Afternoon Tea at Cake Boy

I'm a fan of afternoon tea. I don't know someone who wouldn't enjoy sitting around eating dainty miniature versions of sandwiches and pastries. I never knew afternoon tea was such a craze up until a few years back when I noticed how popular it was among ladies.

I had been booked on a cake decorating course at Cake Boy until it unfortunately got cancelled, but redeemed my voucher to attend an afternoon tea session. This was all done through Red Letter Days where it is so easy to book and arrange classes without the hassle of calling up the shop and booking days and time/slots. 

Before I could actually tuck into what I can only describe as a cake fantasy, getting there was the tricky part. It's quite a strange location when you do eventually get there and get there we did. Located 10 minutes from Clapham Junction station, it's definitely a job for Google Maps to get you to the front door. As opposed to a standard afternoon tea in a hotel, Cake Boy is situated underneath a huge block of trendy flats, so really somewhere you'd least expect.

image courtesy of emondeestdoux.e-monsite.

The shop itself is very...modern. It triples as a shop, cookery school and a dining area. So, it's technically the triple threat of cake & pastry shops. What I like the most about this place was the colors of all the cakes, the amazing range of kitchen aids on the worktops and then all the products you can take away with you if you get the baking bug. 

I took my mum to tea with me and seeing as this had been my first 'proper' afternoon tea, I wasn't really sure what it would consist of, I thought afternoon tea was literally tea and scones, lord knows how my heart skipped beats when macarons got involved. My only problem is i'm neither a tea or coffee drinker, so afternoon tea sometimes turns into afternoon hot chocolate. 

Once we had arrived we were seated on a plush couch in the dining area and within minutes brought a makeshift table of delights.

image courtesy of red letter days blog

We were brought, firstly, rolls & croissants filled with Chicken Caesar/Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese/Roasted Vegetable/Parma Ham & Mozzarella.  These were delicious and so fresh and light, which was especially good as we were gearing ourselves up for the cakes. 

Now this really was a like a work of art. It's not just as if they were slabs of cake that had been given to us, there was variety and things I'd never even tried before. They include raspberry,chocolate & lime macarons, mini creme brulee's, mini eclairs, mini lemon tarts, white & dark chocolate moulded cake bites with slabs of chocolate placed upon and lastly my favourite, Green tea cone filled with passion fruit mousse and coconut shavings - now this was class. 

Mum had coffee and I had a hot chocolate, included - may I add - with a glass of champagne, which you know if you're going for afternoon tea, is not always expected, so this was an extra treat. 

As you can image, we were pretty stuffed afterwards, so the walk back to the train station was something of a relief to walk off the amount of sugar we had consumed. The Staff were lovely and helpful. always offering more hot drinks if wanted and willing to provide more sweet treats if your buttons on your shirt hadn't already popped off.

Overall it was a great afternoon spent with mum, although location was a little tricky, I think once people had tried the tea overall, that the location wouldn't even be a thought. I'd like to re-visit Cake Boy to attend a cake decorating class with owner and pastry/dessert chef himself, Eric Lanlard. 

Have you tried this tea or could you recommend another good afternoon tea?

Till Next Time,

Ellie