Afternoon Tea at The George in Stamford

So on Saturday I took my lovely Mum to The George in Stamford for Afternoon Tea. This was her mothers day treat and By George (see what I did there!) was this a treat and a half! This post will be quite picture heavy, which will make nice change from my usual waffling...

So quaint x

I was so relieved it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day because in the morning it looked a bit groggy! It takes us normally about 45 minutes to get to the beautiful town of Stamford, however because my Sat-Nav decided to have a hissy fit it took us a bit longer. Should have listened to my Mum but oh well, I was the driver! Haha. Anyone else get like that?

These houses were so cute, I wanted one!

Some of the cute window displays

I wanted pretty much everything in here!

Cinderella shall go to the Ball!

Found these little gems in a Deli here, these tasted SO good!!

So now on to the main event - The George. This is our most treasured restaurant and hotel to go to as a family. We've been fortunate enough to stay in some of the best hotels around, however this holds a special place in our hearts as it's somewhere the family have been coming for decades! Every Birthday or special event we come here, and I can honestly say the service hasn't changed since the very first time we visited.

The hotel and grounds are stunning, very well maintained and a pleasure to walk around. I've seen numerous wedding marques here over the years and this venue is certainly on top of my list whenever Luke decides to pop the question...7 years is far too long don't you think?!

Exterior

Real Log Fire - Adds that extra bit of character and charm to the Hotel.

I love all the attention to detail; mixing old and new styles together.

The Afternoon Tea Menu

Mother - |Posing!

Because it was a treat for Mothers Day I told my mum that she had to have the option with the Champagne, of which she didn't dispute. Quel Suprise.

I don't think words can actually describe how good this was! Needless to say my Mum was seriously impressed and started making inappropriate noises when devouring the sandwiches. Highly embarrassing. However I would have to agree that every mouthful was a delight and tasted fabulous.

The sandwiches were seriously mouthwatering. My favorite were the egg mayonnaise and the cucumber and cream cheese. I could have happily devoured another plateful! I liked the fact every sandwich was different not just in taste, but in texture too. You had soft white bread, brown bread and a dark rye bread. Of which they all tasted heavenly. 

The middle section of cakes was incredible, as you all well know - I have a terrible sweet tooth. The first pudding that caught my eye was the bakewell tart. This was quite possibly the best I've ever tasted. The sponge was lovely and moist, the cherry really came through and I loved the almond crust on top. I wouldn't change a thing. The strawberry tart was a mouthwatering delight. So fresh, sweet and gone in pretty much one bite! Finally was the carrot cake, I do love a good carrot cake and this was super yummy, the only thing I'd change is a little less cinnamon and a little more cream frosting.

Finally, the pièce de résistance - The Scones, served with clotted cream and home made strawberry preserve. A-MAZ-ZING. They were warm, soft and oh so delicious. I would however like to be given an option between fruit scones and plain scones..however if that's the only fault, then I'm not complaining!  

As you can see Mum and I did a pretty good job of stuffing our faces with hands down the best Afternoon Tea we've ever had.

On a side note, always ask for a box to take away any cakes you don't manage to eat. They've got them on standby as I think it's a regular request!

Well goodbye for now The George and no doubt the Thompson family will be back soon! 

Mother and I xxx

I hope you enjoyed this little foodie review, and rest assured if you visit Stamford, this is somewhere to certainly visit! Their lunch and dinner menu's in both the Garden  Room and Oak Paneled Room are magnificent and will not disappoint.

If you fancy keeping up to date with my whereabouts and what I'm up to, follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Bloglovin.

As always guys, It's been a pleasure!

Char

xXx

Food For Thought | Easter Chocolate Recipes

Okay all you Chocolate lovers, this is one for you! I was thinking up ideas for Easter and what better way than chocolate treats. These don't necessarily have to be for Easter - they can be eaten at anytime of the year! Trust me.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies - Level: Medium

So these are rather indulgent and not for the fainthearted. If you are a dark chocolate lover or know someone who is, then this is the recipe for you! One thing you have to remember is that these are not cookies, they are brownie cookies so they are going to be thick, gooey and ever so rich.
I got this recipe from the Waitrose Magazine from March which features these on the front cover, and to be honest I don't think I'm far off. Except I did forget to save a bar of chocolate to make chocolate chips and the drizzle...Oh well, they still tasted immense. If you don't want to take my word for it, Sophia - Tattooed Tealady (check out her amazing blog here) was my guinea pig when it came to these and I got her approval.

Ingredients 

Method

Start off by melting your chocolate 3 bars NOT 4. 

Cream together your butter and sugars for a good 2 minutes until smooth.

Mix together all your dry ingredients.

Combine the two mixtures and add your treacle, egg & vanilla extract.

Once you've got a nice thick mixture add in your melted chocolate.

Once everything has been mixed, roughly chop your remaining bar of chocolate and fold into your mixture. 

Roll the mixture into a sausage shape (which does look rather odd I agree)

Leave to chill for 4 hours or overnight. 

Once ready, slice into 1cm thick 'patties'

Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 7 minutes. Fan 195° Gas Mark 5.

Leave to cool. Then Enjoy.

  

As much as a love and adore chocolate, dark chocolate is my least favourite. I stuck to the recipe (or so I thought, until I got carried away with melting all 4 bars of chocolate instead of 3!) as I wanted to give a good honest review of how easy it was to achieve something out of a magazine and all in all I found it quite simple. Obviously we aren't all the same, and everyone's cooking techniques and skills are different but I honestly think even if you just melted the chocolate then just shoved all the ingredients into a food processor - you wouldn't be far off. Don't let Mary Berry catch me saying that for god sake! 

I will make these again as they've had such a good reception, however next time I will use milk chocolate and perhaps white chocolate and see what I end up with. I have a terrible sweet tooth so no doubt I'll end up with sodding toothache! Also if someone could remind me not to melt all the chocolate that would be great.

Note: A cup of tea or glass of milk is definitely required to accompany these!

This is what they are supposed to look like, and I don't think I'm too far off?!

What do you think?

No Chocolate - Chocolate Rice Krispie Nests - Level : Easy

Okay, if ever you're in the mindset that you want something sweet, but don't know what to have...then realise you have nothing sweet to eat in your kitchen. Look no further!!! This is something I 'knock up' on a regular basis for the boyfriend and when ever we forget dessert or have friends randomly pop over or just generally in the mood for chocolate.

This takes about 5 minutes to cook and 5-10 minutes in the FREEZER. Got your attention yet? Good.

You'll need 50g butter, 2 tbsps cocoa powder and 1 tbsp Golden Syrup and of course 100g Rice Krispies.

Melt the butter in a pan and mix with the cocoa powder. 

Take off the heat and mix in the golden syrup.

Stir in the rice krispies - you may want to add more until you've got a thick mixture.

Spoon into the cases and add mini eggs to to top to decorate.

Place in fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy.

I hope you've enjoyed this new series and let me know down in the comments your thoughts! If you create any of these yourselves, tweet me a picture!

As always lovelies, It's been an absolute pleasure.

HAPPY EASTER!

Char

xXx