Christmas Science Afternoon tea @ The Ampersand Hotel

So its Christmas time, and its the one time of the year that eating all kinds of unhealthy food and stuffing your face is socially acceptable in all ways. This means one thing and one thing only, especially for a afternoon tea junkie like myself, its time to hit the best themed tea in town. After having seen a friend of mine already try and test this particular afternoon tea, i knew it had to be done. Myself and my Friend Mayumi, booked ourselves a table at the Christmas science afternoon tea at the Ampersand hotel. Normally its just Science themed however this festive time of year means they put on a special Christmas menu. For starters its important to mention how beautiful this hotel is. Its located right next to the South Kensington station, so its super easy to get too. The hotel was decorated with lots of lights and cute Christmas decorations, and when having afternoon tea, you are seated in the Drawing rooms, which has gorgeous decor, A good thing to note is that we booked during the week via, Afternoontea.co.uk which meant we received a glass of Moet on the house. Already things were on the up. After already consuming lots of bubbles we were given a choice of tea. I went for the classic Ampersand Breakfast tea, while May went for the Peppermint tea, both were enjoyed immensely. Stupidly i hadn't eaten that day, so by the time the food turned up i was ravenous, but it really was so scrummy. We were given a three tiered plate stacked full of food. The first tier was savoury followed by a plate of scones, and then a further plate of sweet treats. Not only did it taste amazing, it looked amazing too, and once the waiter had poured the white ice into the the little plate at the top, we had a plate of smoking science goodness. 

* The gorgeous tea station*

We tucked into the first plate which consisted of Smoked salmon blinis, Crayfish and asparagus on toasted bread, Goats cheese and pumpkin quiche and finally a roast beef bagel with horse radish (which really did have a spicy kick). After demolishing it all, me and may were both decided that our favourite were the blinis and crayfish, they were miniature sized so perfect little mouthfuls but so so flavoursome and delicious. 

Next we tucked into our plate full of scones, we had two each, so it was quite a mountain to get through, we ended up only having one each. I went for the plain one, and may had the cranberry and white chocolate selection. Not only were they both still warm, but both super delicious and not dry in the slightest. 

Last but not least we had the sweet tier to get through and this really was a mixture of all sorts. I was already quite full at this point, so i tried to get through as much as possible, but didn't manage to try it all. The plate consisted of a Christmas tree biscuit, Vanilla mousse with cranberry baubles, Spiced apple juice in test tubes, Salted caramel and chocolate tree brownies, and mini Christmas cakes with snowflake toppers. WOW right!! I didn't make it to the end as Christmas fruit cake isn't a favourite of mine anyway, however the show stopper for me on this plate was the salted caramel brownie, it was so yummy, rich and full of flavour. Neither of us were that sure on the mousse, it was quite an odd texture and the added cranberry's just weren't my cup of tea, but all in all what a scrummy little plate of goodness. 

* May fully respecting the tiny test tube of apple goodness *

Its safe to say we were so stuffed at this point we could barely speak, we were however given a little box of Christmas fossils hidden under a blanket of white chocolate snow. May had lots of fun with this, if shes reading she will know what i'm talking about haha! But it was a nice added extra to fit in further with the science theme. We both agreed that the savoury plate was by far our favourite. Every option was gorgeous in its own way in textures and flavours. I'd safely say i would love to return in the new year to do the classic science tea, which I've heard involves Rocket ships and dinosaurs, *squeals in delight*

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight to our Christmas science themed tea, its still available till the 27th of December, however it will be back to the classic tea after that which I've heard is just as good. Head on over to there website and check it out here. 

Thanks for reading my lovelies x 

Chocolate Fudge Mini Bonfire Cupcakes

Bonfire night is soon going to be upon as, and to celebrate the evening of fireworks, sparklers and toasted marshmallows i thought i would share with you a quick, fun and easy way to make mini bonfire cupcakes. These are perfect if you are throwing a little firework party at your own place, or even a good treat with a cuppa for when your return from seeing a display. So lets quit the rambling and get onto the recipe. 

