An Afternoon at Sketch

The first time I saw Sketch was on Made In Chelsea, being a reality TV junkie, I really wanted to go here for as long as possible.

Having just turned 21, this was a treat from my mum and seeing as we love an afternoon tea outing, I chose Sketch of all  places.

If the food isn't enough to gab about, the decor is insane. I literally thought I was about to go on a Disney ride as soon as I walked in. Tea is mainly served in the Gallery and its basically the most beautiful, quirky but insane use of a room.

It has big plush suede and leather sofas, chairs that look like sponge fingers and it literally is all pink! I'm not a pink fan, but this is a camp and outrageous bubblegum pink you can just about handle. It's a pretty dim light room, but to sum up, for me it was like being in a Wes Anderson movie. The walls are adorned with David Schrigley artwork and these are not your run of the mill prints. They are basically hand drawn prints in which I can imagine Schrigley sat down and just thought, 'what do I fancy drawing today?'

The tea itself is a treat, a frothy treat. There are sandwiches with caviar, scones with fig jam and meringue desserts along with raspberry marshmallows. There are steaming pots of berry tea and vodka cocktails, all in printed cutlery with words such as 'Dreams' or 'Ghost'

See what I mean when I say not run of the mill?

Also, another thing to mention...the loos are giant neon eggs. Yes, you read that correctly. If the decor didn't throw you already, when it's time to excuse yourself, the bathrooms are basically what I imagine space to be like. There are giant neon eggs which you clamber into and once insider, animal noises play, along with facts about animals. This is the ultimate truth.

Here's me enjoying facts about bullfrogs, whilst enjoying the facilities.

                          

(Note...I wasn't actually peeing at this point)

And here they are from the outside.

As far as birthdays goes, this afternoon rounded off my 21st nicely. Who said birthdays had to be one colour?

sketch.com - 9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG

Read more »

Afternoon Tea at Le Bouchon Brasserie

'What's the occassion for this afternoon tea then?'

Dear mother, you must know by now that one never needs an excuse to have afternoon tea. So with no excuse needed, we kept it local and took to a hotel to consume cake and tea.

I live in Essex and the thought of braving the tube on a Saturday afternoon in the muggy heat, didn't seem that appealing. So when I saw this on Buzzfeed, not that I knew there were many places to go in Essex, I decided to take my mum out for tea.

Le Bouchon is a brasserie & hotel located in Maldon, Essex and although smal, it has a dining area, cocktail bar and obviously is a hotel. First impressions were good. It's a very intimate but modern hotel, with a great dining area and a sprawling cocktail bar. Staff were friendly on arrival and more than helpful and we were immediately seated for our tea.

The tea priced at £21.95 on a Saturday includes a glass of champagne and a cocktail list is provided with your tea, because naturally why question alcohol. Tea and coffee is offered and then comes the cake.

The tiers included savouries and sweets with prawn & cucumber sandwiches as well as cheese & chive scones. The sweets include fruit scones with jam and cream, as well as mini Eton-Mess, macarons, peaches & cream cupcakes and chocolate brownies adorned with raspberries.

As I don't drink tea, I went for a cocktail. It was well needed after I'd had a very heavy night before, so  Cosmopolitans were in order.

What I liked most about this tea is the quality of the food provided, it was all extremely fresh, as well as the drinks provided. For this price, it really is a treat. The service is stellar and the atmosphere is extremely welcoming.

Of course the location is ideal for people, like myself, who live in the county, but if in passing or fancying something different, this really is a lovely brasserie & hotel to dine at. I'm definitely thinking about staying here in the future, and thats solely down to just spending a few hours there. I wouldn't think twice about recommending this to my friends.

Till Next Time,
Ellie

Read more »

Baking Chronicles - Carrot Cake

I'm a real try hard baker. When I say that, what I really mean is 'I buy all of the ingredients in hope of an edible, normal shaped, tasty infact, cake'. I'm quite a dreamer, meaning I want to be Nigella Lawson or have an icing sugar range in Waitrose, we all need an achievable goal sometimes.

Despite the flat muffins, the Betty Crocker assisted mix and the pistachio cake that made my dad ill, I've learnt the one cake I'm really truly good at making is a Carrot Cake. There's nothing overly fussy about making it, nor does it contain the spices of unicorns and Jesus. It's a basic recipe I've played about with from Dan Lepard. To find the original recipe, click here!

