Yesterday's hail certainly did not fit with my idea of a beautiful May Day, with the weather determination I have been craving comforting delicious stodgy indulgence. When I was little my Mum (read as Mama Wilson when baking is involved) made gorgeously chewy brownies laced with walnuts. Brownies were a treat for those days which needed a little brightening. Well these are not those brownies.
These brownies are fudgey gooey amazing-ness the quality of which is made by using incredible high quality chocolate. These brownies were made using green and blacks 75% dark chocolate and a specialist chocolate of your taste, the more unusual the better. I used Tesco's finest Swiss Milk chocolate with maple syrup and caramelised fine walnut pieces as I was too lazy to go to Harvey Nicks to buy Cocoa Bean's Dark Chocolate with Chili and Pink Peppercorn which is the perfect chocolate for this recipe as it gives a spicy edge to what would otherwise be a very sweet dish. I would also recommend checking out The Chocolate Tree's chocolate bars in cardamom and Maya 2012 for alternative spicy treats.
Ingredients
145ml oil
130g plain gluten free flour (can use normal plain flour but this gives a unique texture)
325g golden caster sugar (I find this gives a more Carmel tone to cooking and is less refined than normal caster sugar)
3 eggs
200g of 75% dark chocolate, melted
100g artisan or specialist chocolate of your choice broken into irregular size shapes
Mix the oil, flour and sugar together until stiff.
Add the three beaten eggs and stir until it forms a thick glossy mixture.
Slowly add the melted chocolate to the bowl until it forms a thickened dark brown mixture with no lighter marbling. You need to make sure that the dark chocolate is not too hot in order to mix properly.
Allow to cool slightly before adding the chunks of the artisan chocolate of your choice. Pour into a greased deep rectangular tin or baking dish and cook for 30-35 minutes in a preheated oven at 170oC.
I like my brownies slightly under cooked so they are extra gooey but you want the top to look glossy and a little crunchy whilst making sure that the sides are not too hard or crumbly.
Which chocolate would you use?
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