Ingredients you will need:

120g self raising flour

120g caster sugar 

120g Butter 

2 medium sized eggs 

A splash of Vanilla extract

For the icing:

1 tub of Betty Crockers Chocolate fudge icing

45g butter 

90g icing sugar 

Orange food colouring

6 Flakes

Gold sprinkles (optional)

1. First preheat the oven to 180 Degrees. Take the first three ingredients and mix together in a bowl until you have want looks like a crumby texture. Then take the two eggs and slowly add to the mixture being careful not to curdle the mixture. 

2. When all thoroughly mixed add a splash of vanilla extract for some flavour. Once this is evenly spread into the mixture, carefully spoon the mixture in to the cupcake tin as evenly as possible.

3. Pop into the oven for around 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

4. For the orange fire icing, take both the butter and the icing sugar and mix together until you get a creamy texture, add both a little bit of vanilla extract and some orange Food colouring until you are happy with the shade of orange. 

5. Once the cakes have cooled, take your Chocolate fudge icing and carefully spread onto the top of each cupcake, creating a base for your Flakes (wood). Take the flakes and cut them evenly into four pieces. You will need around three pieces of flake for each bonfire. Balance them onto each other and stick them into the fudge icing to create a mini bonfire effect. Repeat this for each cupcake.

6. You can then take your orange icing and create flames by using a star shaped nozzle and piping bag. Sporadically squeeze small amounts of icing around the flakes to create little flames, and again repeat to each cupcake. Then to finish Sprinkle some gold sprinkles on top. 

And there you have it, little bonfire cupcakes, super quick and easy but really cute at the same time. Oh and not to mention yummy too! Hope you enjoyed this little food post from me and your all having a great week. I am hopefully going to see some fireworks this weekend, wrap up in my jumpers and scarves for a cozy night outside. Whatever your up to this bonfire night, make sure its a great one! 

Thanks for reading my lovelies x 

Autumnal Acorn Biscuits

Now i know what your thinking...its not autumnal enough to be making acorn biscuits, the sun is still shining strong and don't even get me started on the heat. However i disagree, you can never be too autumnal and at the ready for the upcoming months and these are the perfect way to ease you in gently. These little biscuits are so super simple to make and good fun too. Myself and my friend Emily (her blog is here) decided it was time to once again get our baking heads on and create some autumnal treats. With the old favourite the bake off currently flooding our TV screens every Wednesday, i feel even more creative then usual. Who else sits there and once its finished gets that itch to bake!? So lets get into the recipe. 

Ingredients you will need :

150g Plain flour (extra for dusting)

50g Caster sugar

100g softened butter

A few drops of vanilla essence

1 Egg

For decoration:

Milk Chocolate

White Chocolate

chocolate sprinkles

Equipment you will Need

Acorn cookie cutter (link here)

Rolling pin

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.

2. Take the caster sugar and flour and mix together, then add the butter and use your hands to mix it in and form a crumbly mixture. 

3. Lightly beat the egg in a bowl and a few drops of Vanilla essence, then add slowly to your mixture folding it in with a wooden spoon.

4. Once the egg is mixed in you will see a soft dough form, take this and place it on a surface dusted in flour. 

5. Cover your rolling pin in a dusting of flour also and roll out your dough until it is approximately 1 inch think. Take your cookie cutter and gently cut out your acorn shaped biscuits, laying them into the baking tray. You should be able to get about 10 biscuits out of the dough. 

6. Pop in the oven for 10 mins until a little golden and then remove from the oven and leave to cool. 

For the icing:

1. Take your milk chocolate and melt it in a bowl above a hot pan of water on the hob. Take a piping bag and fill it with chocolate, cutting a very small nozzle at the end. 

2. Pipe the chocolate over the entire surface of the biscuit as evenly as possible. Use a spoon to even out and spread if needs be. Repeat this process to all biscuits.

4. Take your chocolate sprinkles and tap on to the top of the acorn wear the little acorn hat would be. Shake off any excess when dry. 

5. For added character, take some melted chocolate, and add a small line to your acorn, to create the image of a re flexion. 

There you have it, cute and yummy acorn shaped biscuits, that any squirrel would be proud of. While engrossed in the baking madness of today, Emily and i also created some cinnamon apple shaped cupcakes. Head over to her blog for the recipe and some more autumnal baking inspiration. Link here. 

Hope you enjoyed reading today's post and have a go at making some yourself.

Thanks for reading my lovelies x