I call this the only cake my dad truly likes because usually he'll tell me if he doesn't like something. This is a simple cake with lots of nutmeg and cinnamon, cream cheese and yes, real actual carrots. I opt out of using dried fruits because they are food of the grown ups and I personally don't like chewing through wrinkly fruit. I also up the spices in this cake because I've noticed the flavor sometimes disappears halfway through and I also add more because the cake smells only what I envision Christmas to be. I also like to use a vanilla butter cream in the center because think, why would not have vanilla butter cream in a cake?

Let me know if this recipe works for you!

The cake
175g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
200g light brown sugar
150ml sunflower oil
2 large eggs 
200g carrots (3 small-ish ones)
75g chopped walnuts (optional)

The middle
200g icing sugar
150g butter (Stork works best)

The top
200g soft cream cheese 
100g unsalted butter 
125g icing sugar

Somehow if you manage to keep chill throughout this, you'll end up with a little something below.

So, firstly...

Gather all your ingredients and realise you gotta stop buying organic because it's still a week till payday.

Combine your flour, baking powder and all the spices - again keep adding till you smell Christmas.

Mix oil, brown sugar and 2 eggs - sorry, not that attractive!

Add grated carrot to the unattractive mix, have a moment's silence for the skin you lost whilst grating.

Put all your ingredients in the bowl, like everything, and mix till you feel like it might pass as bakeable.

Put your mix into two rounded tins, and pretend you didn't spill most of it on the side...like I did.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or as the experts say 'till a clean skewer comes out' but you know...until it's no longer gloopy. You should end up with something like this...hopefully.

Then add a whole lotta love to the middle of the cake and yes, lick the bowl.

If you got really bored after this long process, you can just ice the top of the cake in the morning...like I did. I put a load of almonds and walnuts on top because it looked fancy.

And then finally, attempt to enjoy (if edible) and if not, well at least you did something that involved an oven and sugar!

I hope you enjoyed this somewhat tutorial!

Till next time,

Ellie

Read more »

Afternoon Tea at The Ham Yard Hotel

Another Mother's Day has passed and still my love for my beloved Susan is as strong as ever. I've spent this past weekend in Farnham with my best friend, so I decided to take my mum out for afternoon tea a day after Mother's Day - and it was nice to have a Monday off work.

Afternoon tea is a favourite tradition for me and my mum, because it's always nice to have an opportunity to eat cake and catch up about the perils of life. I'd call us afternoon tea novices are who slowly but surely spreading our wild oats when it comes to the afternoon tea life.

I took us out to the Ham Yard Hotel, located just 3 minutes from Piccadilly Circus and was so simple to get too. Tucked away in Ham Yard, appropriately named, the hotel is one of many from the chain of Firmdale Hotels. I have to say it's very swish and modern, almost rightfully placed as you enter Soho. Even though we just went for tea, I'd like to go back to the hotel, as it has it's own bowling alley and the decor looks amazing, very vibrant and overall, just very cool.

We were seated in a conservatory as such, with wicker chairs and dangling ornaments from the ceiling, with china plates and cups adorned on a table for us. We were given menu's offering the tea flavours and another menu with what afternoon tea we would be having. We went for the classic afternoon tea at an affordable £19.00 each. Mum went for an americano (SHE IS SO DAMN FUSSY) and I decided to be a real rebellious girl and try out Rooibos Tea.

(look at a glimpse of my babe susan, sipping her classy coffee)

We were then served our 3 tiered platter of excellence and all things cake and dough, and were eager to tuck in. Being the cool cats we are, we started with the savouries - which were uber trendy. They consisted of fingers sandwiches with smoked salmon & cream cheese/tomato & cheese (don't you just feel well posh when you eat sandwiches with no crusts and fit perfectly in your hand?), feta cheese and spinach toasted rolls, toasted olive bread with serrano ham and hummus and lastly, our favourites, chicken & avocado sliders - which were perfect size and tasted amazing. It's nice to have a real different mix up of savouries rather than just sandwiches.

We did the appropriate thing of 'taking a break' before we tucked into the sweets, but really that translates as 'loosen your belt, we're going to eat some cake'. The sweets consisted of mini loafs of carrot cake (even though mum said mine was better, because she's a goddess and she just knows), lavender and strawberry macarons, a chocolate & caramel blondie, a chocolate drenched profiterole, an egg custard tart adorned with a pansy (DEAD POSH) and a vanilla fairy cake with a fancy shmancy icing. These again were to die for and just the right size.

