Heybridge & Tiptree tea rooms

Heybridge is a pretty village, lovely old houses, waterways and a fantastic tearoom. Ideal for a weekend jaunt really. After our trip to Bradwell, we popped in for a cream tea.

Victoria Sponge (gluten-free)

A Victoria Sponge is the most simple of cake recipes, it's usually the first cake that children bake themselves. This gluten-free version is just as easy, and tastes just as good, if you weren't told it's gluten-free you wouldn't know.

recipe under the cut:

pear, chocolate and pistachio cake (gluten-free)

I adapted this recipe to create a decadent pear, chocolate and pistachio cake. It's a little bit of a faff, but I made it as a thank you.

   
As it is flourless the cake doesn't rise very high, but it still manages to be light and spongy.

recipe under the cut:-

pistachio and almond cookies

These biscuits are perfect with a cup of tea. Plus they're quick and easy to bake. 

They're are slightly pasty looking, so some green food colouring might be a good idea, to give them a pastel hue. 

Recipe under the cut:- 

Pear & Almond Tart

After my visit to Hughenden Manor I've been craving a pear and almond tart, so I had ago at making on myself. For a first attempt at pasty, it turned out rather well! To be honest, two people managed to polish off this family sized tart over two days - I'm not even ashamed.

banana and nutella muffins

These delicious banana, walnut and nutella muffins are made with spelt flour, which although is not gluten-free, is easier then wheat to digest.

Full recipe after the jump:-

The Waiting Room, Totteridge and Whetstone

If you hungry and at the end of the Northern line, I recommend you pop into The Waiting Room, it's just up from the Totteridge and Whetstone station.

It is a quaint tea rooms which serves delicious home-made food.

 The décor is vintage, and what makes it really unique is that everything is for sale, from the cute little trinkets cluttering table tops, to the tables themselves.  All the furniture has been specially hand picked and I think it's a great idea that they're available to buy, though it does mean that your favourite chair, in which you enjoyed your cup of tea, might be gone next time you're in!

The Waiting Room is full of special touches, for example the menu is pasted into pre-loved books. Speaking of the menu, there is loads of choice, even for vegetarians.

egg soufflé, this was actually huge, like a giant fluffy pillow of egg. 

scones with jam and  loads cream 

pancakes with fruit and maple syrup, this was my choice (though I did have a taster of the other). It was flawless.  

We also took some sandwiches with us for later. I had brie on walnut bread, and it was sooooo good, the bread was really soft.

To drink, we had home-made pink lemonade, tea and hot chocolate. All were beautifully presented, the lemonade was in jam jars with co-coordinating straws and the tea was served in mis-matched china.

Tea strainers and sugar tongs- I felt like I was on Downton. 

The hot chocolate was traditional and proper rich- none of this cadburys instant malarkey. Unfortunately it got sent flying and completely obliterated a vintage tablecloth, but the staff were really lovely about it, and there was still plenty in the pot to enjoy.

Some people had sent up camp, and it is the ideal place to spend a lazy afternoon have a natter and indulge.

Baklava with pistachio nuts and rose water syrup

I'm going to a Christmas potluck party at the weekend, the theme is 'the true meaning of Christmas' so dishes are supposed to be middle-eastern in flavour. So, with this in mind, I decided to have a test-run of making Baklava. I loosely followed this recipe.

I did have to make some alterations to the recipe, partly out of necessity (I didn't have enough pistachio nuts, so had to substitute with  some walnuts and cashews) and also because quantity of sugar and butter seemed way to high. So when I had to brush butter on each sheet of filo pastry, I did so at stingily as possible.

I think I'm going to reduce the sugar content in the syrup even further (I halved it) as even though Baklava is supposed to be sweet, it's still to much. I've eaten the tiniest little diamond, and the resulting sugar high has me ready to crawl up walls and bounce of ceilings.  

Also, if you're thinking of attempting this recipe, salted and roasted pistachio nuts work fine. I was slightly worried as the recipe calls for plain pistachios but I couldn't find any. This did mean I had to spend about half an hour shelling a bag of nuts, but I didn't in front of the tv so it wasn't any kind of hardship. I would say if you are using salted and roasted pistachios it is probably a good idea to make up the rest of the weight with another type of nut so the salt isn't overwhelming.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

These are so unhealthy, but never mind they taste delicious! Nutty, slightly sticky and sweet. They can be eaten cold, but they are best eaten straight from the oven when the chocolate is all melted.

Another good thing about these cookies, is that they can be gluten-free, as gluten-free peanut butter is available.  They are also really simple to bake.

Peanut & Chocolate Cookies 

Recipe under the cut:-

The British Museum & Mildred's

Today we visited The British Museum and Mildred's, a small vegetarian restaurant in Soho.

Ok admittedly, this post has little to do with books or cuppas, though in my defense we did drink tea and there was a library in the museum.