A spot of afternoon tea

There is something very civilised about afternoon tea. It reminds me of years gone by and all the teas my Granny made for us. She was a fantastic cook and delighted our taste buds day after day. Cakes, puddings, biscuits, my Granny would make them all. Old recipes new recipes she had cookery books galore and was always on the look out for something new to try.


She had big strong arms and would beat cakes into submission. her orange tray bake was to die for. Those special Savoy cakes were heavenly......oh let me tell you about them. Fatless sponge turned into absolute decadence. She would make the sponge mix and then pour into individual pie trays. You know the sort that have 12 spaces on the tray but are rounded rather than the squarer holes for cake cases. When the little sponges were turned out and cooled, she would cover the top of one dome with chocolate, then she would join two domes together, one naked, one chocolate covered with lashings of whipped cream. My afternoon delight to be sure!


Brandy Alexander, that was another treat. Yes just like the cocktail! It had a crunchy chocolate base and then this wonderful thick creamy mix on top. Ohhhh I remember a naughty tale about the blessed Brandy Alexander! I had a party and she helped me to cater for it. Pride of place was the Brandy Alexander Pie. Her morning room had a Parkray fire. You know the kind of coal burning fire that has a door? Oh no that wasn't the Pie, that was the butter. Same party though, the lads thought it would be clever to put the butter on the fire and see what happened! Eighteen year olds can be such morons! 


The pie had another fate altogether. Perhaps the party goers were not as into Brandy Alexander as me or my Granny. And I remember now that I did not know this until sometime after, when my uncle remarked that there were some odd stains on the ceiling. I kept quiet and did not say a word, but I knew. You only had to look a little closer to see that the stains were a pale orangey brown colour and if you had sniffed them you might have had a scent of brandy. 


Anyway this afternoon I took a friend of mine to Cromwell's Restaurant in Irby because they have just started serving afternoon tea. They even have those lovely old fashioned cake stands to serve your goodies on. So my treat to myself was tuna and cucumber sandwiches followed by a wonderful chocolate muffin with naughty cream, and a chocolate brownie. Not strictly off the menu, but Kay and Kate are very kind ladies and eager to spoil their customers!


http://www.cromwells-irby.co.uk/menus/

Now that's a linkybob to their web page. Not much use for Clive in South Africa or Paul in California but for everyone else, definitely worth visiting :-) The restaurant that is not the website, although its a very nice website too. 

One they made earlier!

Afternoon tea at Cromwell's and a trigger for some lovely memories of my Granny and her wonderful cooking. Will take another visit to granny's kitchen some other time, you see there is a wonderful rhubarb fool, not to mention her batter pudding!