Finally, the big deal, the piece de resistance, the final test of all afternoon teas...SCONES, more appropriately named 'Scone With The Wind'. Sometimes with afternoon tea's you're so flumoxed by the amount of savouries and sweets, that the scones get left by the wayside because there either too big or you've eaten so much, you can taste sugar coming out of your pores. Well let me tell you, these scones were just right. Bite sized and literally toasty warm, they were complimented with strawberry jam and rich cream, which finished the tea off just right.

Overall I thought it was great value for money, set in a nice location and surrounding, with the staff being hospitable and checking in if we wanted more refreshments and if everything was 'to our satisfaction' (Of course it was, you fed me caramel and love). I'll definitely be heading back to the Ham Yard Hotel, possibly again for another spot of afternoon tea or just to sit at the bar, glugging a gin and tonic.

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day or just a simple Sunday!

Check out the website here for the hotel! Ham Yard Hotel



Till Next Time,


Ellie

Read more »

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 

Read more »

A Day In London

It's Valentines day today right? Of course I'm right. Either that or I'm completely unaware of the day. I'm aware though, aware of all the couples on the central line licking face or of all the dine in for £20 meals from M&S (which could totally pass as a meal for one, just saying). I've never really been bothered about V-Day, understandably because I have neither a boyfriend nor have I ever had a boyfriend to 'celebrate' this glorious day full of helium balloons and strewn petals, which is enough to make me gag, even more than the face lickers on the tube.

So who better to spend this day with than my invisible 5'7 boyfriend with a well cut beard and preferably specs? My mother of course. The light of my life, the 5'2 bobbed, ray ban wearing spectacled woman in all her Liz Earle glory.

Even though I drag myself up to the city everyday for that mudane task called work, today was a Saturday, meaning yes, I will drink gin and yes I will drink lots of it. Before that though, breakfast called. Me and Susan headed to Smiths of Smithfields where the smell of bloodied meat covered in sawdust loomed and screwed up lottery notes loitered the floor outside Fabric Nightclub. I wanted to be classy and order a Bloody Mary, but then I realised that was way grown up and more importantly, I don't like tomato juice. We dished over eggs and bourbon biscuit and cream milkshakes and I moaned about my single exsistence whilst mother told me all the reasons to not rush, 'learn from me' she said 'the right person will come along'...yeah mum, in 199never.

Next stop was too the 5th happiest place on earth, asides from IKEA, Costco, ASOS's nightwear section, and Subway at 1.30am after you've been out, reeking of vodka & red bull. Primrose Bakery is a tiny haven of cupcake and baked goodness. Located in Covent Garden, it's as cute as they come and you know it's good in there because you can smell the gingerbread loaf from outside. Today mother treated us to some cupcakes which included Malteser and Cookie Dough. She dragged me away somehow as my saliva slid down the cake cabinet displays.

 

Hungry right? I know, sorry. 

So then...and this is where it gets exciting, I went to see a musical that I've literally been dying to see since 2013. How this is possible I don't know, seeing as it only came to Broadway last year but you know when you have that deep intact feeling of 'for gods sake, make a musical of this so I can have my dreams fullfilled' well they made the musical, and godammit, they made a good one. Beautiful, The Carole King Musical is a gift from god and fuck, it was amazing. Yes I said fuck, emphasis on it.

I know it was that good because I've wrote a whole seperate post on it, but like don't read it if you get bored to tears because it's just me crushing hard on Carole king. Underline Crushing.

Check it out here! My Review of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

After the show, I went home where I was surrounded with yet more people on the tube with flowers and uncomfortable closeness and hand holding. I wondered if my inner introvert was just really acting out on today of all days or if I was just immune to affection? Still curiously wondering. 

It turns out spending February 14th, a Saturday, National Ferris Wheel Day (because thats's what it really is) with my mum was what I actually needed. As well as the cupcakes made of pure sugar and Jesus's love, the Greenwalls tins of Gin & Pink Grapefruit Tonic, an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and a musical about an inspiring queen of music was the perfect v-day. V for Victory because these cupcakes were victoriously delicious.

Till Next Time!

Ellie

Read more »